Review Detail

The Tegris has an amazing amount of room inside for a 12' kayak, and everything is easily accessible since there are no bulkheads to deal with. Also the light weight and comfortable seat are amazing - this kayak is a pleasure to fish from.

Despite all the advantages, I ended up selling my Tegris after a few weeks for a couple of reasons. First, I found the Tegris too tippy for my 6' 2", 220 pound body, and without any kind of deck the boat can fill with water in an instant if it tips too far. In lakes and ponds I would be okay with this, but I fish in a cold river that has many submerged boulders just below the surface, and I was afraid that I'd catch one while drifting sideways and tip the boat over without warning.

The other major downside is poor tracking - the boat "fish-tails" on every paddle stroke, which combined with its wide hull really slows things down. Again, my height was probably a factor here as I was using a 250 cm paddle. I've read that installing the Native rudder really improves the tracking.

I purchased a Pungo 140, which has proved to be the right boat for me. I miss the light weight and openness of the Tegris, but the Pungo's tracking, speed, and stability more than make up for it.