Yellowstone

This Product Has Been Discontinued

Similar Canoes for You:

Yellowstone Description

The Yellowstone is a canoe brought to you by Bell Canoe Works. Read Yellowstone reviews or submit your own review to share with the paddling community. Check out a few other canoe recommendations below or explore all canoes to find the perfect one for you!

Bell Canoe Works
Yellowstone Reviews

Read reviews for the Yellowstone by Bell Canoe Works as submitted by your fellow paddlers. All of the reviews are created and written by paddlers like you, so be sure to submit your own review and be part of the community!

Embed these reviews on your site

5

Very fast! Light, and…

Submitted by: cazippler on 11/28/2018

Very fast! Light, and secondary stability is so good. I own a black and gold yellow stone. My friend has the same boat in Rolex. They both are great boats.

5

I have a red roylex…

Submitted by: guest-paddler on 10/30/2014
I have a red roylex Yellowstone solo 14. Although it is no longer in production I have to say this is a great canoe. I paddle with a 65 lb dog. The canoe has excellent secondary stability. My friends tell me it is fast. Turns beautifully. A real fun canoe to paddle. More rocker in the back would be better. I raised the seat to kneel in MW. More of a flat water canoe but good in class 1 or 2 sneak lines.
5

A nice narrow canoe, tracks…

Submitted by: paddler235440 on 2/12/2014
A nice narrow canoe, tracks well, good solo canoe for day trip or overnighters.
Does what it's designed for so don't ask it to do more.
5

I have owned a Bell…

Submitted by: paddler235346 on 9/20/2013
I have owned a Bell Yellowstone Solo (Red) for several years now and have been perfectly happy with the handling and amount of gear it will hold. I have used it in Canada on the Bowron Lake System (90+ miles with many portages) Murtle Lake, Clearwater Lake, and in Montana on the Smith River, Kootenai River, Marias River, and Missouri River, and most recently Kintla Lake in Glacier Park. It handles great on all waters.

I have finally decided at age 74 to retire the Yellowstone Solo. I am parting with the Roylex canoe, Spring Creek floatation/cart system and various gear. My problem is establishing a fair price for myself and potential buyer.

I would highly recommend the Yellowstone Solo to all beginners and expert canoers.

5

I bought the Roylex…

Submitted by: paddler233370 on 12/21/2010
I bought the Roylex Yellowstone solo this fall (Red)2010. I have paddled for years. This canoe is a perfect solo for me, light to carry, tough, fast 6.5k, turns well, tracks well, easy to control in wind and waves. I am having a lot of fun in it. Highly recommended.
5

Just traded my Kevlar Wenonah…

Submitted by: guest-paddler on 7/2/2008
Just traded my Kevlar Wenonah Escapade (a narrower tandem with a center solo seat), for a full-fledged solo boat -- the Bell Yellowstone Solo in Black Gold. I used to think the Escapade was pretty fast, but this Bell FLIES across the water! Really fun to paddle. I also like that it has more rocker and think it will do really well on moving water. Because of it's speed, narrow width and rocker, it's not as rock-steady stable as the royalex layup likely is, so I'd caution a complete beginner from choosing this boat. But if you've gotten a little solo paddling under your belt, you'll love this little speedster!
5

I recently bought a royalex…

Submitted by: paddler232265 on 8/18/2007
I recently bought a royalex Yellowstone tandem to supplement a kevlar Mad River Explorer. The Explorer is fine on lakes (but see review below), but not great on twisty rivers with logs. Before the purchase, I exchanged MANY emails with Bell canoe while I decided which canoe would best suit me. My emails were always answered by the next morning and were very detailed and helpful. There was no pressure to buy any particular boat, but there was an interest in finding a boat the would be best for my purpose. During the decision process, the customer service was excellent. The folks at Bell seem to want you to like your canoe, and recognize that it starts with a good fit between canoe and owner.

When I ordered the canoe, it was delivered on time and in excellent condition. Only a few minor surface blemishes - nothing like the extensive gouges and dents I have seen in other royalex canoes. The cane seats are slightly slanted, which I really like. It gives some resistance when I am sitting and plant my feet (so I don't feel like I am going to slide off the back of the seat), and is also a good angle for kneeling. I don't notice any tendency to slide forward when sitting, as other reviewers have.

Another aspect of the boat that I really like is that it has wide gunwales with substantial overhangs, which provide a very secure grip. My Explorer has narrower gunwales that are much harder to get a good grip on. Finally, the boat is great to paddle. It glides easily, tracks reasonably well, and turns very well. It is at least as easy to paddle and as fast as my Explorer, and maybe easier and faster. My wife and I both like it better than the Explorer, even though the Explorer is kevlar, has a shiny sleek hull and cost a lot more. After a three hour lake paddle on a hot day with our two young children, both my wife and I felt that the boat required less effort to paddle and had more comfortable seats than the Explorer (which has molded seats). Overall, I have been very satisfied with both the buying and paddling experience.

4

Have owned a tandem…

Submitted by: jch on 8/3/2006
Have owned a tandem Yellowstone for about 2 years now. Wanted something I could paddle solo, but big enough for two and gear. At 34 max width it is a bit wide as a down river solo but the tumblehome helps. Routinely paddle class 2 and 3 solo and it is solid with excellent secondary stabilty. Turning is pretty good for its length as long as you are using the sides in the turns. As you would imagine, pretty dry since it is a double seater used solo with a kneeling thwart. Have had the wife and 2 11 year olds in it thru some 2+s and it of course shipped on some water, but handled predictably with the load. Have fully bagged it as of last week and am looking forward to some 3-4 solo trips.

Tracks well with a load on flatwater. had in the OKEE last spring with two kids and gear for 4 days and it was fine. Tracks OK but with some effort paddling alone on FW.

Well made and finish is good, but not great. I would give it 9 out of 10 as a solid crossover for everything kind of boat.

4

I own a royalex Bell…

Submitted by: guest-paddler on 7/20/2005
I own a royalex Bell Yellowstone Solo. This is my first solo canoe and have been happy so far. The Yellowstone is very narrow compared to other solo canoes. It is swift through the water and tacks very well. It is very sturdy and makes a great whitewater canoe. Only real drawback with this canoe is below-average turning (due to being so narrow). It also took a bit of getting used to the handling since I own a flat bottem tandem also. Overall, this would be a nice canoe for anyone needing a great lake canoe (Boundary Waters) or someone who likes to run straight shot rapids.
4

We bought the 15 ft. 6 in.…

Submitted by: paddler230904 on 12/14/2004
We bought the 15 ft. 6 in. Bell Yellowstone tandem in Royalex a few months ago. I wanted a boat to use in twisty, shallow and gravel bottomed rivers. (We also have a 17 ft.Wenonah Spirit II in Kevlar that works wonderful in bigger water, but seems a little too fragile and too long for the uses that we plan on for the Bell.) So far the Bell is great! It turns on a dime due to its ample rocker and short length, but has plenty of room for day trips. It paddles fine as a solo boat, but I am still trying to perfect that aspect of paddling. We are not happy with the cane seats. We are used to the buckets in the Spirit II, and we can't seem to get as comfortable in the Bell after 3 or 4 hours. Perhaps a padded seat with a small back rest might help. The seats are also sloped down in front and that makes us feel like we are trying to fall off the front. Perhaps they are designed that way to make it easier to lean back on when we kneel, but we haven't tried that yet. The finish on the Bell is first class. I recommend this boat for day trips and river travel.
5

The best all purpose canoe on…

Submitted by: guest-paddler on 10/25/2004
The best all purpose canoe on the market by far!