Wilderness Systems Tempest 170 Kayak with Skeg

Comments about Wilderness Systems Tempest 170 Kayak with Skeg:

I've been paddling personally and professionally for 14 years. Me, 6ft,#185 and have paddled throughout Alaska, the West Coast and San Juans and Mexico. Owner of a dozen boats. Some are faster, some are lighter, but as far as your "one boat quiver", it's hard to beat. Rolls easy and is a great guide boat. The cockpit is amazing. Tight hatches, the skeg is a little loud deployed but with some soft velcro, it shores it up tight. The Tempest is VERY responsive in the coastle rock gardens and excels in tights confusing waters. Again, there's better boats for distance touring, but for rough water weekends, go anywear days, you can't beat this boat for the price!-Peace!

Comments about Wilderness Systems Tempest 170 Kayak with Skeg:

I use this boat in Alaskan ocean and lakes for day trips and camping trips. It is comfortable to sit in and has a decent backrest and seat. It tracks reasonably well and is pretty stable. It is easy to reenter in a self rescue and easy to roll.
But, the polyethelene is extremely soft and is not durable at all. The hull fells like a flimsy tupper ware container. I can imagine it folding around a rock with very little pressure. Any contact with sharp rocks or bolts will gouge pieces of plastic right out of the hull. Even smooth rocks cause abrasion and leave fuzzy dangling pieces of plastic which slow the boat down considerably.
The rear of the cockpit is much too far behind the seat backrest making it difficult to reach and attach the sprayskirt in back.
The hatch covers are so loose and leaky that they will just fall off if hit by a wave- so they have to be bungied down.
The skeg cable is prone to kinking if you hit the bottom with the skeg leaving it unusable.
The keel line on my boat came with a slight bend in the rear 12 inches- doesn't seem to affect tracking but is clearly visible and says something about the Quality Control in manufacturing.
Bottom line? If I hadn't gotten this boat on sale I would have taken it back.

Comments about Wilderness Systems Tempest 170 Kayak with Skeg:

This is a great boat for multi-day camping trips on the ocean or on lakes. It can carry a large amount of gear, although the skeg box in the rear compartment takes away some space. The 170 handles the open ocean well and can take some pretty rough weather as long as everything is well packed, waterproofed and balanced. At 17' it's reasonably fast and doesn't weathercock, although in with a stiff breeze you'll need to use the skeg to varying degrees. It's actually fairly stable for a boat with its' beam and you'll find you can lean it way over before it starts to tip, although once it does, it's fairly easy to roll (again, provided you've packed carefully). The hatches are a tad leakey, and it helps to put some elastic shock cord around the groove in the hatches (why Wilderness doesn't provide these, I can't figure out). Once you do that, the boat stays very dry. Overall, this is a great kayak for a paddler that wants a boat that he/she won't outgrow and can handle more challenges as confidence and skill grow.

Comments about Wilderness Systems Tempest 170 Kayak with Skeg:

I have had this boat for more than five years. I got it for Father's Day from my wife and kids not long after they introduced the boat. I had been shopping for a long time and when I first paddled this model, I knew I had found the boat for me. It felt stable, fast and manuverable. I was instantly comfortable in it. There was even enough room for my big feet. I can keep up with anyone I paddle with and I have never fliped it unintentionally.

A few years later my wife also bought this same boat after a long search. She never tryed my boat because she was convinced she could not fit in it because the cockpit is so narrow (I am a bit on the narrow side). It was not until we went to an REI demo day when she relized that if she took the hip pads out she fit fine. I am glad she got this boat because in this one she can keep up with me and my friends. The other boats she was looking at were too slow.

There are some things that are not great on the boat, but overall I like it a lot. The hatch covers on my boat came with bungie cords to help seal them. That works fairly well (until one of my kids lost the one for the rear hatch). My wife's boat did not come with them (cost cutting I guess) and her hatches do leak a lot more than mine when rolling. I should add them to her boat. My skeg gets stuck often. Any gravel seems to get wedged between the skeg and its home and keep it from moving. I find I have to launch backwards to protect the skeg from gravel. The plastic is not as stiff and robust as I would like, but then again I have had no serious problems other than the time the boat oil canned when on the roof of the car in Fresno in summer. It popped back in shape and no permanent damage was done.

I wish I could still say it was the best boat for me, but I made the mistake of paddling the Necky Chatham 17. So it is now the second best boat. Maybe one of my kids will take it over from me and I will have to buy a new boat...

Comments about Wilderness Systems Tempest 170 Kayak with Skeg:

My boat had two defects: the bow was slightly warped leading to a tendency to turn right and the bulkheads leaked. The tendency to stear right was a particular nuisance during outings when I would point the boat to a landmark roughly a mile away and could never sustain a paddling rythem because I had to make take several extra strokes on my right side periodically to correct the bearing. In addition on a particularly stormy day, the bulkheads were not sealed completely and when the boat capsized, all compartments filled with water. One good thing is while capsized, the boat did not sink in a 60 foot deep lake!


I gave the boat a markdown for each of the two defects. Otherwise I loved the boat. I loved the feel in the water and how easily the boat took on 3-4 foot swells. It was easy to paddle at 4 mph without getting tired. The boat is relatively heavy but I knew that going in and learned to balance it on my shoulder without too much trouble. If not for the defects I would still have this boat and would have rated it a five. For these reasons I would recommend this boat to a friend if it where free of defects.

If it wasn't for REI I may have been stuck with a defective boat but they allowed me to return it. I did not realize that REI really does guarentee satisfaction with their products even when its not their fault. I am a lifetime member and will support REI in every way I can. Thanks REI!

Comments about Wilderness Systems Tempest 170 Kayak with Skeg:

This is a great all-around boat with a good balance of stabillity and maneuverability and a user-friendly learning curve. This boat is good for a beginning paddler all the up to the advanced intermediate. It's a bit more than a recreational paddler needs, but a great boat for anyone looking to make long paddles or to paddle for fitness. The boat's weight is good compared to other plastic boats of its size and the hatches provide more than enough room to pack for over a week. It edges easily, is very responsive, and rolls comfortably despite its good stability. The boat had very good maneuverability but has rock-solid tracking with the skeg down. The foot pegs could be set farther forward, but my 6'1" 240 pound frame fits easily into the boat. The only need this craft doesn't fulfill is someone looking for an ultra-fast expediton or low volume boat.

Comments about Wilderness Systems Tempest 170 Kayak with Skeg:

Highly recommended.
Make sure it is not too small for you. I was 225 pounds at some point and the kayak wasn't comfortable. I lost about 15 pounds and it is perfect again.
Tracks perfectly with skeg. Make sure no sand gets into the skeg. Once I put the kayak on the roof of my car upside down and then washed it there with hose. As a result sand got into the skeg line and now skeg moves with difficulty.

Comments about Wilderness Systems Tempest 170 Kayak with Skeg:

Lots of great advice [...]led me to this kayak. Love the look and the size for my large frame. Wish the footrests extended just a little bit more. It is heavy, but not too bad. Great in chop. Terrific storage space and good speed.

Comments about Wilderness Systems Tempest 170 Kayak with Skeg:

I have used this boat on the Inside Passage in Alaska, the San Juans in Washington, and all kids of lakes. I absolutely love this boat. I would buy another one in a heartbeat if I was in the market for another kayak.
I have had no problems whatsoever with leaky hatches like some of the people have commented about.
I adore this boat.

Comments about Wilderness Systems Tempest 170 Kayak with Skeg:

I bought my Tempest 2 years ago, & I absolutely love it. It's only the third kayak i've ever paddled, but I have no regrets with purchasing this boat. The only drawback i've found thus far is with the drop skeg. I've gone on 10 day kayak trips in Ontario, & when packing & un-packing gear sometimes you disslodge the skeg cable. Most of the time you don't realize it until your in the middle of a large body of water. Other than that I think it's a phenomenal boat for the price.
As stated in other reviews the poly version of this boat does accept a lot of abuse which obviously affects tracking. If you want a kayak that is as good in large bodies of water as it is in smaller water, & you still need the storage space & stability, this is your boat. Just go out and paddle it around, you will see what i mean.