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Name: valsdad
Most Recent Reviews
The Stellar SILV is sleek, fast and beautiful. Took it on its maiden voyage, a 20-mile upstream paddle on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. The boat performed beautifully. It tracks well without the skeg, When the wind kicked up, I deployed the skeg slider only an inch and the SILV ran unwaveringly straight. For my 165 pounds, the cockpit is a snug but not uncomfortable fit. Attention to construction detail is superb. At 43 pounds (Advantage layup) the SILV is easy on the back and shoulders when loading out.
If there’s a better kayak out there for running creeks and small streams than Eddyline's Sky 10, I’d like to know about it. Some adjectives I’d apply to the Sky 10: light (32 pounds), nimble, tough, responsive, even comfortable. The Sky tracks remarkably well and is surprisingly fast for a 10-foot boat with a 26-inch beam. For two years now I’ve paddled this little boat over all manner of stumps, fallen trees and through virtually impassable backwaters. I have a roll of Gorilla tape in one of my drybags for the inevitable puncture or crack that has yet to come. Did I say “tough” already? My boat has thigh braces, which I really like. Not sure if they are still available, but Eddyline would do well to make them standard. My other creek boat, the Eddyline Rio, is more svelte with its 24-inch beam and lower deck (for low volume paddlers) and faster with its 11’9” length, but it’s not nearly as maneuverable, stable or comfortable as the Sky 10.
Love the Rio.
Most of my paddling is on small rivers and creeks filled with obstructions that were tearing up my composite boat (CD Vision 130), so I began looking for a lightweight thermoformed boat. The Rio is perfect for my needs. It is lightweight (35 lbs., according to Eddyline), nimble, quick and tracks beautifully. I’m 5’10” and 160 lbs. with a 29-inch inseam, and the boat fits me perfectly. If you’re much larger — definitely, if you have a longer inseam — this might not be the boat for you. Like all Eddyline boats I’ve seen, the finish and fit of the Rio are beautiful.
Updated review
If you take the seat out of the equation, this is a great little kayak. It’s fast, maneuverable and lightweight. Though it has a rounded hull, it tracks surprisingly well. For four or five months I’ve paddled the creeks and rivers of Mississippi, and while it's been a lot of fun, the Vision 130 has suffered a lot of abuse from submerged logs and stumps. The carbon/Kevlar layup is not meant for such. I’m 5’10, 160 pounds and this boat is a perfect fit.
The outfitting in my boat is poorly configured: the ratcheting for the back band is in an awkward place, and unless it’s adjusted to certain setting, your leg rubs against it. The padding on the backrest is not secured well and detaches easily. Judging from the serial number, this boat was manufactured in 2013. Maybe CD has made improvements by now.
Current Designs does a good job with cargo storage, though I wish they had used a different deck bungee system, one that goes around hooks and is easily rearranged; these are held in place with posts attached to the boat with Phillips-head screws. Otherwise I'm well pleased.