Hornbeck & Bell Magic

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As noted in my previous post, I took my 10.5' Hornbeck to Woodland Caribou Provincial Park and my friend NF rented a Bell Magic Solo. I said that if the Bell was superior to the Hornbeck I'd buy one. (I say this to show that I'm not married to the Hornbeck and willing to let experience speak for itself). I asked NF to decide if he'd buy a Bell when the trip was over.
NF is a 55 yr old triathlete with only limited canoe experience--using a kayak paddle on this trip. I'm not in NF's condition; but have done several canoe trip in the BWCA. Here's the comparison:
Weight: Hornbeck 17#, Bell 38#. I carried the tent, tarp and misc. extras--our total weight was about even. But edge to Hornbeck, easy to lift--by the end of the trip NF very tired of hoisting canoe onto shoulders.
Portage yoke: edge to Bell, snaps into place. Mine requires tightening of 2 wing nuts and is placed over seat so it must be put on and off at each portage.
Stability (initial & secondary): edge to Hornbeck. Wider and flatter and rides deeper in water. NF nervous in boat, says he feels that he must turn boat to look back--doesn't want to twist body.
Speed in calm water: Slight edge to Bell; longer length means that very little boat in water, less resistance.
Speed in strong head wind: Big Edge to Bell--basically unaffected by waves; Hornbeck loses a lot of momentum bobbing in waves due to short length. Left behind by NF in strong wind.
Handling 90 degrees to wind: Edge to Hornbeck--Bell "skates" across the water. Hornbeck in deeper and doesn't move much.
Handling on small streams or around obstacles: Edge to Hornbeck. Bell hard to turn--prefers to go straight.
Ease of portaging: Edge Hornbeck; Bell too long for tight Woodland Caribou trails--NF couldn't turn. We did use Bell as a bridge over several streams.
Bottom line: Edge to Hornbeck. Both NF & I agreed that Hornbeck was the best for the varied conditions we encountered. The Bell's clear advantage was in a head wind (it was hard to hold it straight in a tail wind); but this was outweighed by disadvantages in almost all other categories. Plus Hornbeck is about $700 less.
Email me for a picture of the Hornbeck in the water and us doing the 350 m. blowdown portage.

Posted on Jul 7, 2000, 10:32 PM

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Shippy, I know that I have said this before...... Ken E. Brown on Jul 8, 2000, 6:14 PM

my weight revealed. on Jul 8, 2000, 10:38 PM

How'd you do that?. on Jul 9, 2000, 10:38 AM

dumb luck. Shippy on Jul 9, 2000, 12:48 PM

Forum features. Lone Duck on Jul 9, 2000, 1:25 PM

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