Product Reviews > Canoes > Langford Canoe Co. > Nahanni

Add Your Review Now!

Research Canoes in the Buyers' Guide!

Select Canoe to View in Buyers' Guide

07-19-2011
Submitted by: postup - Rating: 6 of 10
     I'm no expert paddler, but not a complete novice either. We bought/got our Nahanni as a wedding gift. It's absolutely gorgeous with cherry/ash gunnels. I also love its weight (or lack of). I'm a big guy (6'7", 210#), but portaging this canoe is a breeze for anyone.

Unfortunately, we never felt completely comfortable with the canoe. It feels extremely tippy and we're always nervous with the kids in the boat. A friend of mine who is a hardcore WW paddler took it out for a spin on the Ottawa River and he too had a very tough time getting a handle on it. I tried soloing once and it was a nightmare. My wife, a more experienced paddler, fared only marginally better.

09-14-2009
Submitted by: QMcCloughan - Rating: 9 of 10
     I paddled a Nahanni for about a week. The boat I used had all wood trim with a two tone paint job, and it was quite a head turner.
On the water the Nahanni is a rocket. Definitely faster then some tripping canoes a foot longer. It was also possible to turn it, although I would say tracking was this boats strong point. Paddled tandem, it's initial stability can make it feel tippy at first, but I found the feeling to be short lived. Take solace in the fact that you're probably not going for a swim, as it's secondary stability is very good. I was able to paddle (solo) with the gunnel skimming the water, And could easily dip it under the water and still pull back up.

Paddled solo, the Nahanni performed nicely. The canoe I was using had a kneeling thwart and pads, which were very comfortable. The boat retained the same characteristics as when paddled tandem, and with a little bit of a heel, becomes more maneuverable. It's not a pure sit and switch solo, so you do need to reach a bit on your stoke, and outside of leaning it way over, you won't get a perfectly vertical paddle. But you can't very well fit two people in a Prism, and as a combo tandem/solo flatwater boat the Nahanni seems like a strong option.

Rating: 9/10 - because my girlfriend says it's real pretty

10-23-2005
Submitted by: Mr. Buddy Green - Rating: 10 of 10
     The Nahanni is the best boat I've ever owned. It is a dream to solo, so stable you can literally drop the gunwhale right under the water without tipping. This boat has stood up to the abuse of the entire family, it's scratched, but otherwise completely in tact.

I also own a Swift Kipawa, but it seemingly gets very little use now. I would recommend the Langford boats for cottage, lake, river, & tripping. I also have an ABS Old Town Prospector with wooden gunwhales, a boat to abuse, 'cause the Nahanni is just so darn pretty.

09-22-2003
Submitted by: L.M. - Rating: 5 of 10
     I purchased a carbon fiber Prosperter two years ago. I love the way the boat flys and handles. But this summer a little mar in the gel coat turned into big chips of coating coming off, leaving the carbon fiber material exposed. I met another person coming off the water who had the exact same problem. And it happened in the stern so it wasn't from running the boat up onto shore which I am very careful not to do. It looks like the gel coat did not adhere to the material. I haven't attempted to get it repaired yet but I am concerned from what I hear about Langford's lack of service. The other person with the same problem met a stone wall from Langford and repaired it herself. I paid $3500 for the canoe, wanting to go top of the line and least weight!!! Also the thing with the false weight claims is true as I weighted mine when I got it home and it was about 5 or 6 lbs. over what they told me it would be. Any advice as to how to get them to repair it or replace it, I would love to hear from you.....

12-31-2002
Submitted by: Mike_Thomas - Rating: 6 of 10
     I bought my Nahanni in the Spring of 2002. It has ash gunwales with cherry trim on the inside with sliding bow seat. I rate the canoe 10 out of 10 for it's handling,manouverability and speed. It's basically a beautiful canoe to paddle. I 'm not too happy with the finish of the gunwales and the second time out I noticed a couple of cracks in the gel coat, when taken back to Langford they instigated it was my fault and were going to charge me to repair it. I finally got the job done with much hassle, but now have discolouration in those spots. I was not happy with Langford's service and would think hard before purchasing another canoe from them. Rating: 8 of 10 for the canoe not the service.

11-06-2000
Submitted by: Ben O'Hara - Rating: 8 of 10
     I have recently finished spending the last five months living out of one of these canoes. (actually the 17'10" Northwind, same boat only longer) Our two Langford canoes carried us from North central Saskatchewan to Ottawa, a distance of 4,500 kilometers in the most diverse of paddling conditions. At the beginning of our voyage we were on small isolated rivers that flowed into the Churchill System. These rivers required a lot of dragging and shooting of rapids. I was worried at first of how these canoes would hold up, how would 10 hour days of dragging over rocks and dead fall have on these fully loaded boats? Scratches and chips in the gell coat were all that occured, they made it through the more demanding test with flying colours! As for how the aysemetrical design held up, Some conditions awesome, some not. On flat water it flew, turned well and held our big load. While on choppy days on Lake Winnipeg and Superior we had a more difficult time, if not for our spray decks w! e would have had a tough time keeping water out. Langford's canoes surpassed their "cottage only" stigma with me, we put these canoes to the test and they came out shinning. See also our review on Langford's Prospector mould. - Ben O'Hara, Boreal 2000 - www.cpaws.org/boreal2000

07-06-2000
Submitted by: Chris Orzechowski - Rating: 5 of 10
     I have doubt about the weight of the canoes listed by Langford. I am shopping at present for 15' Prospector and Langford spec looks good for this model except when put on scale. For two samples made in Kevlar, each was off for 6-7lbs. Langford brochure shows 15ft Prospector with aluminum gunwales as 42lbs but you are actually getting 48 or 49lbs. Typically a good manufacturer is off by up to one lb. How one would explain that? They charge you for Kevlar but give you f-glass? Conclusion: weigh before you pay.

04-17-2000
Submitted by: Dann - Rating: 9 of 10
     We purchased this boat in standard kevlar layup. It's an asymmetrical hull with 3.5 inches of rocker bow and stern, ash/cherry trim, sliding bow seat and substantial outwalls for big water. We have a Mad River Freedom for ww up to Class III but the Nahanni is our choice for milder ww and expedition tripping. It will handle Class II with sufficient maneuverability and quickness and it has the quick acceleration and amazing tracking associated with boats of this hull design. It will handle 950 lbs and still have 6 inches of freeboard and it weighs 50 lbs. The only draw back is of course the price .... $2150 CDN in the Fall of 1999. But this boat is from Canada's oldest Canoe Company and they have an excellent reputation for quality. I would NOT hesitate to recommend this boat to anyone.

Don't Miss the Paddling.net Weekly Newsletter!

90,000+ people can't be wrong!
The Paddling.net Newsletter is a must if you like to canoe or kayak! Each week it is packed with great articles, photos, product reviews, and special features. Better yet, we promise not to sell your email address to anyone; that's right ZERO spam! Sign up today and find out what you've been missing!