I'm looking to buy a new canoe and was thinking of getting tractor seats. Deonne wants cane seats. She says they are more comfortable. Any opinions?

ive never paddled in a tractor seat. that said, i do know cane molds to your butt cheeks very well.

Cane. I found myself getting restless in tractor seats without a lot of options for shifting.

Cane, most definitely cane.
Besides with cane seats you can get in the bow and paddle "backwards" when you need to solo. You simply can not do that with direction-set tractor seats.

I liked the tractor seats better, personal prefrence though

I have Two canoes with the webbed seats, and One with the CANE.
I think the Webbed seats are more comfortable then the CANE.
I use a Crazy Creek Chair in all the Canoes (the same chair)
Even Using that I think the Webbed is more comfortable.
Dont know about the Tractor seats on long hauls as I just paddled around fishing with a MN II with tractor seats, It was ok, but like the other two options better.
SunCatcher

I never used to like tractor seats, and I still prefer either cane or webbed seats in a tandem, but in a solo I kinda like them especially in a lake-type tripper/cruiser. I think they help to lock you in and keep your center of gravity centered. I do like the bench type (cane/web) for river solos.

My Sawyer Autumn Mist has a tractor and my wenonah Argosy has webbed.

Buy the boat with cane seats, but then make your own 15" deep and as wide as possible!

I find both cane and webbing very comfortable. With a tractor, I need a seat pad and just don't like it as much. BTW, I ride hard bicycle seats but I just don't like a hard canoe seat.

Cane for me. The mold was not MY butt ...plus if I semi-kneel and use seat for a butt rest , the cane makes it possible for me.

Cane gets my vote, I find them more comfortable on a long paddle. Overthehill makes a good point about kneeling against the seat.

I think it depends on your butt. If you fit a tractor seat well, it can be the most comfortable. If you have a bony backside, cane can be a pain (rhymne not intended). Web is more comfy for me than cane, which makes my butt fall asleep on long trips. If you have a symmetrical tandem, then some kind of a bench seat is necessary to use it as a solo. Don't worry about that with an ultralight or asymmetrical hull because you don't really want to use those solo anyway. I'd go web if you can on a symmetrical Royalex, poly, or Kevlar Foam Core boat - tractor on an UL layup boat or one that is assymmetric.

anything but tractor for me. never liked the feel of them.

cane or webbed seat

I own two canoes, both with cane seats, and have always felt comfortable with them. Would others be as comfortable or better? Not sure, but I like the ones I have.

One other reason for a cane seat is that you can move to the side a little bit if your boat's load isn't perfectly trimmed.

quote Wables: "One other reason for a cane seat is that you can move to the side a little bit if your boat's load isn't perfectly trimmed."

Very good point Wables!

I've converted both my MN II and Prism to Webbed seats from the tractor style. me, and my bum are much happier now after a long day's paddle.

quote overthehill: "Cane for me. The mold was not MY butt ...plus if I semi-kneel and use seat for a butt rest , the cane makes it possible for me."

What OTH said. Only I like the slightly curved web seats in my Wenonah. Most comfy Ive tried.

I like the cane. With the tractor, the big wheels on the sides made it hard to paddle.

Cane looks and feels better IMHO.

Cane for comfort and looks.

Do you have any pictures of the Prism conversion? I have always thought about a web seat. I wasn't sure how to do it.

have used both extensively and prefer the cane, especially on hot days (certain areas breath better) - also, you have more options for attaching canoe seats with backs...

If your going for looks cane is it... but I like to enjoy my time on the water, I prefer the tractor seat, it don't dig into me like cane seats do.

I actually have a web seat on my solo & have fitted a removable tractor seat to attach to top & is removable, I then use it on yhe fire grate logs.

quote Shooz: "Do you have any pictures of the Prism conversion? I have always thought about a web seat. I wasn't sure how to do it. "

Not really, it was a pretty easy conversion however...

here's what i did.
1. rip out all of the existing stuff
2. repair with epoxy (and fiberglass if needed) any surface damage you may have done in step 1
3. get aluminum seat hangers from rutabaga
4. drill out appropriate rivets in the gunwales
5. shove seat hangers into gunwales
6. drill holes through seat hangers to match
7. either rivet or bolt seat hangers using existing holes in gunwales
8. bolt new seat to seat hangers

Biggest pain was the prism, had to cut the seat out of the bottom of the boat, that's where the fiberglassing came into play...

I've sat in them all and,it's this order for me:

Webbing- for comfort and durability
Cane- very comfortable but less durable
Tractor- durable, but not comfortable