I recently received the new Skwoosh Custom Gel Fishing Seat. Due to the snow storms and then the flooding here in the east it has taken me a while get out and test this seat, but it was well worth the wait. The first thing I noticed was the tag that reads “Made in the U.S.A.” What a great concept. All of the seams look to be double stitched and will stand a lot of abuse. The back rest area is reinforced with 2 fiberglass rods to keep the back rigid. There are 4 corrosion resistant brass clips that connect the seat to the kayak. On the back there are 3 rod holders with bungee tie downs. There is also a plastic O-ring to attach accessories and 2 elastic tool holder attachments. There are also camp seat conversion clips.

This seat is comfortable. The seating area uses the patented Tekpad Cushioning that relieves the pressure of sitting for long periods of time. After hours of use I was not as uncomfortable as I usually was using the stock kayak seat. The Tekpad cushioning works well. Tekpad is used by Skwoosh on a variety of applications, from wheel chair seating pads to portable stadium seats.

I already have a few rod holders on my kayak, but for this evaluation I used the 3 rod holders that came on the seat. The sides of the seat are cut at an angle to make it easier to get your arms around to access rear equipment. The rod holders on either side were easily accessible and I really liked the bungee rod retainers. They were easy to manipulate, and if you were to tip your kayak, I believe they would keep you from losing your rods (no I didn't turn my yak over, the water was too cold). The rear center rod holder was just too hard for me to reach (I can’t twist like I used to). I will use the rod holders for holding tools such as my lip gripper and net, but if I had a yak without rod holders I would use them as rod holders.

The O ring and tool holders are well placed for easy access while sitting in your kayak. The material used for this seat is great, mud comes right off with little effort and is very durable. This seat will be the seat I will use all the time. It does what it is supposed to do - it lets you fish longer more comfortably.

All in all this is a nice custom seat. I would recommend this seat as an upgrade.