Old Town  Vapor 10XT Kayak

This is my first Kayak ever. The Vapor 10XT is really easy to get in and get out. The first time I took it out, I paddled for about 3 hours in a local reservoir. it handled great. It's very stable, easy to turn and tracks straight. Within 5 minutes of paddling I was very comfortable and relaxed in it. The seat is very comfy too. Easy to adjust the back and the foot rest. I was able to adjust both seat and foot rest while in the water. The back compartment is pretty big and it's secured by a bungee cord. It can easily hold several drinks, food, fruits, fishing gear or even a 8 lbs bass. You can easily access the back compartment while you are in the water. There is also a small room behind your seat for a small/medium dry bag. The built-in Paddle holder is very nice. and it comes very handy when you want to just float on the water leaving your hands free to eat, fish , take pictures or whatever you want to do. I'm very happy with my purchase. The only reason why I didn't give the Vapor 10XT 5 stars was because it's VERY heavy. It feels like it weights 55 lbs and after 3 hours of paddling it feels even heavier. One more thing. There are other colors available for this Kayak but REI only list the LIME as the only option. What's up with that REI?!?! You should give us more color options.

I purchased two Old Town Vapor 10XT kayaks. We selected the Vapors because my 6' tall son could fit comfortably in the 10' boat. Many 10' kayaks do not have sufficient leg room for long-legged paddlers, making it necessary to move up to a 12' boat. We were looking for something with a little storage room - in-between strictly recreational and light touring. We loved the Vapor's hinged storage compartment, which is easily reachable while paddling. The hatch is molded into the top of the boat, meaning it is a separate well, not just a hole to the inside of the boat. Unless the kayak capsizes, the stuff in the hatch will not come in contact with the water. Most of the hatches we saw were only openings to the floor of the boat and they could not be opened and closed while paddling. The Vapor's hatch makes a great cooler if you're taking lunch out on the boat. We throw a square blue ice pack in the bottom, throw our packed lunches on top in zip-lock bags and we're good to go! A word of warning...buy LONG paddles with this boat. Not only is it a typically wide recreational boat (28.5"), it's fairly tall in the front. I bought two 220cm paddles and regretted it. We kept bumping the sides of the boat while paddling. I've since bought longer paddles. We'll use the 220cc's as back-up paddles. The pointed keel, while making the boat much taller in the front, does allow it to really slice through the water. This provides truer tracking. The cockpits are more open than we're used to. If you like a very open cockpit, you'll love this boat. We're used to a more enclosed cockpit, so these will take a little adjusting to. The seat is very comfortable. I did purchase an extra seat cushion, but haven't felt the need to use it yet, even on trips as long as five hours. The basic model has a lesser seat. It was worth it to us to upgrade to the XT model to get the better seat and hinged hatch. The paddle rests are terrific. I like to take photos while paddling and it's great to have a place to quickly rest the paddles to get the shot. The foot pegs adjust easily and have sufficient settings for the tallest of paddlers. The carry handles are great for attaching the bow and stern lines when the kayaks are in the roof carrier, but we found them rough on the hands when carrying the boat. I wish they were padded or made of a softer plastic. I can't imagine carrying my IPod or GPS out in my kayak, but we found the bungie supplied for this purpose to be very useful. I've clipped my keys there and attached the bilge pump to the loop. You could also attach your paddle leash there. I'm sure we'll discover even more uses as we take the boats out more. The thigh pads are great, but really tall paddlers may not benefit because their legs are likely to hit too far forward. If that's a major issue, the XT comes in a 12' size. It wasn't a big deal to us. Color selection is limited on this model. We ended up with two lime green boats. We like the color (don't see too many lime green kayaks out there), but it would have been nice to get two different colors. We just didn't like the other colors available. For the money, these are great boats. We've always rented Old Town Otters, so had in mind that Old Town made durable boats. If they can stand up to beginners in rivers, hitting rocks and getting caught in downed trees, they must be mighty forgiving! At 48 pounds, my 16-year-old son and I can load and unload the kayaks from the roof of my SUV. We've taken the boats in lakes, harbors and out on the open bay, and they performed well in all three. We'll be doing some river kayaking in a couple of weeks and I expect the 10' size will maneuver really well in the fast moving water. We're very pleased with our purchase and recommend the boats.