RX (Royalex®) Durable & abrasion resistant, quiet and comfortable, ultimate low-maintenance hull. Durability under brutal conditions, excellent insulating properties, and quiet paddling. No wonder Royalex, has been the preferred material for white-water canoes since 1974. Today it's even better thanks to a more abrasion-resistant skin. The Royalex sandwich construction incorporates a vinyl skin, ABS substrate layers beneath the vinyl skin, and a unicellular foam core for rigidity and flotation. At Mad River, we vacuum-form each sheet to create a seamless hull, building extra thickness into critical areas.

This extra material in the ends accounts for the distinctive Mad River "smile". These special measures, plus the inherent rigidity of the shallow V hull, result in an exceptionally durable hull. Because material thickness, amount of reinforcing, and molding methods are determined by each manufacturer, all Royalex canoes are not equal in strength. Mad River specifies extra ABS and foam in the keel, bow and stern areas. Models such as the Explorer, Freedom, Revelation and whitewater models receive even more reinforcing.

RL (Royalex® Lightweight)
Royalex Lightweight offers the optimal balance between durability and weight savings. This lighter weight construction of genuine Royalex - not a derivative like R-84 - is used in the Tahoe, Quest and Eclipse models intended for recreational rather than whitewater use. The difference in our two Royalex constructions lies only in the amount of reinforcing used, not in the materials.

FC (Fiberglass Cloth) Weighs less than Royalex, sleeker & faster than Royalex, ideal for flatwater use. Less impact resistant than Royalex. Mad River Canoe has been building hand laminated, all fabric, fiberglass canoes since 1971. These durable canoes, with their sleek entry and exit lines, paddle swiftly. Fiberglass offers excellent value and performance in cruising and recreational models that will not be subjected to continual whitewater use. Each hull is carefully laid up by hand, beginning with an abrasion-resistant, flexible gel-coat which is applied to the inside of the mold.

The gel-coat will become the outside of the canoe, giving it a beautiful high-gloss finish that protects the underlying fiberglass cloth. The pattern of the cloth can be seen through the gel-coat. This is the hallmark of a well made, lighter weight and flexible canoe. Full layers of high-strength fabric are used with additional reinforcement added in critical wear and impact areas of the bow, stern and belly of the canoe. The selective use of Kevlar® brand fiber and graphite reinforcement in the bow and stern areas make Mad River canoes the most durable and impact-resistant fiberglass canoes on the market. Individual layers of cloth are bonded together with a high performance, isophthalic polyester resin to produce an affordable, lighter-weight canoe offering a step up in performance from Royalex.

KV (Kevlar® Brand Fiber) More tear and puncture resistant than fiberglass, 20% lighter than fiberglass, strong, efficient paddling hull. Back in 1974, Mad River introduced Kevlar® brand fiber to the canoe industry, so no manufacturer has more experience in building these long-lasting, extra-durable hulls than we do. Pound-for-pound, today's Kevlar® brand fiber is five times stronger than steel, yet its low density makes it stronger than most other reinforcing fibers. It is 20% lighter than fiberglass, but with greater tensile strength for increased tear and puncture resistance - a real plus in the back country.

Our Kevlar® brand fiber laminate is 3-11 layers thick, with the greatest number of layers carefully positioned in areas where additional reinforcement is important. This strategic reinforcement allows us to build a strong hull that is extremely light. Internal graphite reinforcement offers added impact protection at the canoe's ends. And like our fiberglass canoes, our KV canoes have an abrasion resistant gel-coat skin. The strength of a KV canoe is determined by how well the resin bonds to the fabric of Kevlar® brand fiber. Unlike most manufacturers, we don't use "off the shelf" fabric, but specify a weave and surface finish matched precisely to our proprietary vinylester resin system. This maximizes the elastic properties of the Kevlar brand fiber for added flexibility and increased strength in impact situations. Engineered for high performance and superior durability, a Mad River KV canoe is an excellent long-term investment.

KH (Foam Core Version With Kevlar® Brand Fiber) Lightweight and resilient, excellent impact resistance, rigid, high paddling efficiency. KH hulls weigh less and are more efficient to paddle than KV hulls. Strength derives from the fabric of Kevlar® brand fiber and rigidity from the Core-Cell foam core. This hybrid construction uses Kevlar® brand fiber, S-Glass and Core-Cell so as to maximize the advantages of each material while compensating for the limitations of each. Vacuum-bagging produces superior bonding of foam core and reinforcing fabric using minimal amounts of our highly elastic vinylester resin. The result is a durable, lightweight laminate.

An outer layer of S-Glass reinforced with graphite improves abrasion and impact resistance. Core-Cell is a rigid elastic, linear foam core which is highly resistant to shattering and delamination. Core-Cell allows us to tailor core density by model to achieve weight reductions previously attainable only with less impact resistant foam cores. Mad River is the first and only canoe manufacturer to use this superior foam in its hulls.

KL (Lightweight Version of Kevlar® Brand Fiber) Our lightest weight hull, extremely efficient to paddle, less impact and abrasion resistant. This extremely lightweight hull construction features the same Core-Cell foam used in our KH canoes. By eliminating the reinforcing ribs and using a skin coat of pigmented resin rather than an exterior gel-coat, we are able to reduce hull weights by approximately 10 lbs. This ultra-light, rigid construction produces a canoe which is efficient to paddle, very responsive and easy to car-top and portage. It is an excellent choice where abrasion and impact resistance are not primary considerations.