R-Lite refers to Royalex-Lite, the reduced-calorie version of one of the most successful canoe materials ever made.

	Jonathan Hanson Jonathan Hanson Jonathan Hanson is a writer whose lifelong appreciation of nature shows up frequently in his work. Meet Jonathan Previous Answers

Royalex is a heat-set laminate composed of a foam core bonded on both sides to ABS plastic (or Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, if you're a chemist), and fused to an outer vinyl layer in which the color of the finished boat is impregnated. It's extremely tough, nearly immune to being bounced off rocks, and can be sprung back into shape after a near-total pretzel-ization around a boulder. Royalex requires very little maintenance, and is quite durable, as long as you keep it away from UV light as much as possible. It's versatile enough to have been used in everything from whitewater boats to expedition craft. And it's competitively priced to boot.

One of the only downsides to Royalex is weight. Although lighter than most polyethylene or fiberglass canoes, a Royalex model is heavier than one made from more exotic materials. The solution was to skim down the recipe in the Royalex sandwich to create R-Lite.

In short, R-Lite has all the advantages of Royalex, only, well, less so. It's a little less rugged, a little less durable — and a little less heavy. However, it's still more than adequate for the uses to which most people put a touring canoe. I would have no hesitation choosing an R-Lite canoe, since I don't slam my boats around, and I take reasonable care launching and landing. If that describes you, too, then I'd say go for it.

One tip: Royalex expands and shrinks significantly with changes in temperature. If you live in an area with cold winters and you own a Royalex canoe that has wood gunwales (which don't expand and contract as much), be sure to loosen the screws that secure the gunwales before putting the boat up for the winter. Failure to do so could result in significant structural cracking in the Royalex, which is a pain to repair.

Happy paddling,

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