I purchased an Ascend FS10 about 4 weeks ago. Not having anything to compare to other than the rental yaks at Trapper Johns I would says its a fine craft.
My biggest concern on this purchase was stability and cockpit room. The FS10 is rated for 325lbs max cap. We found that at or over 300lbs causes great instability. The cockpit is very roomy even with my large carcass. I like the fact that the front tray, cup and rod holders are in easy reach. The first official float was in the family pool. I wanted to determine my full range of movement in a very controlled environment. While I would not recommend standing up in the Ascend FS10 I do consider it stable enough for general pond and river fishing. At this point in my ownership I have not had the rig on anything but ponds.
As for mods I like to keep it simple at this point. I added a small netted pouch to hold my camera, sunglasses and such. I also added the cart. The cart is a Coleman folding cart with some pool noodle and a ratchet strap mods. I wanted a cart that folded flat of which I found easy enough to strap into the back while underway.
The FS10 came with a rod holder which I find to small so I replaced it with a Scotty. There is two rod holders in the back which is in easy reach while paddling, however keep in mind pistol grip rods do not fit in them.There is a so-called dry storage hatch however its not so dry in heavy rain so everything (Phone, keys and wallet) goes into the ziplock before going into the dry storage.
The seat is very comfortable and could be easily removed and used as a beach/camp chair if needed. I spent 5 hours and no butt numbing occurred...
All in all I recommend the FS10 as a great entry craft into Yak Fishing.
Tight lines and stay dry...
--Naut-a-byte--
