Torrent

Best SOT whitewater boat made!!!!!!

I bought my Torrent back in 2004 and was my first WW boat. I have taken it down a number of Class II / III runs without any problem except for the occasional swim & it doesn’t side surf very well. It is a very nice platform for warm days, but doesn’t have the body contact / control of a standard kayak. I have found that I get a lot of newby friends wanting to use it since it’s a SOT, but when they get on the water it’s a problem. They can’t get it to track since it’s designed to turn. I like it for this reason, but I end up doing a vertical forward stroke paddling class for them. When / if they master this, it is good for their future paddling life. I like to use it when going with inexperienced groups so I can jump off to show them a technique. It is also a good platform for photography & to collect wildlife samples with. The thing I like most about it is I can rest my legs in may different positions, so no cramping like in a standard hull after many hours on a stream. I also added bungee line in the stern for a cooler & dry bag & an after market seat. It really needs this for back comfort. I have recently purchased a LL Coupe SOT (review to follow after I’ve had it out a few more times), but I will be keeping my Torrent since it is much more maneuverable.

Bought 2 Torrents and love them. Best boats out and for the money

Never having been on WW before (only flat, slow-moving rivers), I was invited to The New River in WV and offered an SOT for the c-2's and 3 from Thurmond to Cunard. Turned out to be a Torrent. The owner forgot the thigh straps, so we rigged some NRS tie-down straps, which only worked partially. I swam the first hole under the RR bridge after failing to see it until too late and getting sucked in sideways. Then I started figuring the thing out in the proceeding wave trains for the next hour or so. I'm used to paddling non-stop, so in the flats as everyone in my group was passively floating, I was paddling circles around them getting a feel for the boat and to keep active.

I'm used to a 14' day-touring kayak, so this was quite different. But in no time I was able to track straight and get some good speed. I loved that I could plant my paddle off the bow and do a 180 turn in seconds. That was fun compared to a straight gliding long boat. I found that it was tough to stay behind my group, mostly in SINK ww playboats. When they weren't paddling all out, I had to backpaddle once in awhile to keep from overtaking them. But I also had to keep paddling to keep it straight, like someone else stated below. This yak won't glide in a straight line for 2 seconds before it's spinning. Nothing wrong with that, as that's what it's designed to do, ie, be very maneuverable.

I ended up learning this boat within a couple of hours, stayed on it through a class 3 rapid (Surprise), and ended up swimming the last rapid again before the take out at Cunard when I got slammed between two standing waves coming together. I think lack of proper thigh straps did me in on that one. But self-rescue is easy on it, the beauty of an SOT.

I really liked this boat; enough so that I bought a used one in perfect condition for $250. Don't know that I'll ever be able to roll it like some can, but I'll at least try to learn that, and look forward to more time in it in some more technical stuff. It will never replace my longer SINK's, but has it's place.

One thing I plan to do is add some bungee lines on the bow and stern to hold dry bags, and at bare minimum, a backstrap. Although I was comfortable in this boat while paddling, sitting in one place for any time at all was murder on my back with no support. For that, lack of factory-installed bungees, and it being no real comparison to real WW playboats, I give this boat a 7. But make no mistake, for someone w/o a roll, wanting to experience some mild WW with virtually no learning curve and easy self-rescuing, this boat's a 10.

After spending far to much time on rivers in boats that were not rated for white water I decided that I wanted a boat that would get through a few rapids. There isn’t enough water yet for that so I decided to get the feel of the boat on a small local lake. The boat has to be paddled any time it is moving it you are not at a full stop it will likely do a 180º turn if you stop paddling. It is 10 feet long but most of that 10 feet is no in the water. That plus lots of rocker makes it easy to turn. If it were any easier you would be spinning all the time. With work it did go straight. It will side slip. It is very stable. I had it tilted around 30º and it didn’t seem unstable. I can’t wait for the spring floods.

I first bought this boat in 1996 for my son who is very tall ( 6'8"). Our party picked it up at the Natnahala river. At first, everyone made fun of it, but as the day progressed, they were begging for a chance to paddle it. It's served us well over the years in some really BIG whitewater as well as ocean surf. With the advent of the Wavesport Super EZ, my son now has a boat he can fit in, but we kept the Torrent. After twenty years of paddling OC1 and C1, my knees are GONE and I'm getting old and fat. Looks like the perfect boat for me!

Rented the Torrent for a weekend sea kayak/camping trip. I know your thinking WHAT?? We were only paddling for a couple of hours and this was the only sit on top the shop had for rent. I really wanted to try a sit on top yak as I also like to fish.

I managed to stuff about six 2 liter bottles, tent, beer etc down the small center hatch all connected on tether strings. I bungied on a waterproof cooler box onto the back deck. Fixed my thermarest camping seat in and away I went.

Not a problem! The Torrent handled this abuse like a champion. Even with the cooler box upping the center of gravity it remained stable. The Torrent seems bullet proof.

The boat runs fairly dry and tracks well for what it is...a river/surf boat. It was quite fast, not the fastest in our group but not the slowest. I managed to keep up with the sea kayaks on the second day...maybe they were just tired.

On the back deck there is a place to add another hatch and there seems to be quite a bit of room under there. This would add to the boats useability. I would also say to add a seat or back rest as my thermarest camp seat really improved the boats fit. With it and the leg straps tight I could really motor along. I ended up buying a "sit in" kayak mainly because of protection from sunburn etc, but if the Torrent is still there at the end of the season and the price is right I will buy it. It was so much fun. All in all it was a great boat.

Great Boat - I've had mine the past 3 months and living by the sea in bournemouth UK its seen is share of surf. I agree with most of the things said here - stable, reliable, versitile but can be a little uncomfortable - will invest in a seat and see if that helps.

Had it since it came out. Big boat with lots of fun packed in. Mine is about 7 years old now and it is standing up. This is not a performance boat but a fun boat. If you only have one boat for the family it should be this one. From kids on a lake to ocean surfing to river running this :Exxon Valdes" does it all.

Out of all the kayaks I tried, the Torrent was the one I liked. In 3-5 foot swells on nearby lake mead it handled suberbly. My only concern with it was that in the wind it can't track worth a crap. running the animas river 2 weeks later the torrent lived up to perception's description. It out ran almost all the boats on the river. I am now a proud owner.

Despite claims this boat is slow - it will easily outrun most white water kayaks. I found it to be very smooth paddling, turns on a dime and can be rolled (My friend can, I however don't have the muscle to bring it around). I found this boat to be the number 1 crowd pleaser at public demo's. You can comfortably stand on it, use as a diving platform and haul a couple kids sitting on it - who may be too small to enjoy a boat on their own. It tends to run over smaller rapids that keep regular whitewater boats, this translates to a good white water primer and possibly for use rescue situations. Great Boat!

Great boat for people who want to kayak but don't want to have to learn to roll and/or worry about entrampent and some of the other dangers of kayaks. Not a real fast boat but fairly maneuverable and very forgiving. Very stable and good for surfing in modest holes. Overall a boat I would recommend for a first timer or someone who has grown tired of just paddling a canoe and wants to try something different. The price is certainly attractive when compared to other types of boats. Not very good back support unless one buys the optional back rest.

Terribly slow, but has plenty of room for big-assed paddlers. The inverted keel lines (to protect the self-bailing holes) are very grabby in rock gardens. I love sit on tops...this one is heavy duty but not nearly as fun (or cheap) as my Ocean Kayak Yahoo!