Looking for opinions on Savage River canoes for Boundary Waters trips. Specifically durability. Thanks!

I have a Deep Creek Carbon/Kevlar with the carbon gunwals. Went on my first trip with it last spring and will be going up again in September. We treated it gently, just like we always did with rentals, but still managed get the inevitable scratches and scrapes. It seems to have weathered them well. We also went over a few rocks pretty hard that the bow man missed, and it survived fine. I don't think those scrapes are any worse than you would get in one of the standard Kevlar rentals. In short, we tended to baby it a bit more; (100% wet foot, try to only set it down in grass, etc.), but the extra care was probably because it was so darn expensive. Not because it can't handle the boundary waters environment. It did fine.

Love it on the water. Very quick and maneuverable but still tracks great on open water. We've rented just about all the popular kevlar brands but this is my new favorite.

My main appeal was the weight. Mine comes in at 33 lbs. Pretty good for a 16 1/2' canoe. We single portage and that's a real plus for a guy my age.

Am I missing something or are there not any seats in there?

Didn't notice you can't see 'em. Has standard web seats.

I bought the Deep Creek Textreme in carbon and kevlar 2 years ago. It's the solo, weighs about 30 pounds, mine has the wooden gunwales, large carbon decks, sliding web seat. Like mine really well, it's fast on the water, handles rough water with no problems, full or empty, stable fishing platform. Tracks well, but won't turn on a dime. Expensive? damn straight but this is the last solo I ever intend to buy. It is about 34 inches wide which I'm sure the other solo canoeist will shudder at but it is designed for a big paddler who might want to haul a large load. When I travel I use a yak paddle. I would buy another Savage River if something would happen to this one. I put about 150 miles on The Dark Lady last year and don't baby it nor mistreat it, hopefully double that this year. FRED

Thanks, looks like I will be saving my pennies for next years Canoecopia purchase. Unless I hear some negatives.

I have the Blackhawk model, it's as durable or more than the MNII Kevlar. It's worth it, not only for the weight, but the design, the shape of the canoe seems to make it handle better in wind and waves.

I wanted that Blackhawk in the worst way, but just couldn't come up with the extra money. Decided to go with the Northstar Northwind 18 and have to say I'm pretty satisfied. It's not as light and probably not as fast as the Blackhawk, but at 18'9", I had all kinds of room to have three big packs all at or below the gunwale line to keep the center of gravity low and to keep it from turning into a sail.

I have the Deep Creek model and have been extremely happy with it. I babied it at first, but you'll always find that submerged rock, now I don't worry about it. It has handled several BW trips and many other river trips without any problems. Savage River has also been very good to work with, always answering any questions I've had since buying the boat(modifications that I was wanting to do).

A Blackwater Solo would be my top pick for a dream canoe, have paddled Dan Cookes a few times and its a hot rod for sure. Super stable, seemed to turn a little better than the big Wenonahs and light as a feather. Its a very fast and efficient hull and looks as good as it works.

I would love a Deep Creek. It would be great for my solos w/ the dog and my daddy/daughter trips w/ each of my young daughters. I ran into FOG51 on a trip last year and loved his canoe. Rob Kesselring (he visits this site once in a while, writes articles for BWJ and books about canoe tripping) uses a Savage River for his BWCA trips and has put a ton of miles on it without any problems.

I too yearn for a Blackwater to park next to the Advantage.

quote Banksiana: "I too yearn for a Blackwater to park next to the Advantage."

I met John Diller and got to paddle one of his Blackwaters in June. Actually, I wound up paddling a friend's Kevlar ultrlight Wenonah Advantage (which I bought) and then the Blackwater back to back.

The Advantage is a canoe that I have admired and wanted for quite some time. But I would have to say that the Blackwater made the Advantage seem a bit awkward in comparison. The Blackwater seemed to part the water more smoothly and quietly than any boat I have paddled, seemed at least as stable as the Advantage (probably more so), and was faster and probably a bit more maneuverable.

I think JoeWilderness (Kim) bought one at Canoecopia 2014. Hopefully he sees this thread and responds with some information.