Anyone own one of these? Very pricey, but looks like a nice indulgence. Reviews by actual owners are appreciated. I already know that my other option is to carve and fit out myself for much less money.
Yes… I love them…
I have two of them but just the bottom foam. One in a Tern and one in a Tern 14 and I use Snapdragon backbands. In my opinion miles ahead of “the pad”, gives you very good comfort and gets you in control of the boat. I know someone that bought the complete seat and thought he would rather have gotten just the bottom.
If you tell Joe which boat they are for he will shape them to fit the boat then all you do is cut out the slots for the hip braces. I appreciate the fact that they can be easily removed for cleaning.
Thanks
– Last Updated: Sep-02-06 6:09 AM EST –
I have a Tern 17, and that thermarest pad and plastic backband just don't cut it. What advantage does the backband and bottom combo have over the full seat, besides price? Which snap dragon backband do you use in your Tern--the semi-rigid one, or the web strap one?
You won’t believe the difference.
I use the Tern for camping and the full seat back mounts against the rear bulkhead restricting storage space behind the seat but it does look really custom and I wanted more adjustment options. For the same reason I chose the soft band SnapDragon, easier to push out of the way to remove the seat or other items. You can also trim the seat on the sides and rear to allow more cubby holes. In the 14’ I left the seat side to side as I don’t have need for the space but did trim the rear down. Do let Joe trim it to the hull as it makes installation much easier.
If you send me your email I will try to get you some pics…
You can also check on:
www.kayakforum.com
Many builders have ordered Joe’s custom seat. You can raise a question there, and/or use the search option. Everything I have read about the seat has been very positive. May get one some day…
Enjoy…
Bob
Waterbuffy put a Redfish seat in her
artic tern and loves it. I think she cut the sides off.