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Vital

16' 6"
Length
21"
Width (in)
32–40
Weight (lb)
$3,999.99
Base MSRP

Vital Options

  • Fiberglass

    40 lb
    Fiberglass Composite
    MSRP $3,999.99

  • Kevlar

    36 lb
    Kevlar/aramid Composite
    MSRP $4,399.99

  • Carbon

    32 lb
    Carbon Composite
    MSRP $5,399.99

    Vital Description

    The Vital is an authentic British-style sea kayak designed for play boating and challenging conditions. It boasts playfulness, speed, and stability, yet remains easy to edge and roll. This versatile craft is well-suited for both day trips and camping, offering ample storage. With its high rocker profile, the Vital excels at catching and playing in the surf. Standard features include a retractable skeg, front and rear hatches, fiberglass bulkheads, recessed deck settings for safety lines, chart holder bungees, a keyhole cockpit with hip and knee braces, and a comfortable low-profile seat. With the skeg up, the Vital is highly maneuverable, while putting the skeg down ensures straight tracking, even in side wind conditions where many kayaks tend to weathercock. Reflective deck lines are a standard safety feature on all our kayaks, visible in low light and night-time conditions.

    Vital Specs and Features

    • Structure: Rigid / Hard Shell
    • Cockpit Type: Sit Inside
    • Seating Configuration: Solo
    • Ideal Paddler Size: Average Adult, Larger Adult
    • Skill Level: Advanced
    • Ideal Paddler Size: Average Adult, Larger Adult
    • Skill Level: Advanced

    Boreal Design
    Vital Reviews

    Read reviews for the Vital by Boreal Design as submitted by your fellow paddlers. All of the reviews are created and written by paddlers like you, so be sure to submit your own review and be part of the community!

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    4

    I have owned my Vital 166 for…

    Submitted by: guest-paddler on 11/22/2013
    I have owned my Vital 166 for about three years, and have yet to find anything better out there for smaller paddlers. Seldom will you find a boat this nimble that also tracks well, but this one does. It's pretty fast, but also very stable. It rolls beautifully! Other than a bit of water in the hatches when rolling (quickly repaired by the dealer), I have had no construction problems at all. It is well built.

    At 110 lbs. I am at the lower end of the ideal displacement weight for this boat, but I have only found slower kayaks under 16 ft. that have better displacement for my weight. None of those equal the performance of the Vital. The ONLY real problem was the too deep recess under the front edge of the cockpit coaming, that trapped my skirt bungee. I installed a piece of tubing or hose underneath, which cannot be seen, but makes the skirt OK to pull off in a wet exit.

    Small women won't find a Perfect 10 kayak, but I'm giving the Vital a 9.

    5

    I've been kayaking for 20…

    Submitted by: paddler197863 on 6/9/2011
    I've been kayaking for 20 years - I am an ACA L3 Coastal Kayaking Instructor. I've been through my share of kayaks over the years, being female when kayaks were only designed for men. I have found nirvana.

    It was at Sea Kayak Carolina in Charleston, S.C. where I discovered the Maelstrom Vital 166. I already owned the NDK Pilgrim - but the Vital is everything the Pilgrim offers, and more... it surfs like a dream (even small following seas!), tracks, is incredibly maneuverable, easy to lift, and is approx. 18" longer than my Pilgrim, so I can travel faster and work less to cover the same distance. Rolling the Vital is amazing...the kayak almost rolls itself yet is extremely stable. The design is brilliant...in all my years of kayaking, it is the only kayak I've found that does everything well! And attention to detail is evident in the bungeed hatch covers, reflective deck line, and the choice of a backrest or foam block... the skeg works flawlessly as it should... if you can only have one kayak, this is the one!

    Vital
    by Boreal Design
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