Jim,

Nope, no association with the folks at Crow Wing other than being a fellow Minnesotan.

My verbose response is mostly because I've been doing a lot of thinking about what I want in a kayak for a couple of years, but I've not been willing to put down 800-900 dollars to try out something that didn't look quite right for me.

The size, comfort, price, and features sort of came together and I thought I'd give these a try. I haven't been able to paddle them yet because it's a little chilly here. I'm not a yakker so I won't have anything to compare them to, but I don't know that they are very comparable to any other kayak I've seen. I'm sure as others have stated that they're not a speed demon by any means, but if they're reasonably maneuvarable, they should fit my needs.

Hopefully, when spring has sprung, I'll be able to give a full report. Right now mine is sitting in my living room getting rigged with a fishfinder, anchor line, etc.

Off to prepare my ice fishing tackle!

Wade