About myself

I have been paddling for about 5 years. I did take two years off in the middle when I only got in a kayak rarely and did an easy run down the river. I started paddling 2-3 times a week in the early part of this season. I work for a shop so have paddled many different boats back to back

About the test environment

Chilliwack River Lower run. One section of class three followed by mostly class two with a couple tricky 3ish eddies.

Review

First of all I must say that the Mission is not a bad boat. I did not find anything really wrong with the boat just not to my particular tastes. I really like the bow, the fact that it did not pearl in a wave. I did find the tail to be a bit grabby. I noticed on a few occasions that the grabbiness of the tail caught me off guard and I was upside down in a section that I have paddled about 30+ times this year. The boat was an easy roller. I popped up with very little effort on my part. I generally still miss a roll here and there but I found that I hit it first try every try.

My biggest beef with the boat is the outfitting. We have lost the foam blocks for the Mission at the shop so I just scabbed some loose foam together which sucked. I can only assume that the proper foam kit would work well. I do not like the thigh braces on the boat. I had not under leg support offered by the boat and not foam for my knees as they jammed up into the cockpit rim. I also find the thigh braces a bitch on your shoulder as you carry a boat.

Conclusion

All in all this is a great surfing boat with forgiving bow. I thought that they bow and stern forgiveness were mismatched. I also think that the outfitting could be done better.