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Great carbon paddle, with solid company behind them, good for custom sizing, easy to deal with. Good price point on a solid no frills paddle, that the company stands behind. They did a wonderful job fixing up the ferrule and blade of another paddle that I have from them, over 15 years old, and now looks like new for good cost on it.

Great Product, lives up to its billing. Yes, a bit pricey, but really a big step up from what I have used before. Pumped super clean water from what looked like pond scum, and never lost pressure either. No chemical taste, etc. Extended our ability to paddle further on a recent sea kayaking trip knowing we had greater water flexibility, even with a group of 10.

This is a great kayak for a specific demographic. It is a real sea kayak that one can really learn properly at the right size. Essentially, it is an adult touring kayak that is proportionally shrunk to fit 8-13 year olds. I guess there are just not enough of us taking our able kids out on small sea kayaking trips, as they stopped making it!!! If you come here, I'd love to know about any replacement options that any one might suggest, as a friend is looking for one, and I'm not selling ours yet...

Sperry has been advertising their new entry into paddling footwear a lot this spring (2011) in a number of kayaking magazine's. Great to see the entrance of them into paddling footwear from more of the technical sailing side (hey, water is water!)

My perspective: I'm a working sea kayak guide in Atlantic Canada, in an area with a heck of a lot of granite and intertidal slippery sea weed areas. I take the choice of my footwear very seriously. My footwear not only keeps me safe, but my guests as well. Confidence in my grip is essential to me doing my job.

So with that, I give these paddling shoes a 9. They are better than most that I have tried, but still do not give me the same 100% confidence that I have with my very old, very glued back together Nike ACG Mid Tokatees (unfortunately, not made anymore!).

That said, the Son-R Buckle is a solid piece of footwear. Well made from what I can tell after initial test run. What I really like is there versatility. This could be one pair of footwear for a summer sea kayak trip. Both good in the boat, then for an adventurous island hike, as they have good support and feel on land and in water. Probably fit about a 1/2 size too big if you are just bare footing in them, but about right if wearing over a bootie or drysuit. The buckle seems solid to me, and think they would not come off at all in whitewater river swim (haven't tried yet though).

I look forward to getting good use out of these, as they are great in the summer, allowing my feet to breathe a little more too. Certainly better grip than any sandal that I have tried around the water, and they fit very well in my kayaks too (touring or ww). My one caveat is on the grip. While quite solid in comparison to many others on the market, I'm still unfulfilled in my ongoing quest to hopefully one day retire my old Tokatee's. (or until Aquaseal can't keep them together any longer....)

A 9 only based on a few paddles so far. I run a small touring company, and always a challenge with kids to find the right boat. I've had numerous kids from 9 to 11 from about 85 to 105 lbs, and this boat was a dream. The kids figured it out themselves, and generally, were faster on the water than most adults I had out that day.

Very stable, well sized, great features. Much like what Eric Jackson has done for kids in whitewater boats, the SP fills an awesome gap. In reference to the seat support, it has the more advanced backband of higher end kayaks vs the high full seat cruiser. Yes, a personal choice, but the outdoor/athletic kids I had just loved it. Can't wait to teach one of them to try a roll in it!

A 2 rating with a caveat.
I actually really like them on dry land, for light hiking, etc, as the support and toe protection are good. That said, I would not recommend them around the water. Working as a sea kayak guide, these sandals are incredibly slippery on wet rocks...where I need to depend on solid footing for me and my guests. These are not intended for this. I wrote Keen on this matter, and never heard back from them either.

I am an outfitter, and had 2 of these boats this summer, and overall, was very pleased with them. I had them out in quite rough water, paddling in it myself with my nephew, and it was a blast. Think I scared the nephew a bit as I really put the boat through the motions in and around the rocks. Very good maneuverability for a double.

The one area that I had a bit of trouble with is that the seats are closer together than some doubles. This really puts the onus on paddlers being in sync with one another. If you can do this, then you will be fine. Could be more of a challenge with taller paddlers, well, paddlers with longer arms. This is going to be a negative with a double that comes in at 16'6".

The other alternative, to allow more paddling arm room is the Carolina Perception Tandem, but then the stern seat is so far back, it rides with the bow way up with different weight paddlers.

The Polarity also shines as a kayak for you and your child! It is very easy to control and paddle the boat from the stern seat no matter what the bow paddler is doing. This, combined with the weight savings of a shorter tandem, make this boat very easy to handle. I can lug it around by myself without too much problem (sure, I do this for a living, but you get the point. There aren't many other doubles that you can put up on a roof rack by yourself if you know what you are doing).

My rating of an 8 is really an average rating for the boat. The rating moves up if you are buying the boat for the right proposes... and down if you know you and your partner cannot paddle in sync! Thought we were going to have one divorce out on the ocean over that one time too!

One of the most stable platforms for sea kayaking out there. A very forgiving boat. Have used it for 2 years in my outfitting fleet, and with probably 1000 paddler trips in them, only 1 accidental tip. That in itself is remarkable with many novice paddlers. It has given me a whole new level of confidence when entering into non-calm sees with newer paddlers. Always smiles when the boat handles the water effortlessly.

On the down side, it's big and heavy, but that gives it stability. Also a small person with short legs might have difficulty operating the foot controls fully for the rudder, as it is a wide boat. You can rig it up to allow a little more slider room if you know what you are doing.