About the reviewer

Paddling for the last 13 years, kayak and river guide instructor. Freestyle and down river freestyle (freewheels and other down river fun) is how I like to get wet.

Test environment

Various play spots, mostly on the Vaal river. i have also been running various rivers in the boat from gr2-4 mostly medium volume

Review

The kayak is great in holes and breaking waves. Stable when vertical so cartwheels and the other hole moves happen with out to much effort. It carves well on waves, bounces like a "gomtor in die vuur" for good air. The kayak also has good volume in the front for wicked loops, and the other hole moves.
Handles well on the river and allows one to have maximum fun while heading down.

Conclusion

Good freestyle river runner and will not disappoint when playboatin.

About myself

I've been paddling since last August and the Nemesis is the first boat I've bought. I'm a beginner by any standard and thus can give that view on this boat.

About the test environment

I've been paddling the Nemesis mostly indoors during the European winter learning some flatwater moves. Last weekend I went to Bremgarten for the first time to test it on some real water. Bremgarten was running at around 214 cms on Saturday and around 160-170 cms on Sunday.

Review

For material/workmanship specific information I suggest you read Adrian Tregoning's review.

Taken from my forum post:
Flatwater:

Having such a large boat does take quite some getting used to - I ride with my seat one notch ahead of center - but in the three months of training twice weekly in the pool I have learnt to flatwater cartwheel (5 ends has been my record up to now), I can do loops when seal-launching in from a swimmer's block (and, yes. The boat does POP - I think I even managed an air-loop once!) I learnt to hand-roll within half an hour of trying and to back-deck roll on my second try.

In review, I would probably say that the M Nemesis, may not be 'The Machine' for flatwater work for people of my size and weight, but I did learn to double-pump within about 4 training sessions and all the rest mentioned above in a reasonably short time, I think. And it practically rolls for free (compared to an AllStar and ZG - just my personal opinion) Another reason for me to buy this size is my intention of doing some play-the-river type stuff with it. I think the additional volume will make that more enjoyable...

On the wave:
As I already mentioned. I've been on a wave once before last weekend. On that evening last autumn, I got round to trying to enter the wave about six times in total (in between going for swims due to lack of rolling prowess) and actually managed to enter the wave once in a rather surprised 3-second surf in an InaZone.

So last weekend - after waiting for all this blasted Swiss snow to finally melt a bit and give us kayakers some water - I went for my first weekend of playboating on the Bremgarten wave.

On Saturday I went for about half an hour's boating before lunch. After lunch disaster struck. Sliding down the embankment into the river I hit a submerged rock, which actually managed to punch a hole into the hull of my boat - obviously an issue with the material. I was quite upset.

Looking ahead in time to Monday:
On Monday I wrote Adrian wanting to know his opinion in this case before I contacted my local retailer. A short while later I got a reply from Adrian stating that he had forwarded my mail to Celliers. Five minutes later I get another mail from Adrian quoting Celliers, asking me to contact my retailer. This is obivously a warranty case and my boat would be replaced. The whole thing took about an hour between my writing the first mail and me getting a reply from Celliers through Adrian - that's fast!


Anyway. I didn't konw that on Saturday.
After calming down a bit over night and some generous application of duct tape (it really does save the world) in true samaritan pressure-bandage style, I went on the wave again on Sunday and learnt my on-/ and offside flatspins within about two hours (with photography and lunch breaks). I'd say, a beginner such as me being able to pull that off says something about the looseness of the hull and the boat in general.

I can't compare this boat to anything else but an InaZone and I don't think that would be appropriate, them being totally different boats, so I won't. But I feel really comfortable in the boat and it makes me feel nice and safe when the water's pounding my boat from underneath (the wave was really pumping). And did I mention, it rolls for free?

Anyway. The boat may not be able to perform miracles - my two attempts at blunting didn't quite work out. But I think that probably has more to do with my lack of skill than anything else, it being my first real full day on the wave I think I'm allowed to give myself another couple of weeks to learn those!

Conclusion

This is obviously a playboat, feeling super comfortable on the wave. For a kayak with so much volume (201l) with a rider of my weight in it. It lets its ends be thrown down remarkably well and learning cartwheels becomes a pleasure. I'm far far away from being able to use this boat's full potential, but I can see the direction the boat will be letting me go - and I'm looking forward to the journey!


+Simple "no thrills" robust outfitting that works.
+Easy to roll
+Stable on the wave
+Plenty of evently distributed volume - good for air moves (I imagine ;)
+Easy to get on end
+Super comfortable back band that doesn't ride
+Loose hull that makes learning spins really easy
+Vibrant colours
+Bomber plastic (except my version, but this is the FIRST EVER I have heard of Fluid plastic coming under doubt. And this point gets mitigated by the lightning-fast response to my warranty request)
+Celliers is a genuinely nice chap, who offered me advide prior to buying and responded with lightning-speed when my luck went down hill last weekend.
+Boat gets supplied with plenty of outfitting material

-Bottle holder only really works with the supplied Bottle (I'm a Nalgene fan)
-Relatively heavy (compared to an AllStar - but any boat is heavy compared to Jacksons)
-The velcro material on the hip pad shimmies detaches really quickly
-The seat is a bit flat for my liking - can be amended quite easily though.

About myself

I’ve been paddling since April 2004 so not too long by most standards. Throughout the time I’ve been either a student or working and see myself as just a weekend paddler. I’ve paddled various rivers in South Africa, Sweden and Norway and also in Swaziland and Zambia. I’m not much of a play boater and prefer to run rivers, creeks and just chill on overnight trips. However I can still do a few tricks and enjoy playing although it’s not my favorite type of boating. Paddling a big wave is still an incredible feeling and I won’t deny it’s really addictive!

About the test environment

So far, over the past five months, I’ve paddled the medium Nemesis on a couple of rivers in South Africa, a couple of spots along the eastern coastline and on the Zambezi River, Zambia.

Review

+ Excellent outfitting and super comfortable, also easily adjustable and very simple to use. The outfitting is solid and won’t leave you in the lurch.

+ Back band is always in place, very soft (the material) yet firm and also quite large. It also is durable and my Solo has taken a lot of abuse and shows no sign of hard use. It has never pinched me once. Adjustability is via two ratchets that are attached to the seat, on the floor of the boat. So no more damaged spray decks like with the cockpit rim mounted types. There are two ridges on either side of the ratchets to protect them and one can stand on them without any damage because of this.

+ Access to the stern of the boat is easy and the Pelican 1150 easily fits inside without any hassles. My 1300 Pelican also fits nicely between my legs and doesn’t move around much while paddling. (I don’t recommend this to anyone due to safety reasons, in any boat, on any water though!)

+ The Nemesis comes standard with a healthy amount of foam under the seat to fill the gap that would otherwise be there. Most manufacturers do not do this. This reduces the already slim chance of your Fluid kayak oil canning. The seat itself is a large platform and helps to increases the overall stiffness of the hull too which is great for surfing.

+ Die-forged aluminium grab handles are strong, durable, good looking and offer little resistance through the water during freestyle moves.

+ Easy to roll.

+ Evenly distributed volume in the bow and stern makes it easy to throw this boat smoothly around in a hole or even on the flats.

+ Great pop for loops either in a hole, or on the flats.

+ The hull has a lot of speed which is good for getting aerial on either river or ocean waves. On the ocean, this boat rips too and can bust some huge aerial moves. Faster than would be expected.

+ Very loose on a wave and spins are really quick. Quicker and looser than the Flirt and also very light in weight.

+ Not as edgy river running as some people claim. I loved the boat on the Zambezi and had no complaints.

+ At 6’ tall and weighing in at 86kg I have room to spare where my feet are. I’ve made a reasonably large foot block up front and have my seat in the centre position.

Conclusion

The Nemesis is an awesome full on play boat. No doubt about it. It has foam pillars, unlike the Solo range which is the only range at the moment in the Fluid line up with plastic pillars. It is available in the bright orange shown in the photos, a red and a yellow as the three standard colours that every Fluid kayak is available in. The fourth, model specific colour is a kind of a pink. Check it out, not too bad at all. And no, it isn’t only for the ladies. The Fluid Nemesis is a great boat and one which will leave you with a smile on your face, every time and a look of envy from the other guys in the line up.

As already mentioned the outfitting is solid, comfortable and very durable. This year the outfitting will once again be taken to a new level as things only get better and better. Stay tuned…

About myself

Long time kayaker (12 Years), new to playboating (1 year)

About the test environment

Tested in a swimmingpool club session (will update after I've taken it down HPP

Review

First off, awesome.

Having fiddled with the outfitting (which is incredibly easy to adjust) I got my boat onto the water. The first thing that struck me was just how stable on the flat this boat really is. It also turns on a pin head, is incredibly responsive and doesn't try to pull you over when turning (like my girlfriends G-force). Rolling was equally easy and I was utterly impressed how much of an "active" ride it is. By active I mean that it is easy to get up on edge, get the nose under etc, the boat doesnt start pearling until you actively engage the nose. The paddler is in complete control of the boat! The boat is well balanced and easy to use.

Conclusion

An awesome boat, stable enough for a beginner and requires the paddler to actively play with the boat. Well outfitted and remarkably fast on the flat.

If you're in the market for a new playboat then I'd seriously suggest you demo the Fluid Nemesis, I'm so glad i parted with my cash for one and I'm certain you wouldnt regret giving it a chance. Only negative is tryig to get myself a set of foot blocks sorted out but thats just because of a lack of foam/time to get it done between pickup and use!

All thumbs up!