Forget about the rating, as this is my first skirt, so I have nothing really to compare it to, but a "7" is my impressions after paddling with it for 20 paddles or so. More importantly here is what I like and don't like about it.
Likes:
- Pretty good seal around both me and boat. Very little, if any water egress.
- Neoprene waist and deck makes for a relatively warm skirt. I had it on in 45 deg air/water and it has kept my cockpit and body below deck warm.
- The mesh pocket is both a plus and minus. The plus is nice and big to accommodate a good deal of stuff. Easy zipper to operate, even with gloves.
- Pretty comfy to wear. Not too hot even when 90+ degrees.
- Strong Rubber rand.
Dislikes:
- Big mesh bag, when loaded with stuff, causes the neoprene deck to sag since there is no battens to keep it level. If you have big thighs, the deck can sag enough to touch the top of your legs. The result of the sagging deck is that water pools in the bag area.
- The release hold around a black strap. The smallness, black strap and clear tube make it some what difficult to locate when you are flipped and in murky water. A better solution would have been a neon yellow or orange/pink strap/tube.
- The release hold is difficult to do with one hand, at least for me. Several times I have had to use two hands to release, which entails temporarily releasing my paddle.
- Because of its small size, and the location where it is stitched to the rand area, the release handle can get caught "inside" the cockpit when put the skirt over the cockpit coaming.
This skirt/deck could be very good with a few improvements.
- Put a separate release strap across the front of the deck to have a secondary release mechanism.
- Add a batten or other stiffener underneath the deck to allow for stuff to be put in the mesh bag without it sagging.
- Enlarge the primary handle and make it more visible (strap/PVC) handle.