Surge UL Tourer 13R (Boreal Designs Halo 13) I purchased the Halo 13 Kayak to replace my Tsunami 120. I have been paddling my Tsunami for 3 years and the Halo now for 2 months. The Tsunami was a little too small for me and did not have a rudder. I would get very sore feet in the Tsunami after about an hour of paddling and any wind conditions over 15 km/h made tracking quite difficult and tended to cause fatigue. Also the Tsunami 120 was around 25kg and did become difficult to carry and load on my own after an afternoon of paddling. The Halo 13 has more than adequate space in the cockpit and I no longer have issues with my feet. I am able to place items in the cockpit and retrieve them quite easily. This was not possible in the Tsunami. I have paddled the Halo with the rudder engaged and not engaged. In light winds up to 10km/h the Halo can be paddled and maintain on tracking, but nowhere near as well as the Tsunami. Anything over 10km/k winds make the Halo quite difficult to keep on track. The Tsunami tracking is far more superior. However with the rudder engaged the Halo tracks fantastically, even in 30km/h winds. I have heard of some having issues with the rudder control system. I can’t understand how you could have issues with this system unless it is incorrectly setup. I find it simple and responsive to use and easy to get back into a straight tracking line. The boat does sit fairly high in the water compared to the Tsunami, probably the reason wind does impact its tracking more. The Halo has excellent stability, both initial and secondary. It is easy to get in and out of in shore launches and isn’t knocked around by waves. In fact it handles surprisingly well in wavy conditions. The Halo isn’t considerably faster than the Tsunami (I average around 8min/km in the Halo and 9min/km in the Tsunami) although I am still improving my technique in the Halo. The seat is comfortable and has taken a little time to get into the right position for me, at first I was getting sore back and hamstrings after about 45mins in the boat. I have now adjusted the seat and am out to around 2 hours without too much problems. The Halo is slightly longer and narrower than the Tsunami but offers far greater space. It is light enough for me to handle myself easily and I don’t need any help loading or unloading the boat off my car. The day hatch is excellently places and the hatches are easily opened and closed if using the suggested technique. In all a fantastic boat to paddle, comfortable, tracks great (with the rudder) and looks smokin hot (I do get comments on how good the yak looks and how it must be very expensive). I would definitely recommend this kayak to new and intermediate kayakers and would give it 5 stars if it was a little cheaper.
