I'm 5'8" ~165 lbs, been paddling canoe +35 years, and have been in various kayaks past 5 years. The two kayaks in the title are for sale in my area, and will be looking at them in the next week. Main interests are small to large lakes [not necessarily the Great Lakes,,, yet ] and some non-white water [love white water, but that is a different animal, different kayak, another day], some camping and photography. Overall, which one of these would you recommend, and why? Thanks!

I think you do realize these two boats are quite different and some folks might think the QCC at 18 feet might be a little large for a person of your size. I don't think that is necessarily so.

The QCC will be a bit faster of the two if that is important to you. You didn't mention whether the Wilderness boat was plastic, or composite. In any case, it is prudent to examine both boats very carefully to be sure they are staight, sound and not damaged.

Assuming both boats are in very good condition and even if the Tempest is composite, if it were me, I would probably choose the QCC. On the other hand, I probably wouldn't limit myself to just those two choices.

If it is at all possible, it certainly would be prudent to try the boats out. On the other hand, it is not possible to really assess any given boat in a limited trial. It might be helpful to go to paddling.net and read some of the revues of these boats.

Thanks magooch… have indeed read the reviews on paddling.net and some other places too. The WS is, per the advert, plastic version… and asking price is $900, brand new, "never in water", lists at $1600. The QCC owner is asking $1300, "gently used, just a few scratches"… lists at ~$2300. Going to see / paddle the QCC tomorrow after work. Nope, not limiting myself to either of these, but they are first quality decent models I've seen for sale in this area.

Oops, I used the wrong "review/revue" in my above post, but on the other hand, some of those reviews on paddling.net can be a bit whimsical.

Good deal on that test paddle of the QCC. If you haven't paddled a boat of that length before, don't be discouraged with the handling. It will naturally be a bit different than shorter boats, but in no time you will learn the techniques to bring her about and I guarantee it will make you a better paddler for any length of boat.

I've never even touched a QCC Kayak of any model(they aren't very prominent here on the left coast), but they look like very nice boats and for $1300 for the 700 it sounds like a great buy. Does anything come with the boat?

My guess is that test paddling the QCC will spoil you for the plastic Tempest, but I guess that depends on your priorities.