Hi all. I recently saw a request for information about which boat one
ought to chose to replace a Dagger Rival. I am working on my third
Rival and believe it to be the best tupperware WW canoe ever made.
However, the world moves on and Dagger is no longer making it.
I recently considered this problem and went with a Bell Prodigy.
The Bell is about a foot shorter but gives up none of the speed which
is a great asset of the Rival. In fact I think the Prodigy is faster.
It front surfs like a dream and because of ites size and speed carves
very nicely on the wave. I can also get attainments that I could not
make even in the Rival.
On the down side the Prodigy runs wet. I weight about 178-182 and
may be just a tad porky for this boat but I think it is also a design
issue. I agree with others who mentioned that the boat sems a bit
fragile. When I first picked it up I was shocked by how light it was.
Well, I was also unhappily surprised by how easily it dented. I use
my whitewater boats hard on creeks and in big water and they need to
be tough enough. I am concerned that this boat is not.
It rolls easily; not quite as easily as the Rival but much better
than my Skeeter or other hard chined boats like the Ocoee.
Other responders pointed out that this is a Bob Foote design and
if you like Foote boats you will like this one. I agree completely
The Prodigy also shows its Bell roots in that it likes to be leaned
over when paddled. It is responsive anyway but I got even more from
it when I leaned it some. I bet that a good freestyle paddler could
get more from this boat than almost any other whitewater canoe around.
It won't play holes as well as the hard chined boats. but you
will love the speed.
The word is that Bell is coming out with a slightly larger
version. I hope that is true and I hope they address the wetness and
the tendancy to dent too easily.
I will bet that the Esquif will play better in holes but that the
Prodigy is faster. If you liked the Rival then I bet you will like
the Pridigy, even with these flaws. If you like the Ocoee better then
you will probably like the Esquif better.

Hi to all my RBP friends!! How are we doing with sp*ns*ns and
access in Boulder, Colorado? Chris Kelly