Wilderness Systems

Arrived on time but missing parts. Wildy rectified the problem right away. Paddles great, love the rudder. Much faster than my 12.5' tsunami with same good stability and way more storage for camping trips. Was a bit hesitant at first but since I've paddled it a few times in calm water, then put it through the ringer on a choppy river for a week long kayak camping trip with no issues, I'm happy with my purchase. One concern I had was the seat design, but it just takes time to get it dialed in, then an eight hour paddle is fairly painless!

I haven’t taken it out yet. So I can’t comment on its performance. I noticed it doesn’t have the hip pads that come standard on the more expensive Tempest model, nor does it come with some bells and whistles standard on shorter versions of the same tsunami brand, like a sacrificial strip for dragging the kayak that is on the tsunami 125 or some deck pouches on the 145. Which is reasonable given the equal pricing for all models within the tsunami family. Nevertheless, the absence of the hip pads seems like an obvious deficiency. It can be remedied by purchasing them from wilderness systems website. Still a negative in my view, as I view it not particularly seaworthy without the pads. It’s a big wide cockpit.Wilderness systems doesn’t provide detailed directions about how to install the rudder or other things that may be nice to know. Some videos online that I think are actually produced by the company show you how to install the rudder, but leave out basics like how the washers go on. One WS show person putting two washers on the bottom nut, I assume to take account of the boat curvature. I assume the top bolt within the bracket gets no washer. Another video doesn’t mention the washers at all.. I only received one washer and the company is sending me a replacement. I anssume only one. No washer on top, two washers on bottomI am waiting for reply from WS about the washer placement. Just emailed yesterday. I am pointing out that instructions and clear instructional videos are lacking, as is also pointed out by others online. YouTubeUpdate: I could not get a straight answer from manufacturers about how the rudder washers go. I still need to know how the washers go. Two on top hole, zero or one on bottom hole?; or one each top and bottom?

Overall 1st impression is that whoever made this doesn’t give a care. Bad packaging that ripped open in transit. Boat arrived worn on the bow tip and stern end w/multiple abrasions & scratches all over. Hatch full of plastic shavings. No paperwork: no manual, no warranty card, or Manufacturer’s Statement of Origin. Missing a rubber washer and a split ring on rudder. Seat very uncomfortable (not the padding but the underneath hard shaped plastic pan). Deck hardware is subpar cheap plastic. Line from rudder to foot pegs is like heavy fishing line (looks like it will break easily). Missing lots of little things in it's designed. This boat is impossible to turn! Sad!

Kayak is stable in the water, comfortable to sit in and fun to take out on the water. The kayak is a bit heavy at 68lbs and some what slow in the water compared to other thinner kayaks. The rotomolded plastic flexes a bit when someone is getting in an out of the cockpit and kayak was missing the 2 bolts to the rudder. I have reached out to the manufacturer and am trying to get the missing bolts.Over all it's a decent kayak, even for beginners, and worth the money

Just finished my first race in this kayak and it performed well and has nice legroom for a larger paddler. The rudder performed better than I have experience with other kayaks. I will replace the back band with a real seat back for better support in the 50+ mile trips. Disappointed in the quality control/inspection process, small fit/finish messy glue, nut and plastic shavings stuck in the glue and a 4" gouge/scrape along the nose of the kayak. The damage wasn't shipping it was under the undamaged cardboard wrap.