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Review Detail

 
Tempest 170 Pro
Boats & Boards
Overall rating 
 
4.3
Design 
 
5.0
Perfomance 
 
5.0
Quality 
 
3.0
Value / Money 
 
4.0

I bought this boat from Frontenac Outfitters in Sydenham On.

I liked how it handles and it looks very nice I’m not sure if this comes in Kevlar as I have the F.G. version

First thing I noticed is the seat and hip pads, it was very comfortable and it turns with very little edging which makes me look better than I really am.

I tried it out at the store’s location and decided to buy it after seeing multiple reviews and contacting the company itself ( confluence ) for clarifications as I heard the skeg box leaked and the seat rivets punctured some hulls. This was on earlier versions I was assured and the new models did not suffer from the problems listed earlier.

I took it home and tried it out for about 2 hours just getting the feel and was very pleased as I did not feel any discomfort ( usually my back starts to ache after 1 hour but not in this baby )

I then took it out bringing along my GPS to see what kind of speed I would get.
Neglecting to set the units to Meters I ended up getting measurements in Miles instead.
Against the current and wind at Shirley’s bay I managed to bring it up to 5.2 Miles/hr on a sprint.
I turned around when I reached the 3 mile point and then managed 6.2 miles/hr on a sprint (mind you it was for a very limited time)
That’s 9.8 km/hr on a sprint, I was very impressed.
Overall I managed a 3.3 Miles/hr speed ( 5.3 KM/hr ) and did 6.1 miles in about 1 HR. 45min. and that includes the breaks I took adjusting the seat and foot pegs.

Love how the boat handles , can definitely live with the speed, really love the comfort.

However having said all this I must say this kayak feels fragile. And for some reason the right side where the bulkhead separating the aft and day hatch developed what I call a pimple. Looking inside I noticed that there seems to be a thinner layer of fibreglass in that exact spot. It seems to be only cosmetic but this is a $3,200.00 + craft and you would expect a little better. As well I noticed the hull seems a little deformed near the skeg on the same side. I didn’t bang it on a rock of that I’m very sure. Even so why would a kayak develop a pimple pushing towards the outside of the hull???

So I’m giving it a 3 on Quality and a 4 on value because as I said it feels a little fragile.
Apparently this years model is lighter, so I have to assume they reduced the amount of F.G. used.

Still a nice kayak and still handles very well but I will contact confluence and see what the recommend for that pimple. Although it’s barely noticeable it still bothers me.

CarzyKayakingCrow ( Misspelled Crazy lol )

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