Wilderness Systems Zephyr 160 Touring Sea Kayak with TruTrak Skeg

Great performance in a Brit style hull. Fast and sleet, plays in the surf great, yet room for lots of gear. The internal skeg box does inhibit the storage of longer items in the rear hatch but still plenty of room. And did I mention how playful this kayak is?!?! Love it! I'd give it more stars if you'd let me!

Finding boats that fit me is a bit of job, given that I am 6'3" and 250 lbs. Cockpits are often too tight or leg room is too short. That's what first drew me to the Zephyr 160 - I actually fit in it fairly comfortably. I could use another half inch in the foot pegs but it's close enough. The seat and the thigh braces are fine and there seems to be plenty of room for my size 11 feet. I like the outfitting...the elastic bungies are carried up the front deck quite a distance, which works for me as I use a Greenland style paddle with a very low stroke and I like to have the front deck completely clear in my paddling box. That means anything on the front deck needs to be way up front. The whole boat seems to work very well with my low angle stroke...the front deck is not too high and there is nothing to catch my fingers on as I paddle. The skeg control is recessed out of the way. Paddling the boat is a blast! It has amazing stability but turns very easily with only a bit of edging. I have had it out in some pretty brisk conditions now and have never needed the skeg. It's nice to have it for when I'm working the camera though. It seems to track a bit better than my Sirocco yet is easier to turn too. A bit of a paradox...I don't know how they did it. Rolling the boat is very easy, with the low back deck and the secure thigh braces. I haven't done a lot of rolling with it, due to a back problem I'm dealing with right now, but the few times I have I have been very favorably impressed.

After what seemed like endless test paddles I finally purchased a Zephyr 160 in the spring of 09... And I could not be more pleased with the boat!!! As a retired WW paddler of 20 years (shoulder injury/surgery) I like rougher conditions... And the Zephyr fits the bill perfectly. I paddle an average of 3 days a week on the Chesapeake Bay; at times in 4 foot swells and breaking waves and it handles great. This boat loves rough water. At 16 ft and lots of rocker it is very nimble with only slight edging. It also responds almost instinctively to light corrective sweeps/strokes. I also agree with the previous poster who stated despite being so nimble it is also quite stable, yet also tracks very well.... Even in rough water I have yet to drop the skeg. The Zephyr rolls very easily as well and is moderately fast. I've paddled faster boats but have no trouble keeping up with composite boats in the groups I paddle with.

I've had my Zephyr for a couple months now. Paddles great, very comfortable cockpit. There's not a lot of 16' kayaks out there that will fit larger paddlers. This was the best of the choices in my opinion.