Review Detail

Diesel 70

Boats & Boards

April 23, 2012

amphibient
Top 50 Reviewer
View all my reviews (2)

Overall rating

4.8

Design

5.0

Perfomance

4.0

Quality

5.0

Value / Money

5.0

Smooth in flatwater, comfy waiting outside a shore break, stable, smooth surfing. If you own this boat and haven't paddled it in ocean surf, you're missing out on a lot of fun.

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About Me

I'll paddle anywhere the water is clean - and hopefully warm.

Pros / The Good

This is a river-runner. I live in South Florida - not many rivers here that are distinguishable from canals. So I've had this in a pool session - super comfy, super smooth, easy to roll (I also paddle a Fluid Element, Wavesport Project X 56, Jackson Fun series, and whatever else I can get my hands on). So - I took this out in some nice little 4-6' surf.

While this isn't necessarily as agile on an ocean wave like the Fluid Element or other surf boats, this thing is smooth and I consider it the 'long board' of surf kayaks. Super stable, very predictable, and at speed is a lot of fun.

The bulkhead adjustment is awesome (coming from a surf kayaking background), and WaveSport's outfitting is great as usual (I haven't experienced the cracking that I've heard reported...

I love this boat.

Cons / The Bad

This kayak is heavier than others you'll frequently see in the surf - and is a little less agile. but - it's a tradeoff... long board-type surfing vs. short board-type surfing. so not too bad.

Recommend

Yes

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Written by redoil
June 13, 2012

I'M LOOKING AT ONE OF THESE BUT I'M CONCERNED ABOUT WEIGHT CLASS. I AM 180 LBS NOT SURE IF I NEED TO GO THE DIESEL 80 OR NOT....ANY THOUGHTS? THANK YOU!

In reply to an earlier comment

Written by amphibient
August 14, 2012

Hey - sorry for the delay in my reply. I'm 6' 172 lbs and have plenty of room in the Diesel 70. Also - in both fresh and salt water, plenty of buoyancy. I tend to prefer a more precise-fitting boat. I've paddled the Diesel 70 with an extra 25 lbs in it and it still paddled/felt great. If you want a bigger boat with room for tons of stuff, you might want to consider the 80, but unless you pack a lot of stuff I don't see any need for it. Even with the extra 25 lbs I was hauling this boat still surfed like a dream, better actually in 6-8' seas.

So - at 180, I'd guess the 70 would be a good fit.

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