Been looking long and hard at a Quetico 17 but thought on the small water ways around here the 16 might be more appropriate. I would like to bring this canoe a kevlar model on 4-5 day bwca trip and was wondering if any of you have experience paddling the 16 on trips.

no experience here but have heard its an awesome 16 footer. it seems similar to the penob 16 and ive had that on week long trips. 4-5 days shouldnt be an issue.

If the Bell MorningStar (15'6" x 36") is any comparison, you should be OK. My son and I used it on our first BW trip.

I've taken mine on 4 bw trips in the last couple years. I cannot compare it with any other kevlar the same size, as I have not been in another. Have been in Q17 which is nice but I went with a 16 for solo home water trips. A multi purpose tool? Longest trip was 6 days plenty of room for two packs, fishing gear and a beautiful girlfriend. I am not a pro-paddler but this canoe is stable for us and easy to maneuver. I like that it is a bit shorter on switchbacks! Great canoe, although I really would like to try other brands and models. I like my canoe for it purpose but Bells sure are handsome.

I paddled a Q16 for 8 days in September on a solo Wabakimi trip. I did not like the way it tracked at all! I'm used to paddling a Merlin stripper when solo so that is my "baseline". The Q16 required constant switching of sides to get it to track even reasonably straight. No problems in the capacity area or handling big waves, though.

With that, I own a Q17 for tandem paddling and really like it. It isn't the fastest boat on the water but very good for trips where we aren't attempting mileage records each day. Perfect for the trips I like: Paddle hard on day 1 and then base camp, fish & explore until we have to leave.

Had a Quetico 16 for 8-10 years, can't remember what year I bought it at Red Rock. It would still be in my barn (as well as several other boats) if I'd not had to sell it to help pay medical bills. I chose it over the Quetico 17 because of it would be an easier "Dual purpose" canoe; so I could solo when I wasn't paddling tandem. It served me well tandem and solo.

Twice, when the wife didn't go, I paddled it with two 200+ lb guys on week long BWCAW trips. It had plenty of volume and carried two #3 and one #4 Duluth packs on those trips. It also saved my bacon on a solo trip when I made the wrong decision on a long crossing on Big Sag. I also used it on Ozark streams and it worked well for that. Another boat that I would compare it to is the Wenonah Adirondack. Although narrower, the Q-16 feels a tad more stable to me. We had the Duralite version and it was plenty light even with the old "Painted on" coat they used to use. That added 5-6lbs as I recall, but at the time I thought the non-painted version looked too much like a milk jug (LOL)!

I think the Q-16 would serve you well unless you pack very heavy and need more than 3 packs on your trips. I could probably have put two #3's in front of me (Stern paddler) instead of the #4, but never tried that. It probably COULD hold 4 #3's. Here's a couple old pics of mine. I can't find any loaded right now, most of my Q-16 pics were before I had a digital camera.

No experience with that model, but the Quetico's 2" rocker will give you better maneuverability on small waterways. For the smaller waterways and lakes here, as well as the Ozark Rivers, I ordered a Wenonah Prospector 15 in Royalex. I figured a shorter tandem boat would also make a good solo. I'll likely still rent a kevlar tandem for the BW.