Gear Review: Wilderness Systems Zephyr 16

--Product Information--
Product Name: Zephyr 16.0
Product Brand: Wilderness systems
Best Use: Sea kayaking & kayak touring
Sizes Available / Specs: 15.5 16.0

--Test Information--
Location of Test: Willamette River, Scappoose, Columbia River, and Oregon Coast.
Duration: 6 months

--Ratings--
Value Rating: 9
Durability Rating: 9
Overall Rating: 9

Full Review: The Wilderness Systems Zephyr is a boat designed to be both at home on a long kayak touring trip, as well as rock garden or surfing. With substantially more rocker then the Tempest, the Zephyr picks up quite easily as well as breaking over oncoming obstacles with relative ease. Combined with a similar speedy hull design and very comfortable seating, the Zephyr is another high-performance boat from Wilderness Systems that meets all expectations.

This boat is just fun. It catches waves with ease and carves like a dream. Like most Wilderness Systems boats, the half-size denotes a larger cockpit space, so if you're worried about the fit, you may want to go with the 15.5.

Cargo capacity isn't shunted it all by the differences in length. We took both boats out for a three-day tour in a walker and were pleasantly surprised with their ability to pack in everything we needed. The Zephyr also comes complete with the drop-down scared for those moments when you need to go straight instead of just play around.

If you're searching for boat to do more playing and more touring, the Zephyr is a good option. Excels in the fun zone as well as in being relatively comfortable and speed and ease of paddling to the Tempest.

"The Good" List: Lots of rocker. Surfs well. Paddles easily.

"The Not so Good List": Not a beginners boat. Tippie. Tight cockpit if sized wrong.

The Bottom Line: A great boat for the paddler looking for performance in rock gardens and coastal touring.