When looking for an introductory yak a couple years ago, I went with the inexpensive Viper 10.4 thinking it would good enough for calm lake paddling. I now have 4 of them. They are easy to use, very stable. I'm comfortable putting my grandchildren in them to yak as a group. The one thing I would advise is to get a decent paddle. The snap together ones that come with the kayaks are not the best and only have one adjustment.
