Has anyone paddled one or both of these kayaks? Any thoughts on either of these would be appreciated.
T170
I have never paddled the CD but have tons of seat time in the T170. Great boat, lot’s of discussion on this board and reviews on the 170 over the years (search). There are a bunch of boats in this class so you have to paddle them for fit, feel, and purpose. Pretty broad question without knowing your size, experience, paddling goals . . .
agree
You’ll get more useful responses if you offer more specifics about yourself, your paddling experience, and your goals.
That said, the Tempest boats are good general-use designs. If you’re considering a 170, I’d recommend that you also try a 165. For some people the 170 can end up being a biggish boat, and I think they might do better in a 165. (I’m 6’, and 180 pounds, and I prefer the 165.)
There have been some boats built with less-than-perfect hatch designs. The rear hatch on some boats is far too easy to dislodge, and the hatches on SOME plastic boats that I’ve seen are leaky to such an extent that they’re not sea worthy in my opinion. This is not a universal problem, just something to be on the look-out for when shopping for WS boats.
I’d buy whichever one
YOU like best after testing both in the conditions you’ll use the craft. You’ll know.
Based on my experience
You didn’t ask really specific questions so all I can say is if you are like me the WS boat will be 100 times more comfortable than the CD boat at the end of the day.
I hear that newed cd models do not have the torture device they call a seat and that they have gotten better, but I have yet to sit in a newer one. I removed the seat from my CD boat and put in a different seat.