Riot

While I rate this SOT at only a 7, that should not be interpreted as a bad thing. I've had a Riot for 8 years and will not sell it or otherwise get rid of it. Reason? Versatility.

It's a little chunky and not particularly fast in flat water but tracks well. It does just fine in fast-running rivers. In fact, it shines in class I to class III. Stable and sure through fairly rough stuff. It's a so-so surfer but not really made specifically for this purpose. I found it seemed to easily pull too hard to one side or the other when going down a wave face. It was a little hard to keep it carving exactly where you want it to go. The result of this was that you would drop in and go but easily get parallel to the wave - and over you go! Maybe I just need more practice. (But I NEVER have this problem surfing my Dimension Systems Spirit 3.1). But an all-around good boat that can do everything - but with some limitations. A keeper, though!

The Wilderness Systems Riot is a nice utility kayak. It tracks reasonably well and has pretty good speed and handling. I borrowed one from a friend to try out and liked it well enough that I tried to find a used one. Unfortunately there weren't any for sale in my area, so I ended up buying a new Bic Sport Bilbao instead (a really fun boat!). Despite not buying one myself, I'd still recommend it to anyone looking for a small kayak.

I bought this boat new 7 years ago -- it was discontinued a few years back. Too bad, because it is an excellent small (9.5') kayak. It is the boat my children learned to paddle on. We've had it on lakes, rivers, ocean surf, and have never been disappointed. Now remember, it is a small boat, so it would not be an efficient choice for a long paddle. But it is an excellent surfer and is as sturdy and attractive as they come. Has much more rocker than other small boats that are less versatile. Turns well, has a useful small tankwell, nice little storage hatch, very comfortable seating. Light and easy to carry. Wilderness Systems quality -- excellent fixtures, solid as a rock, and still looks good years later. My daughter, who is now off to college, won't let me sell it - she and her buds still like to toss it into the van on occasion for an afternoon of easy paddling....

I bought this little boat a year ago now after spending a pleasant half-hour explaining to another kayak customer that he would really rather have a "real" kayak. He had rented a sit-on-top in Florida; I had already bought four kayaks of various purposes, then I had two thoughts: one, that a s-o-t is not really a kayak, but our plastic civilization's version of a dugout canoe; two, that a little s-o-t would be great fun for exploring swampy cypress holes and tiny creeks during warm weather. So, because I already had one andy singer boat that I really liked, I bought a riot (it was also cheap). I was soon hooked, finding that it was great for just drifting and reading on quite lakes, and that with a wetsuit it was fine for winter, too. Not fast, but nimble and in an odd way elegant. Not much material for such fun. (I'm always surprised that non-paddlers seeing me in my little Riot seem to think that it's made for speed). The downside for me has been primarily that the storage space is designed for a small cooler, so my dry bags and thermos don't fit perfectly.

The Riot is a fine sit-on-top boat for casual flatwater cruising, wave surfing, and fishing. It is small and light (40 lbs.) so I can easily load it in my powerboat and haul it to shallow parts of a nearby lake for flat fishing. I'm still negotiating with my wife on whether I can leave it tied to the top of a car for use on a river at lunchhour. It tracks well despite its small size and handles this 200 lb., 53 year old male without effort (i.e., lots of manueverability without the feeling I'll be dumped) even when leaning out to untangle fishing line from waterplants or low hanging bushes. Although it has a slightly elevated seat platform, I noticed no real loss of stability from sitting up an inch or two higher than I would in most other sit-on-top cruisers, and the benefit (a slightly drier posterior on cool days) is a real plus. The Riot comes in some reasonable colors as well as the outrageous Easter Egg green/blue/yellow I got (which "they" call maize and sapphire), which powerboat friends of mine say is quite visible to them on foggy mornings!

It's retail cost is about $450, and it comes with premounted handles, accessory clips for a seat (or whitewater legstraps), and an 8(?) inch dry hatch as well as a behind-the-seat depression with straps for securing gear. I bought the optional ballistic cloth seat but use it only when I'm going to spend hours paddling or sitting. I have legstraps on my Perception Torrent (Andes) (AKA the BananaBoat) but I've never felt like I needed them on the Riot even on busy boating weekends when the wake waves are pretty intense (and can even be surfed a little). I'm very pleased with my purchase and the low impact exercise I'm getting while just fooling around on the water. Any drawbacks? Yeah. I like it so much I already upgraded my paddle and am starting to add extreme weather clothes to my paddling outfits so I can extend the season. This doesn't leave much room for watching extreme weather clothes to my paddling outfits so I can extend the season. This doesn't leave much room for watching daytime TV on weekends. Why 9 instead of 10? Nobody's perfect, and there might be a better boat for what I want than the Riot, but I haven't sat in it yet.