Editor's note: Perhaps one of the more confounding experiences one can get when shopping for a different boat (or, heaven forbid, your first boat) is the wide range of different information you'll get from different people about the same boat/paddle/whatever.  Whom to believe, and why?

Consider that people are different, have different objectives and goals, different skill levels, and a host of other variables that are different- meaning that you should use information obtained from other peoples' experience with this in mind.

I have noticed a lot of questions, following reviews of boats. People who have the same, or exact opposite experience with a product. Are all the boats different from one another? Are the manufacturer specs wrong? Am I simply different to the person making the review? All these are possible to an extent (especially rotomolding kayaks which ALL differ a little).

However, I think all too often TOO much emphasis is put onto the printed manufacturer specs (which at best are a guess/combination of what the "average" paddler of "average" size will on "average" do in "average" conditions with "average" flows, and coming out of the "average" sized boat of last year with "average" ability, and "average" experience in trying different boats, with the "average" size of this model that comes out of rotomolding).

As boats get smaller and more specialised, so the smallest little differences are noticed. Corsica S at Perception used to vary up to 4- 5 inches in length depending on its colour and season it was molded and whether it was one of the first boats out the mold. Big deal. The boat is so huge that it made no difference anyway. A Disco that varies 4 inches in length is a big deal! That's not really possible, as the smaller the boats get, so the less the range of difference is, but a first Disco molded in summer could be up to 2 inches shorter than one molded in Winter recently. This is a strict rule that applies to ALL boats that are rotomolded from ALL companies regardless of plastic used. But these differences are less noticeable than the human factor.

Actually, what it means is that people differ a lot in paddling style and interpretation, and this affects why and how the recommend a kayak.

Again, my favorite tale...

A 220 lbs guy (or 210 - I forget) that is about 6'2" gets into the Dom 47 and says, "Man, this is comfortable". He had a Squirt boat before that. Then a 5'4" 115 lbs girl gets into the 47 too and complains - "Man its so small and uncomfortable". She had a Response (or a Peidra) before. Well - COMPARED to their last boat, it DID feel this way to each of them.

OK, this is an extreme difference, but the point remains the same. So in reading posts from people, you need to ask yourself:

1.What is he comparing this to?
2.What is his definition of comfort - relative to mine?
3.What kind of paddling does he enjoy, and am I similar?
4.Is this person pre-disposed to be overly pro- or ani - this companies products to begin with?
5. Does he paddle the same kinds of river as I do?
6. Are we the same size, weight, build?

All these factors make such a huge difference when reviewing a product. Just because person "A" was comfortable (and is the EXACT same size as you, and likes doing the same things) does not mean you'll be comfortable, and vice versa.

When posting reviews, try to include this information, and when reading reviews, try to use this information to see whether it's relevant to you.

Food for thought.

Corran