Walden Vista

Review of the Walden Vista.

Walden categorizes the Vista as a "light touring" kayak rather than a recreational kayak, but this seemed like the best place to put a review of it as I see it as a beginner boat.

The Vista is 12'6" long, 24" wide and 41 lb. It is a very reasonably priced beginner boat at $546.

My Vista has done everything I wanted it to do. It is easy to cartop by myself (I'm 5'5" and 50 years old without all that much upper body strength), has good initial stability and very respectable secondary. I have never felt in danger of tipping while out on the water, even in the choppiest conditions I've encountered. In fact, it's been downright fun on occasion. It has a nice balance between tracking and maneuverability, but is stronger on tracking. You can lean it easily to assist in turning. I've had it on rivers but wouldn't recommend it for anything but a fairly lazy river. It isn't maneuverable enough to make quick adjustments in current. I've taken it mostly on lakes but have also had it in ocean sounds. Only in the worst winds have I wished for a rudder; most of the time it does not need it.

It's biggest shortcoming is pretty severe weathercocking. This has come in handy, however, when riding wind driven waves along a lakeshore as the bow keeps turning into the wind and prevents you from crashing right into the shore.

I use airbags in both the bow and stern since it does not have bulkheads. The Expedition version comes with a bulkhead. It has some deck rigging and decent adjustable footpads. The seat has given me some problems with foot numbness, even with some extra padding.

It isn't the fastest kayak, but it moves pretty well. I have been extremely pleased with it as a first boat.