Here is the situation, I have a Prism that I have taken on a couple BWCA trips. I like the canoe except with getting used to a canoe with 0 rocker. This fall I found a very nice red Bell Wildfire in Kevlar Deluxe and wood trim. This canoe is more appealing to the eye than the Prism, but I have yet to paddle it. I was hoping to find some folks out there that have paddled both and can provide similarities, differences, and why they prefer one over the other. BTW, most likely would be used on lakes.

Luke

almost completely at the other end of the spectrum of turn
Has two and a half inches of bow AND stern rocker.

Will turn very quickly.. Requires lots of practice to make it track. It will but demands a good forward and correction stroke

The WildFire is my go to boat for tripping.. But it will swap ends in a tail wind..that two and a half inches of rocker.

The secondary stability in the WF is outstanding. Because of its willingness to turn and hold the rail at the water, it is used lots for FreeStyle.

You might look at some of the Northstar canoes that have some but not alot of rocker built in.

Both are great solo canoes, but very different paddling and handling characteristics.

The 16' 6" Wenonah Prism compares more closely to the 16' Bell/Northstar Magic. The Wenonah Prism and the Bell/NorthStar Magic are both considered "sit & switch" solo canoes and are very popular for "Canoe Country" tripping as you probably know. As yellowcanoe mentioned, the Bell Wildfire is popular with freestyle paddlers.

I own a Bell Yellowstone Solo in Royalex, which I love for its intended purpose; small scrappy rivers and streams and tripping for three to five days. The Bell Yellowstone Solo and the Bell Wildfire in Royalex are essentially the same canoe, not so much for the composite versions.

The Bell Wildfire and the Wenonah Prism are both capable solo trippers and both are fun to paddle, but your intended use, the Prism is better suited to the type of paddling you've mentioned; which would be paddling on lakes.

Just my two cents!

Hans Solo

Thanks for the feedback. I will need to get the Wildfire out on some local lakes to see how it tracks. I probably will also throw some gear in my packs to see how it rides loaded. I wasn't really looking for another Solo boat when i came across this one. I also made a comment to my wife that I would probably eliminate one of them sometime in the spring or summer. Not sure I really want to, but storage space my dictate that decision.
Luke

If you decide the wildfire is not the boat for you after all, I would probably be interested.