Tempest Teach Test
Published September 13, 2011 | 
Last Saturday I decided to leave my kayak at home and use one of our student boats, the Tempest 165, to coach the intro to sea kayaking class. One thing I’ve learned over the years is that when you take a kayak out to test paddle, you can sometimes be blinded to certain qualities of the boat simply by over focusing on reviewing the it in the first place. I’m not sure how that happens other than you are somehow out of your normal element when you test paddle and it can change your perceptions. I think that doing something you do all the time in your personal kayak and simply switching boats, then getting on to business can somehow allow certain things to stand out much quicker simply because you’re not really looking for them. So for what it’s worth… Continue reading
Great Students, New Boats, Harsh Winds
Published May 2, 2011 | 
If you’ve got the hutzpa to take a sea kayaking class in Wisconsin in April, you’re probably going to do OK. That’s been my experience every spring when I head down to Rutabaga to teach that first sea kayak course each year. It’s almost always cold and certainly wet. This time it was ridiculously windy as well. I can’t say this is my favorite time of year to teach. We find ourselves working around a lot of interference & distraction that we wouldn’t be facing once the season warms up and the weather settles down. On the upside though, the students that do show up this time of year are particularly keen to “just go for it”. Continue reading
10 (More) Sea Kayaks to Try Before You Buy
Published April 28, 2011 | 
The problem with selecting 10 kayaks for folks to try is that you inherently leave out 400 others. Some readers will think that when you leave something off, it’s a personal slight or that you are being limited or intentionally “bias”. Of course you’re not. The limit is simply in your personal goal and how long you want your list to be. It’s fair to say every paddler in the world will have a different list… With that in mind, here’s another “10 sea kayaks you should try” list from fellow paddle blogger Bryan Hansel. He writes about canoeing and kayaking at Paddlinglight.com. Take it away Bryan!
Posted in Kayaks, Paddling | 
Bryan Hansel, Current Designs, Epic, Necky, QCC, Tiderace, Valley Sea Kayaks, Wilderness SystemsTempestuous – The Tempest 165
Published July 22, 2010 | 
Clothed in new costumes
That weather your new found storms
Staring through reason
Content with your new found decor
– collective soul
I’ve always been conflicted when it comes to companies like Wilderness Systems. I don’t think of them as “sea kayak” companies. They seem to put more weight into their recreational and fishing boats and come to sea kayaking as an afterthought. It’s hard to imagine the company that makes the infamous Pungo could produce a decent sea kayak. Still there have been a lot of good things said about the Tempest since it came out. Given that, and that I had Cindy Scherrer (partner of co-designer Steve Scherrer) paddling right beside me while I was out test paddling boats in Grand Marais, it seems like as good a time as any to take one for a spin. 
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