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I recently paddled the new Current Designs Prana on the Mississippi River. The wind was blowing between 10-15 miles per hour, with an occasional gust of maybe 20 MPH.

When I was paddling upstream, the water was very choppy due to the winds. Without the skeg dropped, the boat had a bit of a hard time tracking straight through the chop but as soon as I dropped the skeg, the boat tracked like a charm. With the skeg down, the boat sliced through the water rather than bobbing up on top of it.

The fore deck seems higher, comparatively speaking, to most boats in the 16-17 feet range. My initial concern with a high fore deck was that the Prana might weathercock more than other kayaks. It did seem to turn a bit into the wind without the skeg down but with the skeg in the water, the boat paddled straight. The slightly higher fore deck was great for legroom. My feet and legs were happy with the extra room. My guess is that this boat would accommodate paddlers in sizes ranging from a smaller paddler (e.g., 5'3" and 100 pounds) to a larger paddler (e.g., 6'1" and 180-190 pounds). The aft deck is nice and low and would be advantageous in rolling. Three of the four hatches are well placed. The fore deck day hatch is a great place to store your sunscreen or snacks. The larger fore and aft deck hatches are good sized for a smaller sea kayak and could hold several days worth of gear. The aft deck day hatch is somewhat problematic; it's located in the middle of the boat and while I can imagine some people being able to turn around to access it, I found it uncomfortable to reach while paddling. To be fair, however, I can't imagine locating it in any other spot except the middle - the boat is just too narrow to place it on one side or the other. The deck rigging is typical and does the job of holding things like maps, a bilge pump, or an extra paddle. The fore deck has attractive and very functional defined angles instead of a more typical rounded fore deck; it resembles the shoulders of a tumblehome canoe. Since I tend to enjoy more of a high angle paddle stroke than a low angle paddle stroke, I found that the defined angles really accommodated my paddling technique.

The Prana reminds me of the Current Designs Suka; it's similar in shape and function but it's a slightly longer boat with lots of nice features, including a spot for your favorite aftermarket compass. Overall, I like the Prana a lot. It's a fun, agile, stable, and responsive boat with good primary and secondary stability. It's an ideal kayak for day paddling, 1-3 night adventures, and surfing. I think it will be appreciated in calm rivers, on flat water, and in the ocean. I'd love to test paddle it on the west coast; I think the Prana would be fun to paddle in and out of the surf zone, in rock gardens, and over kelp beds.