Reviewer Profile: 5'11" 170 lbs. Size 10.5 feet. I've been kayaking for almost two years and this is my second boat. Its a huge improvement coming from an RPM! The EZG 50 has allowed me to become a much better kayaker; both river running and beginning playboating.

Review: This boat is very forgiving, very fun, and easy to roll. It handles the rapids very well and is fun and easy to surf on small to large waves and holes. Its fun to throw around in the flat water as well. I am still working on getting my first vertical moves and spins, but it has done me very well thus far and things feel like they will be easy. The boat has incredible primary stability, but really responds when you put in on edge. I would recommend it to anyone that is just starting out, it will ease the learning curve; but many advanceed boaters really love the EZG for riverplay. I don't expect to need another playboat or riverrunner anytime soon, and if this one wears out, I'd probably get another one! I've been using it on all sorts of runs throughout Utah and Idaho from ELF creeky stuff to the big waters of Cataract canyon. It performed well on cat, on huge wave trains I never felt like I was going to flip and it handled the surging eddies wonderfully. The occasional hole would munch me but I'd roll right up... didn't swim once! Caught some great waves, too.

Pros: Just feels right on the water. Very stable and forgiving. Handles very well, peel-outs and eddy turns are awesome when you put it on edge. Handles all sorts of features well, and allows you to experiment with different play moves. Surfs anything. FAT outfitting is all you'll ever need-- once you figure it out, its very comfortable-- no numbness at all! Wavesport has great customer service and warranty if you buy new.

Cons: Took me a while to get the outfitting set just right, but then again, I've had to learn the hard way what is right and what is wrong for me since I virtually started out in this boat. I am 5'11", size 10.5 feet, and i had to seriously trim down the foam foot block bulkhead into a triangle to get my feet comfortable. Because the footblock is a foam block that you can trim or add included pieces to in order to find your fit, its not an easy boat to switch between different sized people unless you make or get footblocks for each. Drainplug stripped out early on (partially my fault), but the boat is easy to pick up and drain through the huge hole in the middle after a swim ;). So I glued the plug in and now the boat is completely watertight.

Comfort: Comfortable! Easy to adjust everything (except footblock) until you get it just right. Nice back band. Great thigh hooks. Perfect hip pads. Comes with lots of foam shims to adjust things.

Bottom Line:

First time on the water; surfing, spinning, and cartwheeling at the local play spot; day-tripping ; or multi-day raft support trips-- the EZG does it all and makes it fun! While you won't see very many rodeo clowns or crazy creekers in it, it does what its designed for (to be the best river running play boat out there and maximize your FUN) very well and has not disappointed me.