Rob, I've had a WS Tempest Pro 170 (kevlar) for about 2 years. I'm very happy with it. It's my second sea kayak, the one I "moved up" to after several years of paddling and considerable research. It edges, turns, and rolls very nicely, and is just plain fun to paddle. I give Wilderness Systems a "10" for the design, comfort, and handling of the Tempest. Quality control, however, was definitely an issue with Tempests a couple of years ago when I bought mine. I took the first new Tempest I bought back to the dealer the next day because it had a leak around the skeg housing. I swapped that boat (fiberglass) for the kevlar demo I have now. It's been fine, and I have no compaints. As for the hatch problems that some Tempests have had in the past, I think Axel's right: the problems have been mainly with the plastic boats, not with the composite models. I have the old hatches on my boat, and don't find them to be much of a problem. After some rolling practice, I typically will have a few drops of water in the forward compartment, none in the small mid-ship compartment, and a cup or two in the aft.

Remember, my boat is several years old: Wilderness Systems may well have fixed any hatch problems or other quality-control issues. In the meantime, I'm quite happy with my Tempest.