Profile

I've had my new Walrus Griffin (pro carbon layup) for a few weeks now and I am very impressed with this great boat. I have been looking for a lightweight, responsive, and capable boat to replace my previous boat, a Valley Pintail. The Pintail was great but at close to 60# it was getting hard on my back.

The Griffin weighs about 36# and is solidly built with great workmanship and attention to detail. There's no oil canning in the deck, and the whole boat is very stiff. The hatches are high quality, very dry and easy to get on and off once you know the trick (pretend it's a tupperware lid).

On the water, the boat tracks solidly and haven't needed the skeg in any conditions (beam seas, high winds up to 20 knots, etc.). This is a surprise because I thought that the relatively shorter length would be pushed around a lot. For its length, the Griffin is very fast and its light weight allow it to get up to speed quickly.

I'm 6' and 150# and the cockpit is snug enough that I feel very connected to the boat. The thigh braces are in just the right spot with plenty of padding, the backband is high quality and very adjustable, and the foot pegs are easy to adjust and comfortable. I can still get in butt first and bring my legs in one at a time.

The best part of the Griffin is its responsiveness in the water. It can carve turns faster than any sea kayak I've been in, and is very responsive to leans and paddle strokes. It's also very easy to roll. It has moderate primary stability and fairly secure secondary stability.

Lastly, I can't say enough good things about the customer service that this little company delivers. My boat was a custom order and all of my communications with them were great. They arranged a special drop off time to meet me when I picked up the boat, and have been exceedingly pleasant to deal with throughout the entire transaction. When I had a question about how to adjust the skeg, I got a call right back from the craftsman that actually put my boat together. I recommend them highly!