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Took the new Swifty out for the first time on the Chattahoochee river in NE Georgia. The river section we did ranged from still water to Class 3. I'm very pleased with the performance of the yak, though there are a couple of areas that could be better.

First, the good things. It was very easy to get to and into the water. The weight is good and the molded in handles are great. The stability seems to be good, though the Class 3 areas were a bit of a challenge (actually flipped on one). It seemed to track well across the full range of water types we experienced. After 4 hours in the water, the seat still felt pretty comfortable.

Now the downside. The seat back is not fixed by anything other than the adjustment strap. The bottom of the back fits into a slot. It popped out of the slot several times on the trip. It would be much better if it was on a pivoting shaft like I've seen on many others. There are no pads on the cockpit sides and the outside of my knees were a bit sore by the end of the day. Nothing a pool noodle and some adhesive won't fix. It could use a little foam in the bow to keep it up when it's capsized. Again, pool noodle to the rescue. The foam in the stern worked fine.

For me, the positives greatly outweigh the negatives in the Swifty. I expect to have many great hours in it.