Feedback on Scadden Pontoon
I've had my 9' Renegade model for a few months now, and wanted to share some observations, as the word "Scadden" tends to dog whistle up a variety of comments on several forums.
First of all, I have not yet had it in moving water. My bad, and I intend to rectify that shortly. I need to find some people interested in easy floats on the A or F or other. I've had it in small water, large water, and some rough water and it performs beautifully in all of those conditions.
Quality: I'll rate it as very good, but not perfect. Dave isn't overly conversant about his subcontractors, but we're about 98% certain the pontoons are imports. I think they are both welded and glued. I have a cosmetic blip in the seat, and although Dave said he'd gladly exchange it, he said it's not unusual and cosmetic so I'll keep it. Other than that, all components seem well done. The foam seat is very comfy with the right inflation, and the bags are absolutely perfect. I have the standard oars. Upgrades would be nice for bigger water, I suppose.
Design I'll give that an excellent rating. Dave is a wonderful designer; that's his forte, and other than a few more D-rings I have absolutely no complaints.
What Models? After a lot of talk and reading, I chose the smaller 9' Renegade MODEL over the larger 10' Rampage MODEL and I'm glad I did. I capitalize "MODEL" because the 9' is actually 8'5" and I've heard the Rampage is just shy of 10'. That was a little disappointing. The biggest difference to me other than size is portability. I'm not Hercules, but I can carry the Renegade loaded with gear for as long as I need to, short of an actual hike. I can honestly say it's more portable than my Super Fat Cat which weights 16 lbs less, due to the design. The Rampage adds some length and a little width, and 10 lbs. That extra weight and size makes a BIG difference if you're walking it any distance, and the Renegade fits nicely in my Sequoia about half inflated. I think if you really want to get into Class III or better, the Rampage is the better boat, however. I will never do that.
Frameless is the key. Many people are going from the much heavier frame boats to the frameless, but virtually no one goes from a frameless back to a frame. They are half the weight, very portable, and equally as stable. The only thing I miss not having a frame is a place to hang all my stuff. You use cam straps on the frameless which is a pain for setup but works fine.
Bladderless is also a huge item. Scaddens are bladderless and tough as anything, short of a super heavy duty cataraft type pontoon. Again, the weight is cut way down and repairs are usually very easy. His lifetime warranty means something too.
Motorizing: I will have mine complete in about a week. The motor mount is decent. I'm starting out with an old 28# electric, may try the #55, and might even get a 2 HP Honda. With the 600# stated capacity, the Renegade will handle any of the above. I'll report with some pics when I'm set up and have done some water tests.
Customer Service: Big topic. My experience is a little of both good and bad, but overall acceptable. You do have to have some patience. I ordered a motor mount in September and received it last week, and that was after 4 or 5 phone calls. It took a couple of weeks to get the boat too. I think they are really disorganized, a small front office operation, but they mean well and are great about warranties. Bottom line is Dave is a bit of a promoter, prone to exaggeration, but just know that his boundaries fall short of outright deceipt, more simple puffery.
Pricing: The "show specials," "spring specials," "winter specials," "third thursday of this month specials" are the street retail price. No one pays (or should pay) his list price. The Renegade is $999 and the Rampage is $1599, and sometimes you can get a "demo" which is a boat used in a show or a video. That's what I did and saved some. Talk to him. Dave likes to cut deals.
If I had it to do over, I'd get exactly what I have. My next Scadden will probably be an Assault XX which will carry two. I have no illusions as to portability--that's a trailer boat for me but a trailer is pretty handy if you're packing two or more toons anyway, and the larger framelss boats certainly can be packed but the setup is longer and more complicated.
Kiene has said several times that the quality boats in the upmarket consumer range are Outcast, Scadden, and Bucks, and he's right. You can't compare these to a WaterReady, NRS, or a Jack's product because those are strictly whitewater boats, IMO. If I were doing the Rogue Class III+ that's what I'd have. For my purposes, the Scadden is perfect. If I wanted a frame, I'd be happy with Outcast and Bucks too. Outcast has a new frameless for a grand that looks pretty good. It has bladders but it's Outcast and they have actual dealers, like Bill. That one deserves a close look too--just know that's not a domestic Aire product.
Hope this is of some value to the Spring pontoon lookers. I'll be glad to share experiences or opinions if needed.
John
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Originally Posted by treefshr
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