My thoughts on the FS12T. I think it's pretty much all been said but it's here should you want to read it.

http://www.kayakgearguru.com/2014/05/2014-bass-pro-ascend-fs12t.html

Nice review. I will make sure corporate sees it.

On a related note, the pre mounted rod holder can be easily removed by simply unscrewing it. There aren't holes drilled through the kayak, there are actually threaded inserts mounted under the holder (this way you don't have to worry about patching up the holes).

That's good news on the inserts Dean. Thanks. Also, I had a gentleman shoot me a tweet that said a rivet that holds the seat broke on him. Not sure if that's been reported an if it's a one off or not. Just a heads up. Thanks.

Just a heads up: we have an Ascend Hotline for anyone with part issues.

417-873-5034

Just give them a call and they can help with replacement parts for Ascend Kayaks.

Chris, feel free to update your article with this information if you like.

Our kayaks are made by Tracker Boats, right here in the USA.

Got it added Dean, thanks!

I think this is going to be an ongoing problem with the kayak. If I remember correctly when I went to see the one at BPS when they first arrived one of the rivet heads had popped off too.

Video of seat fix! For what it's worth!
http://vod.com.ng/en/video/6eDWWj96lqM/Ascend-FS12T-Kayak-Seat-Fix

Good video and that guy is dead-on IMO as to why the side bolts are an issue - BPS/Ascend needs to see this. The disappointing thing is how can a kayak design be released that has such obvious problems/failures during a first paddle - these are not long term issues/failures but out of the box issues - that says something about the lacking of BPS/Ascend testing process as well as points to a a very weak design process. The great thing (from my experience) is that BPS goes well above and beyond to make the customer happy and whole.......just a shame that you have to test how good their customer service is and a shame that Ascend is not giving BPS a product that is not more robust. With that said,the fixes seem relatively easy and IMO are not enough to turn you off from the kayak.......just disappointing when they shouldn't have to be done. I'm not sure what Ascend's testing process is but they should throw a dozen yaks out there among kayak fishers, let them beat on the yaks for a couple of months and then fix what isn't working. I imagine Ascend's and BPS cost for returns and repairs is going to be significant wrt these issues - always better to fix it up front than after the fact.

Note - this still doesn't address the seat wanting to come out of the "slots" when pushing hard with the paddle.......and likewise, the seat is now free to come out in the event of a turtle given that the side bolts have been eliminated. I think there are reasonable easy solutions but again, it shouldn't have to be done.

I agree there is blatant evidence there is no such thing as product testing or at least not serious testing. I like the idea of throwing a kayak to the fishermen and then let them do the fixes and return the product for final production. Maybe Jackson has the right idea as well as others.
I guess a leash would be a fix in case of a turtle, but the seat sliding again is just poor design. It will work for someone tall but if you are leg length challenged you have a problem.
They can repair a poor design over and over, but if it's still going to break what's the point?
Hopefully someone at Tracker/Ascend sits up and takes notice.

This is part of what "gets me" - they go to such nice details that end up being basically useless.....they also added molded-in inserts to be able to move the foot rails back but moving the foot rails back to where you would locate is in such a place that it appears only a very very small child would be able to use it - a nice touch/thought.....but basically a waste for most buyers - esp when there are so much more obvious things to fix. Ok, I'm done...... . Note - I would still recommend people to consider this boat for this price range.

It's the old double edged sword answer! If they did more testing and put more thought and care into design, then the price would be up there like the rest.
You get what you pay for!

I don't do kayaks with high seats, I don't do kayaks with rivets, I don't get paid for my opinions.

I think I'll try that seat fix this week, noticed my rivets bending pretty bad already.

After watching that video again and watching the flex in seat pan area, I don't believe either of his "fixes" will work for a bigger guy and could actually cause even more problems long term. Making a seat that spreads the weight of paddler evenly over the whole seat pan area and not just the frame would be my suggestion. I haven't seen that much flex in seat pan area in a long time. With folks standing up and sometimes flopping back into the seat, that's a lot of stress in a very confined area. Hopefully they will realize the severity of the problem before too much bad press gets out. As far as broken rivets goes...I hate rivets. Give me stainless steel nuts and bolts and charge me extra for them...Word travels fast, they need a real long term solution fast.

It's a shame that there are such minor little things wrong with the deck of the kayak, because I really like the way the kayak paddles. They also need to look at their plastic compound, as it appears to be softer than the plastics used by other manufacturers. I still think it's a helluva kayak for the price.