My local outfitter picked up a couple of Griffins this spring and let me demo them and take out tour groups. It wasn't until reading the other reviews here that I ever thought of them as recreational kayaks. These are narrow, fast boats that fit my 6'2" 170lb frame easily with nice contact at the thigh and foot braces. I paddled both with and without a retractable skeg. Neither boat demonstrated any weather-cocking in 15 knot winds. I was able to roll both setups easily, doing laybacks and forward finishing rolls like it was a Greenlander, and this was the first non-Greenland boat I was able to balance-brace. The length of these boats meant I was able to turn them on a dime with sweep-strokes and a little edging. Really cranking the boat up on edge, I was able to put this boat through 270 degrees of turn with a little speed and a bow-rudder up past my toes. Once I finish establishing my Greenland fleet, a Walrus is almost certainly going to join them. Until then, I will continue to borrow the boat from my local outfitter.
