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After several years of looking for the right boat I finally bought a poly tempest. I had paddled most of the other boats in its class and was not thrilled with any of them. When I paddled the tempest for the first time I knew that it was what I was looking for. I paddled it several more times, rented one for the weekend, and then bought one this spring.

With the skeg down it tracks great in all of the conditions I have paddled it(from calm to windy with 2-3 foot waves). With the skeg up it is very nimble for a sea kayak. When you put it on edge it is amazing how sharp of a turn you can make. It rolls easily and has great secondary stability.

The only thing I don't like is, as was mentioned before by another reviewer, the skeg rattles when it is down. This can be fixed in the way he mentioned.

The hatches have to be sealed correctly in order not to leak. Once you get the hang of how to seal them there is no problem. I have rolled 30 or so times in my tempest and have not had any leaking from the hatches. The deck rigging is very good and the seat and brace outfitting is great. It is a fun boat to paddle.

The only reason I did not give it a 10 is that I am saving the 10 for a review on a kevlar tempest (hopefully in a few years.)