The Prana LV is a superbly crafted kayak that somehow does most things really well. I came to my fibreglass Prana after trialing many excellent kayaks, with a focus on speed, rolling and trips up to 10 days in length, and have been really happy with the Prana LV. From its characteristically Danish high deck, the LV has held enough supplies for a ten day, self-supported kayak camping trip with my wife. It's not as quick as my Boreal Design Ellesmere but it tracks better, is lighter and has even surfed well. It is responsive to edging and feels very stable. In rough waves, it holds itself comfortably and despite a boxy profile, has great secondary stability to adapt to broadside waves. The inset hatches are a good touch to keep its low profile, leaving little to snag on when rolling. The central location of the hatches accentuate the symmetry of its design.
Of course, no kayak is perfect and the LV is no exception: Its main downfall is quality control with their thin gelcoat. My LV has seen more spider cracks, bubbles/voids and scratches than any of the six different kayak brands that I've paddled, and I am careful with my kayaks (handled well, no beach landings, 303'd regularly, stored out of the sun, etc). My partner has an older Current Designs (CD) Rumour and the build quality of that is impeccable, but it is also a product of earlier years when CD was Canadian owned. The main competition was Seaward, who also have a high quality of building standards in their kayaks. Unfortunately, it seems that once the manufacturing went south (literally) the build quality suffered, and I've heard many owners of new CD kayaks mention the same thing: they are too brittle. CD offers a 'heavy water layup' but you have to pay extra for this and yet, in my opinion, that only brings them up to the standard they should already have to begin with. My only other complaint is the forward bulkhead is way too far forward, and although my Ellesmere was able to be built with the forward bulkhead installed towards the seat, CD recently declined to do this for a new order on a Prana for me.
Having said that, I would still recommend a Prana LV or the larger Prana to any paddler, but get the heavy water layup in fibreglass if you want it to last. If not, you'll end up spending the extra money on repairs. Hopefully CD addresses their vacuuming technique to eliminate so many voids in the gelcoat. The design, however, is a clear winner in that it performs really well in most conditions.
