Wilderness Systems Tarpon 120 Angler

I have the 12' model which I felt was necessary to also take this kayak into saltwater. It is full of features such as large storage in the front and 6" storage near the seat. Very comfortable and redesigned seat and with a track system in place for accessories like fish finders. Very stable platform and very well built with the angler in mind.

At first glance you can see the attention to detail and functionality. Very thoughtfully laid out with the angler in mind with a large console for adding such things as a fish finder, GPS, or compass. With the layout and accessory areas it is very user friendly and puts everything within arms reach.

As stated there is plenty of storage space in the hatches with a very large hatch in the front of the bow and a smaller one in front of the seat for smaller items plus with the large recessed rear deck with bungee straps there is added room which with all the space for storage you can easily do a week camping/float trip. There are a lot of things on this kayak out of the box, but not so much that you can't customize it to you own personal taste.

This kayak is very well constructed. It's like a Timex watch, it "Takes a licking and Keeps on Ticking" or floating in this case. It has four carry handles. One on the bow and stern and one on either side so can be carried any number of ways and also provides numerous tie down spots. The kayak is fairly lightweight but because of the length, makes it very cumbersome for one person to carry but, it can be done.

The WS Tarpon 120 has seen many river trips in high and low water conditions where it has scraped against rock and only accrued very minimal scratches to the underside. It has also seen some class 1 and 2 rapids and handled well, handles a little slow so you have to position ahead. Tracks true and the addition of a rudder would help tremendously.

All in all, the WS Tarpon 120 is well thought out with good layout, very stable, and extremely durable. 

The most important issue being the watertight storage, it's sadly not water tight and leaks like a sieve. Mine was purchased at Up & Under, UK, and manufactured under license by Palm Europe International.

It was returned twice because of the bad leak and a full refund issued. No replacement offered as there is a mould (mold) issue and the 120 will always leak. If it was not for the leak it would have scored highly, but a boat that leaks is not much use.

Background

Used several kayaks.

Great kayak for fishing calm waters. Not so great for choppy or sea water due to the leaking hatches and hatch design. This makes the kayak unseaworthy for longer trips.