I am looking at possibly buying a Hurricane Tampicao135L or 140L. Does anyone one have any advice or concernes about these 2 kayaks.
I plan to use this kayak(s) to paddle on rivers,lakes, and stay fairly close to shore. I do not have any intentions of going on any long sea faring excursions,other than to camp for a few days at a time.
Any input would be appreciated
Thanks,
Kirk
Can’t say too much but
my wife has had the Tampico 135L for the past year and loves it. Tracks well and is relatively quick for a 13.5 foot kayak. Friends have borrowed it and loved it. It has been used in Long Island Sound easily negotiating 2 foot swells. It looks great for 1/2 the price of a composite. I would not hesitate to recommend to a friend.
Cheers
I have the Tampico 135L…
Love it. Tracks like it has a skeg, fit and finish is great. Trylon plastic is ‘scary’ at first…looks easy to scratch…turns out to be really tough. I’d buy another or move up to the Tracer. I’ve paddled with the rep and he’s a good guy too.
My only dislikes…the seat back. It’s big, adjustable, but really too big for my liking. My personal preference is a smaller back band.
And weight…the advertised weight was 43lbs. and mine tipped the scales at 50. The manufacturer said it was because of the new seat.
I’m 5’10" and 180lb.
I have owned
a Hurricane Tracer for several years. I like the company. If you call them chances are one of the owners will answer the phone. They seem to be very good people who stand behind the product. Very good customer service.
Dave
Tampico 135S
my first real kayak in 2006. It’s the lil bro to the Tampico 135L. Paddled the L as well but, like you, didn’t like the clunky seat, and the deck rose a little too high for my liking (but I’m a small person - so the S is sized right for me). Longer legged or bigger folk will probably go for the L. It now comes in 13.5 feet and the new 14 foot version (new last year).
Thoroughly enjoyed learning all kinds of skills on this kayak. Have a 16 ft British seakayak and the Tampico can do anything that kayak can do, except really big rough stuff (Great Lakes getting nasty, etc).
Thanks to the hull design the Tampico at 13.5 feet has more wetted surface and is actually faster than my seakayak. Can easily keep up with longer boats and not wear myself out either. And at 42 lbs…
For your purposes, I believe the main diffs between the S and L are:
The S has a good backband, the L has the bargebutt seat with the high back. High back can get in the way of full torso rotation while paddling and can hinder re-entry.
Your dealer may be able to swap seats out for you.
or you can get a good aftermarket backband.
Second diff is the L has full perimeter lines and the S 3/4 perimeter. That is an advantage in the L for rescue or training situations - more to hang onto.
Third: Versions of the L do not have thigh braces. At least the ones I’ve seen do not. All versions of the S do.
For me, I’d never buy a kayak without thigh braces, due to the control advantages and skill advancing abilities, but that is my preference.
You can always build out some thigh braces on your Tampico L if it does not already come equipped.
Love the boat, paddles like an arrow, light to carry, stable but not boring, manoeuvers so easy, can be rolled because it has low decks relative to other rec/touring kayaks and real thigh braces. Wonderful boat for placid lakes, calm rivers and nearcoastal exploration. I’ve had it in 2 foot waves no problems. I do paddle skirted.
Finish is beautiful after 1.5 seasons and I use my Tampico a lot. Hatches are tight, bulkheads secure, and everything just fits nicely. The fit and finish are just superb. My pretty boat gets many compliments on and off the water. Many think it is a new fiberglass.
Hurricane AquaSports delivers REAL customer service, unlike many of the big companies.
Real people, many of whom are devoted paddlers, answer the phone and emails.
Hurricane rocks, you’re onto a winner.
Note: I’m not affiliated with nor employed by the company, (designer/outfitter/whatever) nor am I in any aspect of the paddling business, just a happy customer.
135L Thigh braces…
not needed on my 135L. The thing rolls by just thinking about it and Hurricane sent me a stack of adhesive foam pads for building up thigh braces…free.
I didn’t mess with it. My knees/thighs grip the side fine if I want, so I wouldn’t call that a detractor.
Yes, it does keep up with longer boats, for sure.
wife has 135s & I have 135L
I agree w/most of the posts provided to the OP on this. One thing I do want to mention however is that camping out of it for a few days may be difficult. I could see 2 days of gear being stowed. Not all that much room although the 135L had nice large hatch covers, while the 135s has a very small cover in back (@ least on the 05’ models).
Thanks
Thanks for ALL your input. I have learned a lot.
I’d like to try a Tampico 135s and a
Tracer sometime.
trying 'em out
Yanoer, come up to SE Michigan in the area of
Jackson (middle of southern tier of the state).
Bruce Clevenger at Quiet World Sports can help you demo both of them. His own instructor’s boat is a Tracer and he has both Tracers and Tampicos (S&L) in the school’s instructional fleet. He has extensive experience with Hurricanes and direct contact with their factory. He also has over 20 years of paddling experience.
Quiet World Sports has been listed with other places of instruction on this website. Or just google and contact them. Their website already has class dates up for April and May.
You can try them in the context of one of the QW classes or maybe on a weekend just paddling on one of the inland lakes there.
Or you can just get up here and try the Tampico S I own. We can paddle one of the moderately active lakes around Ann Arbor.