A Delta Kayaks Buyers Guide

[@derekhanson9915]

Best review on Deltas! Gentlemen you know your stuff here and your opinion is valued. My wife and I have Delta 15.5 GT’s. A lime green and the wonderful dark blue gem colors. Outstanding hull and deck shape for excellent primary stability and great second stability. It does not want to rollover. The seat is second to none in the kayak industry for comfort and ease of adjustment. Fits small to large paddlers all very good. The rudder is perfect and smooth and really doesn’t need it deployed much but it is always ready. Camping gear hauling is huge. Large opening hatches. Best thermoform kayak on the market IMO.

[@susannecrowther14]

Loved this thorough review, thank you!

[@barry4fish19]

Zack thanks for this video, the best summary of these wonderful boats, I have test paddled most of them. I own the 14 and 16 with skeg only, saves a couple pounds. If a person is good at using edge turns and paddle strokes to maneuver, no rudder is really needed for most conditions. I think the seat is among most comfortable in the industry, and nice to have fore and aft adjustment. I did add the hip pad kit to both of mine, at 5’11 and 210, the thinnest pad in the kit was just right for me (holes at seat sides are pre-drilled for the kit). Press-lock hatches work very well if you keep them lubricated with Armor-All (Delta says don’t use 303). These kayaks hold more gear for multi-day trips than many of the others. After owning these kayaks for a few years, my biggest complaint is the pad-eyes they use to support front and rear carry handles - they are made of plastic, and even though they have not broken or come loose, they are not large enough in size to tie bow and stern lines easily when car-topping. They need to make those eyes bigger. Glad to have the locking bar too, that’s a nice addition. The other thing that Delta needs, is to bring back that popular mango color. Also, great ordering experience too, here in the central US, no Delta dealers close by (except REI where you can’t choose the model and color you want) but just order them in late summer or early fall and the dealers can get them for you by spring - your shop may get them faster since you’re in Canada where they are made. Fun to paddle and own, for sure!

[@johnandrews3568]

My wife and I got our D16 and D17 from you guys in 2020 and we love the boats. Everything you say, Zach and more. Fabulous performance and quality construction AND they're Canadian made! Highly recommended and Frontenac was a dream to deal with too. Thanks guys.

[@bonpecheur4565]

Best all around reviews on KZbin for Delta's kayak ! As a beginner I would surely buy the 15.5 as I do a lot of camping and dont have the space for a longer boat. I manage to go camping on the light side with my Wilderness Tarpon 100 ( that I use most of all for fishing ) but find it wayyyy to slow ... Thanks for the review

[@gradyrm237]

Great review. You're curved shaft paddle caught my eye. I have CT in both hands. I use a straight shaft with a light grip which helps but I still get sore over distance. Do the curve shafts work or is it just a gimmick?

[@williamclark3712]

Found the hip pads kept coming unglued and sliding around in hot weather. Used double sided gorilla tape and that fixed them in place. The 17 swallows a lot of gear but small items can get stuck up in the bow. Started tying strings to the smaller items to pull them out.

[@JonPaddles]

It's a rare day I find myself using the skeg of my Delta 17. 💯 on everything including the kitchen sink for it swallowing gear for a trip.