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I love my new boat. I paddled an Old Town Pathfinder Royalex canoe for years, but had to retire it finally. I used it primarily for day trips fishing and nature watching, and only took it on a few over night trips, but my Prospector should do well as a replacement. I’m enjoying the prospect of using it on tougher water, but mostly, I’m ferrying around family members on short excursions up tributary creeks and around small lakes nearby. I’m glad I won’t need to portage much because It does weigh more than I’d like. I feel that it rides smoother through the choppy waves and more efficiently than my flat bottomed pathfinder, and feels more rigid. I’ve run through some shallow rocky creek areas and daily use for the past week has already given the outer skin some character. Paddling empty and solo, (I’m about 225 lbs) the rocker is more noticeable than in the Pathfinder and will be countered with buckets or coolers if I should do solo trips. The color of the inside surface is light much cooler than in my previous boat (a real boon for paddling in Texas). Time will tell on whether it will hold up to my bad habits as long as the Royalex, but I’m optimistic.

I finally had to retire my Old Town Pathfinder after about 23 years of service. The first couple of years, I paddled eastern NC slow-moving rivers and creeks and this boat’s flat keelless bottom made maneuvering between cypress trees and flooded timber very easy. Then I moved to north Texas and found the Pathfinder perfect for chasing bass and sunfish around shallow rocky creeks and rivers like the Brazos where I would occasionally have to hop out and drag it during the dry spells. I raised two sons taking them out on day trips with their mom, and while they were little, they could fit easily. The Royalex handled many abrasions and thumps upon rocks and stumps, but eventually UV radiation and attempts at repair turned it brittle. I filled it with soil and now grow tomatoes out of it. I’ve rented an Old Town Saranac but the comparison motivated me to go try a new T-Formex boat instead. My new boat is heavier than the Pathfinder, and has a higher profile to catch the wind, but Is much faster and tracks better than the Pathfinder. If you find a pathfinder in someone’s garage sale, I highly recommend it as great solo recreational canoe.