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Well, initially I was impressed with the array of features on this kayak. Nice handles, drains, two hatches, fishing pole holders. However the first thing I noticed was that the area of the rear hatch (which was supposed to be sealed) wasn't sealed; the foam had loosened and was no longer watertight. I was willing to overlook this because I thought I had gotten a pretty good deal on it.

I noticed the boat was VERY stable. I could aid my steering by leaning which was nice. However I was frequently struggling to keep up with the pack, because this thing is SLOW. A friend had the shorter 126 which seemed much faster. I noticed that the drain seal had cracked (cheap plastic) and was mildly upset about that but not enough to return it. For $350 I had something that I enjoyed kayaking in, so I felt that was reasonable and the cracked drain really didn't inhibit its function.

While paddling hard downstream one of the foot pegs snapped off. That was it. The final straw, paddling 5 miles home with only one foot peg, I knew I was taking it back. When I returned it the store manager said that every one he had sold came back because the rear hatch seal was broke. He said that the company was in Canada and that they were aware of the issue and weren't willing to do anything about it. The store manager was completely pleasant and willing to take it back.

So now I'm shopping again and leaning toward a Wilderness Systems Tsunami 140...more money, but reliability is worth something, especially when on the water or in the wild.