Submitted: 07-12-2004 by Terry
Into our third season with our Sandpipers. Both my wife and I are delighted with these well-designed, nimble kayaks. We were initially attracted by the light weight(38#), large cockpit, excellent lines and spiffy finish. We paddle regularly with a group using mostly high end touring kayaks, and we have no trouble keeping up with the pack--and we can outmaneuver them any time we poke into narrow estuaries and rivers.
I'd suggest the Sandpiper to anyone looking for a highly stable, easily paddled and carried boat. Although we do alot of loon watching, photography, and poking around shores and islands, we've been in two foot chops on large lakes. In those circumstances, an Eddyline skirt (about $70) is a very good idea. One shortcoming which can be remedied: Our boats came with no bulkheads or watertight compartments. When capsized in a self-rescue drill, they became submarines and couldn't be pumped dry enough to permit re-entry after capsizing. Fortunately, we found adding four bags in a split configuration (available from NRS) completely remedied this problem. The bags are unobtrusive and add no weight. |