Profile

To start with I'm 5'8" 175 lbs. Been paddling about 12 years. I've been through about 40 sea kayaks in that time. Most of my paddling is in open water. I like at least 4 ft. choppy trashy water or nice big rollers coming in for surfing.
I found the Elias on craigslist and though I would give it a try.
I liked the outfitting and I took it out on a 3 ft. trashy day with very unorganized wave action. Found out right away it handled the conditions very easily. Rolled it a few times and it took a good effort to get back on top of it. It was a little tuff to time a wave for surfing with it and the stern would catch making it want to broach.

Now the rest of the story:
I took it out on a beautiful little north Georgia lake and that is where this boat should live. It is an extremely smooth ride, responses perfectly to a slight paddle initiated edge turn, and with a bow rudder will spin on a dime. Carving turns are just as effective. It handles like a 12 kayak but you have the cruise of an almost 16 ft. boat. Secondary stability is STRONG...
So, I'll give this boat a "10" for what it is, a great flatwater kayak that will handle anything mother nature can through at you.