I’ve been canoeing for over 40 years, and I’m itching to tell you what I’ve learned about how to get a hold of the best canoe for your purposes, especially when you’re new to the whole topic of canoeing! So let’s get right into it.
The best all-around beginner canoe is the Nova Craft Prospector 16. Its versatility gives it the advantage of working well on both quiet lakes and class 3 rapids. In terms of weight, length, construction, maneuverability, stability, and capacity, the Prospector 16 outperforms others in the same categories.
There were many tests we used when determining the best canoes for beginner paddlers. Canoes were broken down into three categories – Whitewater, Expedition, and Recreational. In each of those categories, we looked at the best options in terms of weight, length, construction, maneuverability, stability, and capacity, as well as shape, rocker, and price.
Table of Contents
3 Considerations Before We Get Started (Please Don’t Skip This Part!)
Before we dive in, we want you to consider three things:
1 the type of canoeing you’ll be doing
2 your budget
3 the BIGGEST pitfall (statistically) that discourages beginners!
1. What Type of Canoeing Will You Be Doing?
Many beginners don’t even realize that there are very different styles of canoes for very different purposes. Most of us realize that a Ferrari is a fast, good-looking sports car, but it’s useless if you need to transport a family of 6 anywhere at all!
A pickup truck is a great utility vehicle, but it’s the worst vehicle you can have if you need the most fuel-efficient commuter car you can buy. See my point?
Canoes are not so different.
- If you’re looking for a great, stable canoe for the family to use on a quiet lake when you go camping or stay at the cottage, you’ll need a recreational canoe.
- If you’re looking to explore nearly untouched, natural lakes where no motorboats can go, you’ll need a tripping or expedition canoe.
- Are you thinking more along the lines of canoeing down a river with rapids and rushing water? That’s a whitewater canoe.
2. What is your budget?
Like so many things in life, canoes range in price anywhere from around $500 for an inexpensive used one to $5000 or more, for a handcrafted new luxury model.
We’ve written an extensive article covering the average cost of new and used canoes here.
There’s no beating around the bush: a good canoe is expensive. As a new paddler, once you’ve determined the type of canoeing you’ll be doing, your next job will be to decide your level of commitment and what you’re willing to spend.
For example:
- An inexpensive, durable, recreational canoe for your kids to use at the cottage might be the best beginner canoe for you.
- A more expensive canoe might be your best choice if you’ll be tripping through backcountry lakes with multiple portages and need a lightweight craft, with extra room, designed for speed.
We’ll explain more with each recommendation!
My purpose in writing this article is to direct you to “the best“ beginner canoes, rather than “the cheapest canoes that should do the trick, for now, until you get discouraged by the poor quality“ beginner canoes.
Peter Stack
3. The BIGGEST PITFALL That Discourages Beginner Canoeists!
We did some research recently and found out (by asking friends in our canoeing social media groups) that the single biggest discouragement to them as someone just starting out in canoeing, was NOT buying a high-quality canoe.
The justification for buying a cheap canoe was that “I might not like the sport so I don’t want to be out too much money.”
The result of buying a cheap canoe was that they were in fact discouraged by how cumbersome, slow, heavy, and difficult to control and transport the canoe turned out to be. They were baffled by the idea that ANYONE would like such a horrible sport that hurts their backs and scratches their cars.
Why would anyone want to slug away for hours with a plastic paddle that seems unable to move a large, slow and inefficient canoe that makes one cringe at the very thought of having to lift it out of the water at the end of an arduous paddle session and then have to put it on the roof of a vehicle without damaging the car, fingers, or dozens of other body parts?
Why would anyone want to slug away for hours with a plastic paddle that seems unable to move a large, slow and inefficient canoe that makes one cringe at the very thought of having to lift it out of the water at the end of an arduous paddle session and then have to put it on the roof of a vehicle without damaging the car, fingers, or dozens of other body parts?
This is EXACTLY the type of issue that makes many potential wilderness canoeists give up after one terrible trip with a cheap canoe. Well, we can tell you from experience that having a well-made, efficient (and yes, more expensive) canoe, is the SINGLE BIGGEST factor that makes a canoe trip enjoyable.
Beginners make up the highest percentage of Active Canoeists!
1-2 Yrs
3-7 Yrs
8-15 Yrs
16-20 Yrs
White Water Canoes
Whitewater canoes are boats that are specifically designed for quick maneuvering and ruggedness, featuring the ability to deal with impacts with rocks, capsizing, and hull stress, unlike most expedition canoes. Whitewater canoes have a heavy rocker which allows them to be quickly turned.
They are not ideal for travel on flat water since they do not track well (go in a straight line with minimal corrective strokes) and they are significantly heavier than good quality expedition canoes.
1 – Esquif Pocket Canyon
(tandem)
| WEIGHT | 59 lbs |
| LENGTH | 14.5 feet |
| CAPACITY | 770 lbs |
| CONSTRUCTION | T-Formex |
| HULL DESIGN | Shallow Arch |
| ROCKER | 4″ bow and stern |
| MANEUVERABILITY SCORE | 9/10 |
| STABILITY SCORE | 8/10 |
| CLASS | 3+ |
| PRICE | $2,000 |
This canoe’s main purpose is to accommodate whitewater canoeists on short journeys down rivers. It is primarily meant for 2 paddlers on a day-long journey down a river.
It does not have the capacity for lots of cargo. It is very maneuverable and it serves as both a “playboat” (just having fun booting around the rapids) and a technical river runner (get through the river obstacles and keep going).
The Pocket Canyon is made of T-Formex (the best material currently for whitewater ruggedness) and we ranked