Testing the Wilderness Systems Tempest 165 again. Gotta love it!

Would someone please tell me why the Wilderness Systems Tempest 165 is not in my fleet . . . yet?

I tested it again. I seem to test this kayak every year without fail, and select it on trips with outfitters if they've got one in their fleet and I didn't bring along one of my kayaks. I just like to paddle and play with it.

This time I finally got to try a WS Tempest 165 Pro in fiberglass and in a nice flashy red!

Sweet! This 16'6", 21.5 inch wide, 49 lbs., sea kayak (with a skeg) is so easy to love and a good benchmark kayak to use to compare with other sea kayaks in a similar category.

I'll show you a Cowboy Scramble up this kayak in wind and waves in an upcoming post. Here it is posted June 19: Cowboy Scramble up the awesome Wilderness Systems Tempest 165 Pro

Then, we can start to compare Cowboy Scrambles up different sea kayaks. A hint: It's really easy in the WS Tempest 165 kayak. At least for me. It surprised me.

I hope to have a Wilderness Systems 165 sea kayak in my fleet sometime soon. In plastic or fiberglass. It's not a speed demon, or as playful as some sea kayaks, but it's a good quality, reliable boat, and nice to edge.

Happy boat trials! There are lots more I would like to try, some too far away to find. Tis the season. Pick a windy, wavy day to test a kayak! See which kayak you want to be in.

For me, it's still the Maelstrom Vital 166 and Boreal Baffin which I already own. A Nigel Dennis Romany S if I could find one around here. And I could easily add the WS Tempest 165. It fits my 5'6", 125 lb. frame perfectly. For larger paddlers, there's a 170 and 180.

Testing Wilderness Systems Tempest 165 with a made-in-Maine, USA Greenland paddle

Why didn't I buy it first?

The Wilderness Systems Tempest 165 wasn't as playful, or as fast as my other two sea kayaks, the Baffin and Vital 166. I went for playful and reliable.

But I still love the Tempest 165. A great kayak. Let's just hang out together for a good long while until they close the beach!

What, you want specs and infinite details? They're all in my head. Visit Wilderness Systems for that and hop into a boat . . . soon!

The BaffinPaddler

Credits:

• Photos courtesy of Jeremy Cherpit
• Thanks to Ottawa Paddle Shack for letting me test the beautiful fibreglass Wilderness Systems Tempest 165 Pro