Wilderness Systems Tarpon 160 Angler Wilderness Systems Tarpon 160 Angler

this is the boat i rate all other performance long boats against. This is a serious boat

Ive had my tarpon over a year now and have enjoyed it greatly.Its fast and handles small creeks to open lakes great. I have not been on salt water as of yet so cant say for surf. I have been on class 2-3 rapids with it and it did great. Its very stable for its speed but from what Ive saw not as stable as some other SOT kayaks but you get that speed . Ive only fell out of it once by accident and that was going off a 3 foot drop off a wall into a river.

To me it has only 2 faults that are not a physics issue . One its a wet ride with any chop on the water for me at 220 pounds which looks to be improved on the 09 model with new seat setup and drain holes. Two a lot of rounded edges and odd unnecessary angles in the foot wells which make it harder to mount fishing gear . It looks like they have improved that on the 09 models but I have not seen it first hand so Im not sure how much improvement .

I highly recommend this kayak if you are looking to go fishing one day and touring the next. Its plenty big for a 3 or more day touring trip while stable enough to fish off of with out worry of taking a swim.
Reviewer: Jason from Southern Va