Pyranha Loki

[duscunni]

I am currently in the market for an addition to my current quiver of boats, and was hoping I could tap into the local paddling community to gain some knowledge.  I am considering the Pyranha Loki as my first river/play boat, and would appreciate any info from people who have paddled it, and if anyone has access to a L I would really appreciate a test drive in one.

Thanks in advance!

Dustin

[Raymond]

I’ve owned a Loki for about a year and a half now and have loved every second of it.

Such a great boat for playing around when you’re not looking to or the river you’re on just isn’t capable of doing aerial moves. If I still lived around there where the Saint was my main playground, I would for sure paddle it almost exclusively. Stern squirting is a blast, can be done anywhere with the slightest of eddylines and with good technique, everywhere there isn’t 😉

Considering that the Saint only holds for a day or two at levels where you could really do loops, McNasty’s, Phonix Monkeys, etc, it would be the better kind of playboat to choose. That silky smooth granite will just be begging you to do rock splats and rock wheels.

The boat is also a great big wave surfer, more so even if the wave isn’t the kind with a foam pile to help you get back down the face. When the Nanty was running 2K-3K this Winter, I was surfing waves I know I couldn’t have caught in a Jed or Star series. The length is also preferred by me when just general river running, actually feel like I’m kayaking rather than just bobbing my way down the river.

You might also look into the older Pyranha boats like the I3 but they are nowhere as forgiving as the Loki. It really is a great mix between modern outfitting/comfort/stability vs. the old sharp as knife edges of earlier Pyranha slicey boats.

I doubt you’d ever regret having one.

-RaymondB

P.S. I have no required loyalty to any brand of boat, so this is without bias.

[duscunni]

Raymond,

Thanks so much for that in depth analysis.  I was already boiling with anticipation of getting into one of these, but now it is just unbearable!

Now I just have to find a large somewhere.  I located one near the Ocoee on boater talk, but I won’t be heading that way until early April.

Dustin

[Levi Rhodes]

Hey, Raymond

I was wondering what size you paddle? I’m having a hard time deciding if I want a medium or small… slim chances of demoing one around here.

Lr

[Raymond]

Levi,

I paddle the medium. I weigh between 170-175 in street clothes and feel like the boat isn’t too small or big. I have not much trouble to throw it around. I would say if anything I’m closer to the top of the range than the bottom.

If there is water in the river for the race, I’ll bring it with me and you can give it a test drive.

 

-RaymondB

[Freddie Carter]

Off subject, but what do you feel about the Burn III, XL. Adam G. Sold me one before heading home from the Island. Has a big ass on it, and is a hole bustin monster. Just taking me awhile to get used to the planing hull again. Serious chines that mellow at the hips and further back. Such a radical change from a MEGA and those Karmas Clay loaned us in Colorado. Will I ever get used to it ?

[Raymond]

Freddie,

I’m a big fan of the newer Pyranha boats and the way they configured the chines. I think the fact they fade them out over different points along the hull is great, gives you the choice to engage or not to engage via upper body positioning. Can be a little awkward at first, but after a while it is sort of similar to slalom pivot turns on the stern.

With my Shiva I learned very quickly that I could lean forward and have the benefits of a round displacement hull, but then just lean back a bit and she would bite and carve hard into a line or eddy. The new Burn III really takes to this concept but just a little more aggressively so since it is leaning more towards the RR side than the creeking side.

It will definitely be different than the Karmas, those are pretty round really rockered out boats. I like the fact that the new Burn isn’t designed with a ton of rocker. Will let it handle big water better, holding lines and not being tossed around like a rag doll. Rocker is great when you’re running the steeps, not so much when there is more water than there is rock and you want to hold that line well. If paddling aggressively and with go body position, that bow should be your anchor point in the water, if it is curved like a banana its not going to hold very well and that is a lot of surface area in these new creek boats for the river to push on.

Hope you’re enjoying that boat down there, surf a wave for me in it!

-Raymond

[duscunni]

Old thread, but my journey to locate a L Loki continues.  Have you had any luck Levi?  I’m considering just buying a new one, but I really need to be sure my big ass will fit!  Based on specs it should work out, but my long legs sometimes cause me issues with smaller boats.

[Chuck Millen]

I will have my large Loki at the clinic this weekend…It’s not for sale (because it’s an amazing little boat), but you are welcome to try it out. I’m taking the playboat class in it. I am 6′ and 200 lbs. it’s a tight fit, but still comfortable.

Chucko

• This reply was modified 8 years ago by Chuck Millen.

[duscunni]

Chucko,

As luck would have it I will be heading out of town on Friday and won’t be able to attend the clinic.  With that said, do you come down to the Saint often?  If so we should hook up and do a run sometime so I could try it out.  I’m 6’1″ 215#, and really wanna sit in one before I order.

Thanks,

Dustin

[Chuck Millen]

We’re planning to arrive at the saint around noon on friday. I’m in KC and hope to get out your way a couple times this spring. I have the seat position in the middle hole and use a Happy Feet in the bow and my 10.5 feet fit fine with rodeo socks. No room for any type of shoe though. Wet exits are easy, but climbing in and out of it is a chore. Hopefully we can get together because I think you’ll enjoy the boat.

Chucko

[Bilbo]

Sorry, I haven’t had much time to respond.  The Loki is a throwback for the original S-8 (I still have two of them) from a decade ago, and has adopted newer and better outfitting.  The large Loki still does not have a lot of footroom, but the lines of the boat are beyond reproach.  The Loki series has the same continuous rocker profile as the S-8 and is for that reason one of the fastest boats for its length around.  Loki has more volume and deck height, and the deck profile tapers more gradually than the “lumpy” S series with much less abrupt volume transition.  S series boats had been called body condoms for a while because you fit really well but had no volume around you.

I would safely call the Loki a solid river runner for those who know how to use their edges and are not afraid of sub surface currents, because you will hit them.  Not as slicey as Centrifuge or S-8, but nicely in the middle between Mullet, which is huge.  The only thing I noticed about Loki is adapting to different body styles of boaters.  The overall Loki design tends to be the best for the classic “middle size” folks, at or under 6 foot and buck sixty.  Large Loki strays from the medium optimal computer model.  A large Loki sinks with a paddler above 230#, and becomes less viable as a river runner.

Best thing I could say is that depending on the seat design out of the two out there, your center of gravity vertically will make all of the difference of where this boat will feel stable.  If you are tall waisted, take the seat pad out immediately.  That 1/2 makes more difference than you would think.  Also, this boat has the classic Pyranha stigma of needing the seat moved as forward as possible where you can still be comfortable (So far Shiva is the only exception to this rule).  Trimming forward creates a different boat response, and really makes the play potential come out.

That is all.

Bill

[duscunni]

Bill,

Thanks so much for this in-depth look into the Loki.  I actually had one in my cart online yesterday, but after reading your analysis I decided I really need to get in one of these before I take the plunge.  Hopefully I will be able to hook up with Chucko on the Saint this spring to see how it fits me.

That said, my main goal is to find a new boat that can help me get out of my comfort zone (’15 Zen) and grow as a paddler when the conditions on the Saint allow it.  Do you have any suggestions for boats that might fit a guy of my stature, and allow me to push my abilities a bit more?  I assure you they will not fall on deaf ears, as I am aware of your experience with boats and design.

Height: 6’1″ ; Weight: 215lbs (lean athletic) ; Feet: 10.5

Thanks,

Dustin

• This reply was modified 8 years ago by duscunni.

[Bilbo]

re-reading what I wrote I may have confused you.  You are not medium Loki material.  You are, however, in the definite range and body type of a large.

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