Esquif Pocket Canyon - Tandem OR Solo Whitewater Canoe!

Our very own staff, Mitch - gives us a full breakdown on how he rigged his Esquif Pocket Canyon canoe. Mitch spent many hours rigging a versatile set up suitable for tandem or solo whitewater adventures! The pocket canyon is available now at nextadventure.net

[@tealandgoldworkshop]

Nice boat (we have the larger canyon), how are you liking the adjustable middle saddle paddling ww? I'm in the process of re-fitting a caption, trying to figure out my options.

[@mitch4christ1]

The saddle is very nice! Plus the very coosh knee pads from Salamander. I like being able to move the saddle forward or backwards depending on weight in the boat. Or just take it out completely. Only thing is that the knee pads are permanent, so they may get in the way of a barrel, but I can also use my bills bag or Watershed Colorado dry bag which would sit on top just fine.

[@georgemichie9408]

You did it the right way. I did it the easy way: added knee cushions and thigh straps to sit on the bow seat while kneeling or without kneeling, facing the other direction and paddling stern first. Works pretty well, but end up weighted a bit far back. Adding a real saddle in the right place is the way to go.

[@deriklawlis2843]

Nice work! Are the nrs air bags a bit small or you like em as is? Thank you

[@TrollArchOffice1]

Looks very nice, thank you for showing this. What class would you trust the pocket canyon for soloing? Looking at getting this to primarily solo trip some big water, like the Green and Colorado. Is that a bad idea with a setup like this?

[@mitch4christ1]

I think class 3 would be totally doable riding solo in the pocket canyon. Big water trips like the Green and Colorado would be good for it. With all the rocker, this pocket canyon is a pretty dry ride unless you are getting into some steep stuff. A skirt is always an option. The gear capacity is really nice in a pocket canyon if you're running it solo

[@TrollArchOffice1]

​@mitch4christ1 thank you! I did not know they made canoe skirts but that would make me feel a lot more comfortable with float bags and a skirt. Would this setup work on level 6-9 or is that a bad idea? I've taken open top aluminum canoes and stillwater kayaks down some hairy class 3+, I'm just trying to gague how far I could make it down a full green/colorado float without portaging. Dories are just too expensive ATM