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I just purchased this from Ocean State Job Lot in Walpole, NH. I have other Future Beach kayaks and love them so my rating is based on previous experience with other FB yaks as well as the design and layout and quality of the Angler 160. With the same hull design, features, balance and roominess, I just know that this is a five star yak. I didn't need this boat, However, it cost me $450 and came with a $350 Crazy Deal store shopping card. Since I shop regularly at the joblot, I jumped on that offer. I thought I got a bargain when I bought the FB Express 10'4" for net $139. This deal however is almost unbelievable at net $100 and may still be available. I don't fish but I do camp and this boat has the room and can handle the weight. My friend said I could always sell it. Are you kidding I said, I'm going to enjoy it to the max. Thank you Future Beach and Ocean State Job Lot, I don't even look much at other stores or brands of kayaks lately. Two members of my family have received new FB kayaks this year. If they keep having these deals, several more members of my family may be getting boating upgrades.

I have owned two Grumman canoes, both 17 footers. I still have one and my youngest son has the other. One I purchased from the Boy Scouts when they wanted to get new boats and the other I purchased third hand from a man who inherited it from his grandfather. Both were built in the late 40's and both are still going. The one I have is nicknamed "The Rock Cracker" as it has seen extensive white water use and has the damage to prove it. It has uncountable dents and some cracks which have been easy to repair using aluminum auto body repair tape. There are holes where I used epoxy and even duct tape in places where temporary emergency repairs were made and have become more or less permanent. I have tried every other type of canoe in white water and will stick to Grumman because it always comes home with me. I can't say the same for fiberglass(expensive), Polyethylene(heavy), Cedar(very expensive), Birch bark(hard to get) and kevlar(extremely expensive). The aluminum Grumman is the toughest, most durable and easiest to repair. The fiberglass was a good canoe, a little bit lighter maybe but more fragile and difficult to repair. The poly Coleman was heavy and got wrapped around a tree rendering it useless and un-repairable. The birch bark was very pretty as was the cedar stripper but both punctured easily. The kevlar was light weight and tough but also became distorted after slamming sideways into some big rocks. The aluminum is middleweight and roomy and as I said, easy to repair, especially in the field(stream?). It has lived it's entire life outdoors and is a nice shade of green(moss) on the outside and looks old and beat up but so what, it still works and now that I'm 65 years old, I have a lot of experience with it and Class I, II and III whitewater are no problem and we have even tried it in Class IV which was a rough ride but we made it although it was a bit scary and I would recommend flotation bags for the real rough stuff as the canoe can become unresponsive if enough water gets in. I can still get it on the roof of my van by myself by inverting it and lifting one end and placing it up over the rear rack cross bar and then lifting the other end and sliding it up onto the other cross bar. The big roomy canoe that holds the two of us and our three dogs plus cooler only weighs 75 lbs. and that's not bad at all compared to some.

Kudos Grumman for making WWII aircraft that brought my father and uncle back from the war safely and then building boats that had the same strength and integrity that they and I and my children and grandchildren have been using with much enjoyment and safety. These boats are definitely a 10+ in my book.