Zero stars. I took the beginners kayak course, a 2...

Zero stars. I took the beginners kayak course, a 2 day course with an instructor named Josh. The trip began with Josh putting me in a kayak that I could barely fit into - Josh said that it was because the shoes that I was wearing had too thick a heel. So he said that in order for me to fit into the kayak, I had to either a) buy a pair of shoes from the store (can you say "extortion"?), or go on the trip without shoes. I looked at the store shoe selection and felt that the least expensive $45 pair was still too much for a single purpose pair of footwear. As the trip began, I asked Josh if going without shoes on a kayak trip is advisable, and he said no, it is not. And yet, that is EXACTLY what he was having me do. I guess getting me a bigger kayak did not enter into the equation for Josh. As it turned out, I could barely cram my feet into the kayak I was given. This begs the question: if there is a height limitation for kayaking at this place because they do not have kayaks for people 6'-2" or taller, I feel that that should be clearly stated on the website, or when someone calls to register for kayaking.

The second day was supposed to begin with "rolling" instruction. Josh did an excellent job of showing ONE of the four students who took the course how to roll the kayak; spending about 20-25 minutes with the one student, and less than 5 minutes with each of the others. At the end of the second day of the course, my kayak turned over in some rapids, and since I received almost no rolling instruction, I had to pull myself out of the kayak and swim ashore. While in the rapids, I ended up breaking my toe on some rocks, something that would most likely not have happened if I had been given a kayak with adequate footroom for my feet and the pair of shoes that I brought. I felt that, as an instructor who is paid to teach students all that is advertised about the course, Josh had a complete lack of respect for me, a paying customer. For anyone wanting to learn how to kayak at Wilderness Voyageurs, I would suggest you request an instructor other than Josh.

5/24/15 Response to Ben's follow-up:
Ben: In response to your follow-up from 2 weeks ago, when we spoke over the phone last summer and you offered the complimentary private instruction, yes, I did agree to it. However, what you did not tell me over the phone was that the complimentary instruction voucher expired in November 2014. Since it took 2 1/2 months for my broken toe to fully heal, and late September/October was too busy and too cold a time to do the instruction/roll class, I could not take up the offer.

In regard to the $17 pair of water shoes, I did not see them when I looked in the store, and no one told me about them. You say the Liquid Logic Stomper 90 is the biggest whitewater kayak you have, and the problem was not my height but my footwear (the shoes I brought was a regular pair of sneakers with a 1 to 1 1/4" thick heel). Well, we adjusted the foot holds as far as they could go (or at least Josh said they could not adjust any farther) and yet my feet, with NO SHOES ON, were crammed in and uncomfortable for the whole trip. This tells me that there should either a) be a height limitation listed on the website, or b) Josh was just not telling the truth. This also tells me that, if I did take the private instruction, it could have been in another kayak that my feet barely fit into.

When a company keeps NOT informing their customers about what to bring, what to expect in regard to equipment and instruction, and expiration dates, that company is bound to have some unhappy customers.