I have been paddlinga feathercraft kahuna (25" wide, 14.9 ft) foldable kayak
and now looking to get a new hardshell boat for open ocean expedition touring.

I am 5"8 tall and weight 162 lbs, with inseam of 30.5 inches. I am looking for
the following 2004 boats as possible purchase this summer.

1) Perception 17 eclipse : too big for me ?? too much volume ??

2) Perception 16.5 shadow : too small for me ?? why is the deck height only 10"
in height ?? do i have to stretch my feet straight ??

3) Dagger Halifax 17 : too big for me ?? too wide ? width 23.5 ?

4) Dagger Exodus 16.5 : weird design ?? suppose to be for a little surf play
but its still 23.5 in width ??

Unfortunately i do not have a mean to demo these boats personally before the
purchase. Whatis the weight range for the boats ?? I wish it was as easy as
whitewater boats where the manufacturer display the weight chart for their
boats.

In the past, I have paddled the wilderness systems cape horn 17 before and
found it quite spacious in the cockpit, very easy to get in and out.

HELP !!!!

On 25-Apr-2004, (Dxmetal2003) wrote:

1) Perception 17 eclipse :
2) Perception 16.5 shadow :

Neither of these kayaks performs well in rough conditions and wind.
My SO unloaded her Shadow and got a Solstice GTS.

I con't comment on Dagger products - the only Dagger I ever got in
was an Ocoee and that's not even a kayak (some would say it's not
a proper canoe either :-)

Unfortunately i do not have a mean to demo these boats personally
before the purchase.

Then you're taking a big risk. I would never buy a kayak based on a
recommendation - especially one from the Internet. Would you buy
hiking boots based on opinions without ever trying them on?

Mike

"Michael Daly" wrote in
:

On 25-Apr-2004, (Dxmetal2003) wrote:

1) Perception 17 eclipse : 2) Perception 16.5 shadow :

Neither of these kayaks performs well in rough conditions and wind.
My SO unloaded her Shadow and got a Solstice GTS.

I haven't paddled any of those in rough conditions but rented a Shadow for a
weekend. I'm about the same size as Dxmetal2003 and the Shadow fit me
*much* better than the Eclipse

I con't comment on Dagger products - the only Dagger I ever got in
was an Ocoee and that's not even a kayak (some would say it's not
a proper canoe either :-)

Unfortunately i do not have a mean to demo these boats personally
before the purchase.

Then you're taking a big risk. I would never buy a kayak based on a
recommendation - especially one from the Internet. Would you buy
hiking boots based on opinions without ever trying them on?

What I have to wonder is if he doesn't have the means to demo those boats
personally why limit the choices to Dagger and Perception.

On 26-Apr-2004, John Fereira wrote:

What I have to wonder is if he doesn't have the means to demo those boats
personally why limit the choices to Dagger and Perception.

Good question. Of all sea kayak manufacturers, those are two of the least
impressive.

Mike