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I'm now the proud owner of a factory built CLC Pax 20 demo kayak. Having purchased my first boat (and not renting/borrowing anymore) in 2005, I think I've finally attained "the" boat for me. My paddling these days is primarily in a reservoir in central Virginia where I can paddle to my hearts content distance wise. With the exception of mid-day when there is a tunnel of wind coming down the tree lined reservoir, it's usually very calm water. I'm up to about 10 miles in 2 hours and once my stamina improves to keep up with this boat that just wants to go faster, I suspect my time will decrease accordingly. I've owned previous boats and all had one thing this this boat doesn't have, space to move about. This is a racing kayak however and I wouldn't expect otherwise. That said, I was the one who had to adjust, not the boat. The boat handles superbly and has more room in it than I initially thought.

Boat handling:
Fantastic. The Pax 20 has a skeg which I like and since the boat is just shy of 20 feet, it's really a must have. My other boat (a Prijon Barracuda) has the mount for a rudder but I can't afford one at the moment. When the Barracuda comes up against any wind that is not directly in front of me, it immediately wants to weathercock and is one of the quickest ways to not enjoy that day's paddle. The skeg on the Pax 20 takes care of that issue effortlessly and I'm off on my merry way.

Storage:
There is a shallow back storage compartment in which I put my wallet and car keys in (in a waterproof bag just for good measure) but otherwise storage is minimal. Again, this is a racing vessel so it is not built to carry much more than a paddler and safety gear. Front half of the kayak is airtight which will come in handy if/when I take an unexpected swim. So far, no unexpected swims.

Weight:
The Pax 20 is hovering in at 40lbs, this is 20 lbs lighter than my Prijon Barracuda. The weight isn't really an issue on the water and is minimal going from car to water. The key here for me at least, is that after a thorough workout, getting any boat out of the water and back on my car (I often paddle alone. When I say often, I mean 99.9% of the time) . Rubber arms make it difficult to lift pretty much anything. I found this out the hard way once when paddling a heavier kayak in 90+ degree heat with what felt like tropical humidity. After paddling for 10 miles and taking significantly more rest breaks than usual for me, I had a hell of a time getting my kayak back on my car. I wish I had my Pax 20 then!

Handling:
My initial concerns while in a racing kayak was stability. This boat is not rated for beginners. I found it very comfortable and had no concern of tipping. That makes me an intermediate-advanced paddler right? Right? From the CLC website, it explains that that long waterline and hard chines make the boat surprisingly stable considering it is only 17" wide at the water line. I'm going to conveniently ignore that I saw this and continue to see myself as an advanced paddler....

Speed:
The only thing holding back this kayak from longer endurance speeds is me. I've been paddling for 10 years and started getting into the idea racing about 2 years ago. As I continue to build up my stamina, I have no doubt my Pax 20 will be glad that it's not stuck in 2nd gear anymore.

Appearance:
It's a Chesapeake Light Craft boat, so right from the start it has great lines. Mine has a painted white bottom with a clear varnish top. It "looks" like what a wood racing kayak should look like. Long, sleek and elegant. All of the above mentioned information about the handling and appearance of the Pax 20 makes me inclined to rate it at a 10 in the racing kayak category.

Some day when the planets align and I find time to get away, I would love to do a multi-day (week long) kayak camping trip somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. I've done my share of camping during my 21 years in the Marine Corps. Traveling by kayak should feel like a luxury cruise. My Pax 20 won't be the boat for that trip and I'll probably have to buy a rudder and take my Barracuda for it's storage capacity. Until then however, it will be my "go-to" boat in Central VA.

I originally bought this drysuit 4 years ago when I still lived in North Carolina but never felt it was cold enough to use. This was a mistake. I took my Meridian drysuit out today (January 3rd) and found it thoroughly enjoyable to wear, well as much as one should wearing a dry suit that is. I didn't find any restriction to my arm movements wearing the Meridian and the neck and wrist gaskets didn't constrict blood flow or movement either. Granted, I did trim down the neck gasket so it was a more comfortable fit. Temperature was about 37 degrees and I had one layer of wicking material beneath it along with wool socks. This along with neoprene boots made for a very comfortable paddle.

I know not everyone is ever happy with any particular company. When I called and ordered my dry suit, the sales rep was extremely helpful and went out of his way to help me get what I needed in a dry suit. If I had any thing I didn't like about the suit, its that it is a little difficult to get the top portion on. If the zipper is even a little closed, it's damn near impossible. The instructions that came with my suit did specify the zipper needed to be all the way open so I can't fault the design.

All in all, I'm thoroughly pleased and wished I lived near the ocean still to brave the winter surf.

I'm giving the Barracuda by Prijon a 9. Not because of any technical design issue or handling flaw. But mainly because until I'm able to get a rudder for it (I bought it used), it has the tendency to rather quickly start to weathercock even in the calmest of waters. Initial stability is very tippy but this boat is not advertised as a beginner boat. I do like how quickly I can get up to cruising speed and have found over the past month I am consistently maintaining a 5 miles per hour rate of travel. The day hatch is a bit tricky to get into while in the cockpit but as I've had the both a short while, this may just be me needing to learn the characteristics of the boat better.

I've been paddling the LW16 for two months now and cannot begin to tell you how impressed I am with this boat.

The first thing anyone notices about the Warren Light Craft kayaks is their unique shape. My boat is painted Ferrari Red and I can't make up my mind if it looks like an SR-71 on the water or a Formula 1 racing car. It's lines are very aesthetic and it give the immediate impression that it's fast, very fast. This is backed up by the fact that it is indeed an incredibly fast boat. It's nice how that works out. I recently entered this boat into a 5k kayak race. The top ten boats were all over 18' long. Well, there was one exception, my LW16 and I beat half of those ten. If I was in better shape (I don't get to paddle nearly as often as I'd like) I'm sure it would not have even been a contest. Before I exhausted myself, I was told I had a "significant" lead over the other boats. This boat will go as fast as you're able to paddle. I have yet to find the point of diminishing return. This boat also was the crowd favorite on land before launching as well. There's really no other kayak like it out there.

As advertised, the LW16 has good initial stability and excellent secondary stability. I didn't know if this was factored in when it was being designed (I suspect it was as Ted and Zac come across to me as precision oriented builders) but the LW16 handles rough water so well that when I'm out in small craft advisory weather, my kayak buddy who's got a Nigel Dennis Explorer, is bracing like there's no tomorrow while going parallel in the swells while I cruise along with much less effort. I almost feel bad, almost.

Weight: Another thing people immediately notice about the LW16 is how light it is. This particular boat is carbon and at 16' 3" weighs 32 lbs, which is 19 lbs less than my Necky Manitou, and that boat is two feet shorter. I will often go paddling with someone and let them switch over and try my boat for the ride back. They can't believe how stable, responsive and quick to accelerate it is. This will usually mean I'm chasing them home to get my boat back. Perhaps I let them paddle out and I get my boat back for the return trip... I'm also no longer dreading the putting the boat back up on my truck after a paddle. No more shaking arms near the point of exhaustion.

Storage: With most of the boat crafted to be above water, Ted Warren was able to increase the storage area without increasing the boat drag. The only word to describe the amount of space is "cavernous". You simply have to stick your head into one of the compartments to believe it.

Maneuverability: The LW16 tracks quite well with it's skeg down and I find minimal course correction is required to keep the boat in a straight line when there's a strong current. With the skeg up, this boat becomes a highly maneuverable river kayak half it's length. It will literally turn on a dime. Coming from a boat that was lower and slower in the water, I thought this was going to be an issue and again I was proven wrong. This boat turns almost intuitively and rides swells both leading and following extremely well.

Warren Light Craft say that if you buy one of their boats you'll be buying it for life. I couldn't agree more.