# Ascend D10T and FS12 review 4-14-13



## Boostedawdfun

Ok well we just bought our first kayaks ever Thursday 4-11-13 and took them out today for some testing. We are total beginners with this being our 3rd time ever in a kayak. Thought I'd throw out some info in what I've noticed so far. 

FS12 (sit in) $699

Pros
*Awesome, comfortable seat
*Tracks very well
*Very stable side to side
*Tons of storage front, back and inside the kayak 
*lots of leg room and room to move around inside 

Cons
*Seat buckles to adjust backrest are cheap plastic and need to be replace ASAP. I replaced mine with heavy duty metal cam buckles. Cheap easy fix.
*Little heavy, I think 78lbs (with anchor) 

Over all very very sweet kayak

Few pics for you. I'm 6'1" 225lbs



































D10T $399

Pros
*wide and very stabe
*flat open top with room for a lot of storage

Cons
*doesnt track very well
*need to balance cargo weight front to back
*slow to paddle
*seat doesn't stay put, when you lean back the butt pad slides forward. I think we're going to do some heavy duty Velcro to keep it in place. 

Over all pretty nice kayak just needs a few alterations. 

Few pics for you. My girlfriend is 6'1" 130lbs. 


























Hope this helps


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## SeanStone

Thanks for the review. I'm looking for 3rd yak for my little brother....or whoever else wants to fish with us. I was looking at the d10t because it was cheap and very wide. 

One question...if you had $400 dollars to do again would you still the d10t? Another question....if you had $700 would you buy the d10t still?

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## Boostedawdfun

The d10t is nice, for $399 it's not a bad deal at all but I'm no expert. It would be great for Evers and streams as its very stable and turns fairly easy. My girlfriend bought the d10t due to the fact she has a lot of room to move around can sit how ever she wants and even lay flat and just lay out and tan. She's still glad she got it. 

As for $700 I don't know what to say. I'm more of a sit in fan than sit on top. I absolutely love my fs12. I was in the seat for 3-3.5 hours yesterday and it was soooo comfortable. I don't have a very good back and it gets sore easy, but I had no problems. If you don't need an angler version they make a D12 that's $599 also. Just depends what you prefer and where you plan on using it. But for me the fs12 is the best kayak I could find without spending $1000-$1200+.


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## Boostedawdfun

Also as for the pics of the d10t she is 6'1" with very very long legs.


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## SeanStone

The reason i asked if you would buy it if you had 700 is because thats about i would have if i waited another 2 weeks to buy one. If i wanted one by next week i could buy the d10t. If my boat sells i may get ME a new one.....lol.

As for the girlfriend......its awesome that you have someone to go with. Keep her interested in fishing and you'll have a partner for life ......give her all the good spots and let her catch all the big ones..  





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## Boostedawdfun

Yeah she's a good girl. Let me know if you get a d10t and what your thoughts are. If you get one I'd get a 240 paddle because it so wide. We bought a 230 and took it back and ordered a 240.


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## SeanStone

Boostedawdfun said:


> Yeah she's a good girl. Let me know if you get a d10t and what your thoughts are. If you get one I'd get a 240 paddle because it so wide. We bought a 230 and took it back and ordered a 240.


Just got the d10t this evening. I bought the silver looking one. I got a 240cm paddle, some bungee cords for the front deck, 2 flush mount rod holders and gaskets, lots of those caribiener clips, 100 feet of anchor cord, and 3lb grapple anchor. I also added a paddle leash and a paddle keeper with a bungee cord.

It has tons of space up top, but it needs a hatch to access the hull. I think i'm going to get the same one i have on my malibu....a crack of dawn square hatch. Its alot bigger than the circle hatches, so i'll be able to slide bigger stuff in it. Its very spacious.....my little brother could lay down in it.

Were taking it out tomorrow......he couldnt wait. We cant get it registered till monday so he'll be in trouble if we find a park ranger. 

I may try to take it for a spin and see how it compares.




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## Boostedawdfun

That's awesome. Hope u like it. Let us know what you think.


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## Boostedawdfun

How easy is it to put a paddle keeper bungee and hook on? Is it just screws or do you need to access the inside and put a nut on the back side as well?


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## Jmsteele187

Either bolt it on using nuts inside or use pop rivets. You'll want to use some kind of sealant too.


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## SeanStone

Took it out yesterday. The seat slides around so we took some cord and added more support. We wrapped it around the bottom front of the seat and then clipped it to stern well. This fixed that problem.

The yak sits deeper in the back end than it does in the front, so we did start putting our tackle in the front of the yak.

Its super stable....my little brother stood up in it is just fine. Hes 5'8" and 180lbs. 

I did notice that he had a hard time keeping up with us in good breeze. It wasnt cutting the water very good and he said that the waves hit harder than when he used the ascend fs12t. 

Also i noticed that when we had it in the garage, when he stood up in it that it had some flex to the deck plastic. Nothing to worry about though. Like our other ascend its plastic seems to bend a little under pressure....softer.

For the money its hard to beat. Super stable, lightweight, good seat with minor modifications, lots of leg room, ample on deck space, etc. A good yak to get you on the water for under $600. ( kayak, Life jacket, paddle, and registration)

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## Boostedawdfun

I fixed our seat with industrial Velcro. It's not sliding anywhere.


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## strongto

I just put my d10t out today and it was pretty nice. My buddy has a fs12t and it was definitely hard to keep up with him going up stream and his went a lot straighter but I am easily able to stand in mine and move around so overall I'm not disappointed but I wish it was as smooth of a ride as the fs12t.


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