Remix XP 9

The Liquid Logic Remix XP9 is a great hybrid for whitewater and the relative flat water between. Easy to paddle and paddles straight with skeg down. Strong yet not heavy to carry. Good storage area.

Bought the XP9 four weeks ago and I’m in love! I’ve been kayaking for 6 years and always had to borrow or rent because I was unsure about handing a kayak myself. I’m 64 years old, 5’7” & 115 lbs. and using the Thule Slipstream load assist, I’m able to load & unload the boat myself…assistance from young men is always appreciated. The kayak handles like a dream on rivers and lakes. I do struggle a little keeping up with the younger crowd in their 12’ & 14’ kayaks on lakes, but its all good!

This review was originally posted on liquidlogickayaks.com and was re-posted with permission.

The buying experience at the factory was quite helpful. The kayak - Remix 9 ft- is perfect.

This review was originally posted on liquidlogickayaks.com and was re-posted with permission.

I have only taken it out into the bay so far, but the retractable dagger board is very effective in combatting currents and edfues

This review was originally posted on liquidlogickayaks.com and was re-posted with permission.

I like my XP9 so much that I bought another one for my wife. Very comfortable outfitting, good primary and secondary stability, handles well on slow moving rivers as well as class I and class II. Plows a little on flat water but tracks well with skeg down. Looking to run some class III and expect it to work fine. Glad I bought two.

This review was originally posted on liquidlogickayaks.com and was re-posted with permission.

The quality of this kayak is great, and the only issue I have had is that the back hatch is sometimes difficult to remove, but a light coat of Vaseline seems to have done the trick.

If you are looking for a single boat to handle multiple types of water, you would be well advised to check out the Remix. I got the 9' since I use this kayak for mostly moving water, but if you plan on carrying lots of gear, look at the 10'.

I bought this for my wife and she loves it.

This review was originally posted on liquidlogickayaks.com and was re-posted with permission.

I have a XP 10 and my wife has a XP 9. Great boats. We've used them on flat water, inland marshes, and white water. Very comfortable, stable and FUN. Great quality. Great company. We picked them up at the LL factory. Very helpful people.

This review was originally posted on liquidlogickayaks.com and was re-posted with permission.

I've had this kayak for a while now and very happy, stressed about the scrapes but that's cus I love it. Well rounded kayak I used it in every type of water and it performs as good as the person who's using it.

This review was originally posted on liquidlogickayaks.com and was re-posted with permission.

I love it and it's awesome

This review was originally posted on liquidlogickayaks.com and was re-posted with permission.

I'm so glad I went with Liquid Logic I absolutely love it and it's a great product.

This review was originally posted on liquidlogickayaks.com and was re-posted with permission.

The XP-9 is a versatile boat for everything I've paddled. Stable, forgiving and comfortable. flatwater through class 3+ ww.
If I could only have one boat, this would be it! The skeg is handy and the storage useful. Perfect! Highly reccomended!

This review was originally posted on liquidlogickayaks.com and was re-posted with permission.

Our son has wanted this boat for some time and we couldn't be happier we made the purchase. Your customer service was top notch, shipping went smoothly and he was super pleased to find the XP9 on Christmas morning! Thanks Liquidlogic!

This review was originally posted on liquidlogickayaks.com and was re-posted with permission.

The Remix XP9 suits a paddler about 5-6 foot tall (no more) and about 45-100kg weight, the Remix XP9 is about 9.2 foot long and is very comfortable kayak, but the back rest cannot be put up when using a neoprene slash deck. Both the Remix xp 9/10 track well in flats but plows through the water and is quiet hard to keep at speed.

When the Remix XPs get into white water they are deadly, the handling and control is awesome and they are also very easy to roll. The back compartment is large for a kayak and you would be surprised what you would fit in there, but saying that you will pay on the flats due to the extra weight.

The XPs are extremely stable!! and the straps on the front and back are very handy for fishing. This kayak is excellent for a beginners and well experienced kayaker, this boat is also ideal for an instructors as it is very stable and has a medical kit behind the seat and a large cock pit for quick entry and exit. This is an all round superb kayak as its great for touring, fishing, flats (if you take your time) and most importantly whitewater.

These kayaks are expensive but a good investment as the keep there value even with wear and tear, second-hand you could pick them up at about 500 euro with some gear.

I only have a few complaints: the hatch system sucks it not watertight at all. The first time I practiced rolling I went to shore to have lunch and much to my surprise the back and my lunch were soaked. There was a lot of water in the compartment! Plus if you take the hatch off while on the water, the lid almost always ends up in the water.

I also have a Old Town Dirigo106 the hatch system on that is a 1000 times better the XP9 it has 2 locking lever cams, a rubber gasket to keep it watertight plus has hinges so when you open the hatch it doesn't fall in the water. I've tried to roll my Dirigo many times before I found out it wasn't designed to roll - it has no knee braces to keep you in the kayak. Even with all my failed attempts to roll the Dirigo, I never had water in the back

My other problem was that the plastic rivets that they used to hold down the badass seating where placed too close to the hip pad pockets so that I couldn't get the padding down far enough to make contact with my hips. So I had to pop the rivets out in order to get the padding to fit right plus there was another rivet that dug into my tailbone so i had to pop that one out too

One thing they could add would be a bungee cord paddle holder on the side of the kayak there are after market ones that I can buy but would be nice if they put one on

Positives:
• One of the things that sold me was that the XP uses ABS Plastic which is what they use on their white-water kayaks and it is probably one of the more punishment ready kayaks out there.
• The Bad Ass Outfitting is, without much argument, the best in the industry.
• It is said that the materials used are supposedly more resistant to fading especially the yellow models.
• The two channels on the bottom of the boat and the drop down skeg allow for surprisingly good tracking for a boat this length and width. Also, the skeg has two features I liked.
• The Remix skeg operates with a handle to the right of the cockpit that is very accessible and swivels forward to deploy the skeg and backward to raise it. The Pyranha has a skeg for tracking as well but is designed w/ a pull string that may eventually break from abuse or just getting wet all the time etc… Not a big deal but I liked the LL design better.
• The skeg on the Remix is spring loaded so if you forget its down and hit a rock it will automatically raise rather than break or bend rendering the skeg useless. I believe the Fusion skeg locks in place.
• The Remix deck rigging / bulkheads are designed with a thick foam material and the front can be removed running all the way from the bow back to the front edge of the cockpit. This design seems to be more substantial than some of the others I looked at.

  The Downsides:

• Although the stern hatch is very easy to get to the plastic latch in the very back is not a great design in my opinion and mine already broke. You can most likely find straps that could be installed should this happen but don't feel it would be necessary had it been designed a little better. With that said, even with it broken it still hasn't caused a leakage problem yet with doing anything which is a good thing.
• The skeg wire in the XP10 is out of the way in the storage compartment while the XP9's runs in the center of the opening. The size of the boat most likely limits where it could be run but its a small issue if you are concerned more about cargo space.

I've had my XP for a year now and 2 weeks ago pushed it to it's limit for this area of the country. You folks remember that Florida has been getting crazy cold weather? Well I was riding the bleeding edge of both cold fronts in my XP9 riding 4ft wave trains for miles! It was a hoot. Felt totally good in this boat. My wife says she feels much better when I take the XP out in those conditions (vs my slalom boat). By the way. It carves great on edge on a steep face. I like how it behaves in ocean surf too.

Only negatives are:
It's a little on the slow side on open water, but obviously that's not what it was designed for.
The storage space in the back gets water in it quickly, especially if you roll.

As for the 'dry' hatch...
It's not so dry. I rolled the boat a few times and found about 6 cups of water in the stern hatch. YES, the hatch was closed. I have checked all the fittings and they are water tight, except the rim of the hatch. I think this is an easy fix; just get some closed-cell foam. A long strip about 1/16 x 5/32 should do it; and attach it with a very small amount of contact cement. I haven't tried this yet but am pretty sure it will do the trick.

By the way, LL knows of this problem and one rep said 'It's not so much a dry hatch; more like a hatch for dry bags.' They say they're trying to develop a fix for the problem, so no worries either way. Otherwise this is a killer craft. It has not taken any water in the hatch when running rivers and creeks; and the stability kinda makes rolling a remote possibility... so just stay upright til LL gets it worked out. In my case, I'm going to find some foam strips.
Happy Paddling!

I picked up my Liquid Logic Remix XP9 yesterday (actually had it shipped to Florida where I live and paddle and I picked it up at the terminal—couldn't wait). I've been keenly coveting this kayak since August 2008 when I first got wind of it.

About me: 5' 11'' and 138lbs and work out regularly. Have been paddling 4 years now on rivers, lagoons and the Atlantic, typically in my 16.5 ft Hurricane Tracer 165 sea yak, 14ft Necky Manatou, and Old Town Otter XT (which was the boat I'd always have in my SUV—until the arrival of my XP9 that is). I have other boats and paddle them as well, 3 times per week total minimum. I wanted a boat that I could take out in the nasty, thrashy conditions that a 20+ knot wind will produce on the Indian and Banana Rivers (especially a directly north or directly south wind). There will be waves up to 3 feet (sometimes a little bigger) there and a distinct wind-driven current flow. I personally prefer maneuverability to speed in dicey conditions and not too much boat, so I was after some of the kayak qualities enjoyed by white water boaters but also a yak that could track straight for distances. The Otter XT works but even with float bags it takes on a terrific amount of water when you go over (being a rec boat and all) and the skirts for it (like all rec boat skirts) implode a lot due to the cockpit opening's size. So I started looking at the new trend in white water kayaks—transitional white water boats such as the Dagger Approach and LL Remix. I did plenty of research and gave this lots of consideration. The Liquid Logic Remix XP line had everything I was looking for. It had to be a kayak that was at home in the rough water as well as being good for athletic touring and work out paddles on the flats.

I purchased my XP from Austin Kayak (www.austinkayak.com) and I highly recommend them. Very helpful and a good line of boats and equipment; especially a good option if you can't get your hands on the stuff you want locally. The XP came wrapped in the coolest packaging system I have ever seen and even though it came from Texas to Florida on an 18 wheeler it was in better condition than what you often see at the local dealer. No scratches or issues at all. My XP is a Mango one.

The first thing that hits you when you tear off all the protective packaging of this Liquid Logic boat is that this is a fine piece of marine equipment. The high quality of the materials and workmanship is really striking. It feels very solid all over. The 'Bad-Ass' seating/outfitting is without peer! It is most definitely the most comfortable seating on the planet; you could spend hours in it and not be uncomfortable at all. (Now if I could find a way to have a bed made out of the stuff I'd stay in it Rumple Stiltskin style—until the waves kicked up!) After checking to make sure everything was in order I had the wife pick up the kids from the bus stop and I hit the water (she's a good sport!). Conditions were not rough really (darn) with a moderate chop on the river and a north east drift (more east than north), so I was paddling against a cross current.

It is very easy to get into and out of this boat; cockpit size is perfect for someone of my size anyway. The XP really does paddle the flats very well. The bow has the right amount of rocker and a set of double channels on the hull that cuts and splits the water nicely. Heading out into the wind and waves it looks a little like you are plowing water owing to the rounded hull (as opposed to the narrow hull of a sea kayak which tends to pierce the waves and then lifts you out and up); this is deceptive as the XP9 really is lifting you nicely over the wave. I was amazed how fast this boat could get over waves and through the resistance water. I found the boat fast for a 9 footer and it can definitely 'get you into the zone' when distance paddling. With boats of this size I like a short paddle such as the Aquabound Shred; the torque won't paddle you out of line and it is easier to dial in to this hull size. I put it through it's paces, leaning as hard over as I could to the point of a roll. It's lean is bomber. Very dynamic hull design with nice edges and it produces great stability. I can see that it would be an easy rolling boat and if the water wasn't so darn cold I would have tried it yesterday (very thin-blooded tropical Florida kayaker here -- sorry)! Will do some rolling and post any changes.

The XP9 is highly maneuverable, even with the drop skeg down. Leaning forward on the nose you can get on current swells easily and it is a lot of fun. White water boats have a number of places on their hulls that you can turn on, not just the center line bottom area and side chines as is the case on a sea kayak. So the XP is fun to explore different moves on requiring use of different parts and elements of the hull. *By the way, even though she weighs as much as my 16.5 Tracer (about 46lbs empty), she is a much easier shoulder carry—not just because of the shorter length but because of that Bad-Ass outfitting; the seat cushion overlaps the cockpit combing slightly and gives you a sort of shoulder pad. It's the most comfortable carry of any of my kayaks.

"Backcess Hatch": This is a neat set up on the XP. I sunk my stern quite a bit and tried to get the hatch area as wet as possible. It stayed very dry. It is also very easy to get to underway. Plenty of storage for all-day needs. Liquid Logic's website states that there is plenty of storage for a week's worth of camping. I think it all depends on how you pack. When I camp overnight on the spoil islands in the lagoon I always over-pack. Maybe the white water crowd that designed this boat is used to getting by with a lot less than a sea kayaker. I'm not an expert on this. But I will say that between the dry hatch area (with solid dry bulkhead) and what can go between your legs you are dealing with plenty of storage possibilities. And that hard hatch will last the life of the boat I am sure—I like it better than Necky's or Hurricane's different hatch cover systems.

The drop skeg: The only place where something could go wrong on any kayak because of the moving parts. First, the skeg works very well. It's spring-loaded so it snaps up and down with no problems. Without the skeg you can dial in to the hull dynamics of this boat for straight-aways and get it under control, but it takes concentration (unless you are riding a swell or it is a nasty water state and then the boat is in it's element without the skeg). Skeg up and the XP is all about extreme maneuverability (cool!). Skeg down and she tracks better than any rec boat (that's what I'm talking about!). Initially on my first run I noticed some water in the cockpit after a 2 ½ hour spin. I was wearing a new seal skin skirt so I was sealed in there well. I estimate there was about 6-7 cups of water in the cockpit. I was wearing neoprene booties so let's take out a cup for each foot. Still left with 4-5 cups of water in there. I did some experimenting with cups of water after I dried her out and the skeg lever mechanism is where the steady dribble of water came in (at the tip of the bolt/nut area on the inside of the cockpit.) when that area is submerged. Don't freak out if that happens to you—I think mine was just too loose. To be certain, I glooped on some 'Plastic Dip' (it's actually rubber when it hardens and acts like those old ice cream cone treats where you dip the cone in strawberry or vanilla liquid and it hardens right away—you get it at the hardware store), put some silicone on the bottom bolt, and tightened the bolt. Today had it out for almost 4 hours and soaked it good. NO more water from the skeg lever; there was only less than a cup in the whole cockpit. Good Deal!

In conclusion, I am very happy with this boat. I can take it to the Nantahala, Taccoa, and Chatuge in Georgia and play with the white water crowd. I can take it out on the Indian and Banana River Lagoons in all sorts of conditions for my work out endurance paddling sessions. I can take it on those same Florida waterways when everyone else is putting ashore because the conditions are rough (I plan on trying her out on the ocean in some surf next since I live about 15 minutes from the Atlantic). You can put it in the SUV with the seats down and get that quick lunch time paddle in. I definitely recommend this boat if you are after any of the things I am in an all-round 'do it all' boat. Rock solid construction. Cool kayak.