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I have had my Penobscot for about fifteen years. In that time I have paddled it in everything from wilderness lakes (Woodland Caribou PP) to whitewater rivers and everything in between. I find the Penobscot to be a good jack-of-all-trades canoe. Its mild rocker makes it reasonably maneuverable, while preserving reasonable glide. The flared bow deflects waves well to keep the boat dry. It has enough volume to carry all the gear (or children) that most people would want to carry. It has good primary stability and reasonable secondary stability. If you paddle from a kneeling position, as I do, you may find that the front edge of the seats dig into the back of your thighs, but that is easily correctable by putting longer seat drops on the front of the seats. At sixty-five pounds, the Penobscot is pretty heavy for wilderness tripping.

All things considered, if you only have the storage space or the budget for one canoe and you like to paddle in a variety of venues, the Penobscot would be a good choice for most uses.