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This is a great little kayak for a beginner on flat water. My wife and I recently moved to the Yukon/Kuskokwim river delta area of Western Alaska. We picked up 2 Otters at REI for $279 each (at least $100 less than anything else) about 2 weeks ago. Since then they have been used about 10 hours per day by us and the local kids. They are very STABLE boats. One kid came back soaked and said he flipped it, but I bet he was trying to, because I have purposely tipped back and forth really vigorously and have had boats speed past at close distance and haven't come close to going into the water.

They are SLOW though, especially if you're going against any wind. But they are DURABLE and CHEAP and EASY to use, so I have to say that we are thrilled with it so far and plan on upgrading later when we get better at the sport. Another nice feature is they draw so little water. I can float anywhere with about 2.5 inches or more water! The kids love them and the boats are hard to damage, so if you have kids this is definitely the way to go. I'm trying to think of something negative...I guess the main thing is the lack of foot pegs, which we heard could tire your back after a lot of paddling. We plan on stuffing some styrofoam into the front of the boat until our legs can comfortably push against it while paddling. Anyway, if you want a quality, cheap boat for a beginner, you can't go wrong with the Otter.