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I've had my Wondervest for a full season now and it's wonderful! I can get a snug fit and not feel squished. It stays put all day and is very comfortable. I can unzip a little for ventilation and the straps keep everything secure. Good flotation in the feet first swimmers position. It doesn't get in my way when paddling and is fairly easy to get in and out of.

I would give it a 10, but the adjustment straps take a bit longer to mess with than my older Extrasport. However, the Astral stays in place and I can breathe when it's snug. The Extrasport crushed me and still rode up.

If you're a big lady, you'll breathe easy with the Astral Wondervest. :)

My hubby and I bought our Penobscot 16 used from some folks who rode it hard over major rocks. Since it came with some scrapes, we didn't feel bad about dragging over rocks occasionally. I even scooted it thru gravel areas in low water on our local river. The only marks added were a few light surface scratches that will disappear with an application of 303 Protectant. We have also run thru Class I rock gardens in low water with no damage. This isn't due to great skill; my husband and I are advanced beginners to intermediate.

The boat is stable, light, keeps up with everybody in the flats, tracks well, turns much better than we expected, and hauls a lot. I was very pleased with the responsiveness.(kept saying "I love this boat!") A light touch and a little lean gets you a good result. We had less than a canoe length between rocks and little water to work with and the boat handled easily and kept us dry. The biggest standing wave train was 18"-20"(not very big), so we'll heed the cautions about big waves.

We noticed that wind affects tracking, but after shifting the load a bit we had no problems. Some of the rivers we paddle get strong,sustained crosswinds(25-30mph)so all of the boats were affected.(Except for our friends' Smokercraft which is solid as a waterbuffalo and just as heavy)

I am pleasantly surprised by the versatility and feel of the boat. Royalex is lovely stuff. We haven't been careful, but you can't tell by looking. A really nice canoe!