Hi, I was just wondering if anyone has a Riot Stealth and what their opinions were. I think it would suit my needs well and I have tried it out at one demo day but this would be my first kayak. I am looking for something to use on rivers and smaller lakes. Something that is fairly manuverable and could handle some rapids…class 1 -2.
Thanks
Kirsten
Hi Kirsten
When I first read that you wanted to use the Stealth on small rivers and lakes And THEN on class 1 and 2 rapids, my first instinct was to say don’t get it! BUT, that was because I thought ALL of Riot’s boats were serious whitewater boats. So I found their website and checked out the Stealth: http://www.riotkayaks.com/kayaks/control/stealth.asp
It’s short, but designed to be a sort of go-between for a rec boat and a mild whitewater boat, so I think you’d be fine to use it as you suggest.
My only question would be to seriously figure out how much whitewater you are truly going to do vs. how much flatwater. Access to each environment can severely affect this. If you have to drive 4 hours to get to it, how often will you really do it? That kind of thing.
Also, will you be paddling either with other people? If you have friends who paddle flatwater, and they have flatwater boats, you’ll likely wear yourself out just trying to keep up with them. Nothing against the Stealth but as flatwater boats go it’s a short boat, and with its touring kayak styled hull, the water line on it is even shorter. (Just something to think about before your big purchase.) Good luck, have fun, and keep the open side up!!
Tracy
If it fits…
My high school age son picked a Stealth as his kayak for almost exactly the conditions you describe. He is 5’ 7” and 135 pds. He has been paddling his own boat on unsupported kayak camping trips (mostly on the Buffalo river) since he was seven. His whitewater boat is a Pyrana Sub 7, and he can handle Class III rapids.
We wanted a boat (one boat) that could be used for week long camping trips or hope for rain, stash the gear in a hotel, and have fun on the Upper Buffalo until the water goes down.
So far he has had it out on local lakes, rivers, and creeks. He has a rudder, uses it like a skeg, and it works great on the lake. Most of the time he doesn’t use the rudder. The wacky keel does seem to handle tracking in a straight line, but the boat has plenty of rocker at the beam so will turn easily when put on edge. It also handled well on moving water (when we had moving water) although we only have one small drop at an old dam to practice around obstructions near here.
He bought the cheaper/older/identical except for the name plates Sun Flight version that the dealer had left over (If your near here they still have at least one). The Sun version must have been used on Pimp my Boat- It has every gadget and rigging thingy you can think off. Some things are not really good for River running- grab lines on recessed holders all around the deck. But others are well thought out- under deck netting right in front of the cockpit, and three recessed drain plugs.
He loves the boat and handles it like one of his play boats.
If life were only that simple:
He was growing like a weed when we bought the boat. We quickly ran out of room on the adjustment for the food pegs. It turned out that when they were installed at the factory if they were turned around in the sliders there would be 3 more inches of foot space with the same amount of travel before hitting the front bulkhead. That took an entire afternoon to take them apart and reassemble them correctly. I could talk someone through it on the phone.
I also moved the seat back another inch (did I mention that the seat back adjustment mechanism is junk- I’ll fix it by replacing it with a NRS strap and buckle). When working on the seat I added more foam to the seat back- under the cover- very easy and on the fiberglass seat under the thin cushion. Moving the seat required four new holes in the hull- again this was easy.
The drain plugs on the watertight compartments should have been a warning. The existing cover hatch seals were useless. The first time he used the boat it had so much water we were laughing. Luckily Riot sells neoprene covers that fit under the original hard covers – we got them for $7 – maybe the dealer felt sorry for us.
If he keeps his as he gets older – I’m 5’ 10” and now it can fit me – I have to buy another for his younger brother. I hope they still have the Pimp my Boat Model!
Stealth
The story is that Riot used to be owned by a company that ALSO owned a kayak maker called Sun Kayaks. The stealth is the Sun Flight. Great boat…Sun also made a boat called the Velocity-the higher volume version of the flight…
Awesome boats!!!
enjoy them…
i happen to have a velocity for sale if you need one…
rob