journal k ayaker’s
ANOTHER HAPPY TEMPEST PADDLER. PHOTO: VIRGINIA MARSHALL
INSIDE OUT BY VIRGINIA MARSHALL The Tempest 165 BY WILDERNESS SYSTEMS
A couple of years ago, I spent an entire day at a well-known kayak shop helping a friend (okay, fine, my mom) demo boats. She was a relatively new but already talented paddler—her inaugu- ral trip the summer previous was a multi-day on Newfoundland’s exposed Atlantic coast— who wanted her first kayak to feel lively without being a lot of work, and to inspire confidence now without restricting her down the road. Like most experienced paddlers, I advocate
trying as many boats as possible before settling on a soul mate (no, Mom, I don’t offer the same advice for relationships). On the wind-riffled lake at the kayak shop, we paddled every avail- able style on the racks. We made a list of the attributes she liked:
adjustable seat, neutral leg position, effortless tracking, predictable stability and solid foot pegs. Then we listed the ones she wasn’t so keen on: large back rests, fiddly skeg controls, pocket- sized hatches, neoprene hatch covers and what I call “play bias”—boats with more rocker that are fun on a wave but less efficient for touring. I wasn’t surprised by her final choice: a Tem-
pest 165, the smallest member in Wilderness Systems’ venerable trio of skeg touring kayaks. Adventure Kayak reviewed the then brand new Tempest 170 Pro almost a decade ago (Early Summer 2003,
www.adventurekayak. com/0067) and in the years since the series has earned a reputation as some of the most capa-
30 ADVENTURE KAYAK | SUMMER/FALL 2012
ble expedition kayaks on the market. Kip Keen and Zac Crouse paddled Tempests 2,400 ki- lometers around Newfoundland in 2006, and Crouse chose the same boat for his 2011 Pad- dle to the Ocean expedition beginning on the Ottawa River’s class IV rapids. In 10 years, the design has remained un-
changed, save a few minor outfitting updates like Wilderness Systems’ domed, water-shed- ding hatch covers. Proof that there’s no sense in changing something that works…and damn- ing evidence that Wildy’s R&D team spends more time paddling boats than shaping them. Cruising speed, tracking and storage capacity
are all exactly what you’d expect from a depend- able expedition kayak. But even more impressive is the plush, armchair-comfortable cockpit out- fitting. I’m typically a minimalist when it comes to outfitting—just give me a piece of foam to shape and I’m set—but my mom was smitten with the Tempest’s cushy seat, tilting leg sup- port, adjustable hip pads and contoured thigh brace pads that install right where you need them. After a long day in the saddle, it’s hard to argue with this level of off-the-rack comfort. With a decade on the water and no signs of
showing its age, the Tempest has earned a berth among the classics of kayak design. If you’re not convinced by staying power, consider this: we wouldn’t recommend a boat to our moms that we wouldn’t recommend to everyone.
DEEP POCKETS Tripping for two weeks on Lake Superior’s remote Pukaskwa coast alongside Mom in my low volume Brit boat, we both appreciated the gen- erous storage capacity of her deep hatches (well, perhaps I appreciated it more than she).
SADDLE ENVY Wilderness Systems was the first manufacturer to install whitewater- style outfitting in the cockpit of a sea kayak, and it works.
HULLUVA GOOD TIME Hard chines and a shallow V hull pro- vide superb stability whether floating in a marsh with your SLR and birding lens, or carving an edge on a wave.
WILDERNESS SYSTEMS TEMPEST 165 Length ........................... 16 ft 6 in Width ............................. 21.5 in Weight ........................... 55 lbs Price ...............................$1,599 US/CDN
www.wildernesssystems.com
PHOTOS: VIRGINIA MARSHALL
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