The manufacturer, Hurricane Aquasports, calls the material Trylon. I did a bit of research before I bought this kayak, and its a two pieace hull bonded (more like fused) together with the adhesive methyl acrylate. That particular adhesive is used mostly on polycarbonate, hence its probably a fancy name for what is actually lexan. Same stuff Nascar car windows are made off. And motorcycle helmet visors, nalgene bottles and baby milk bottles. But his bad boy is made of the stuff (vacuum formed) thats almost 1/4 inch thick.
More info from the company -
How will your kayaks hold up compared to roto-molded?
As long as you stick to Class I and II waters (meaning flat-water NOT whitewater) your Hurricane will be as durable as roto-molded kayaks. Our Trylon is just as abrasion resistant. It won't fade out in sunlight. And best of all it won't "oil can" on your car rack and warp like polyethylene boats can.
Oil canning is the property of plastic kayaks to bend and flex thru its length. That is why you see polyeth` kayaks with all sorts of channels and tunnels on the bottom. These are designs to compensate for the flexing.
Besides the hull shape and design, the less oil canning supposedly makes it go faster. You can imagine that a polyethylene kayak looses a bit of its forward momentum when it resonates with the swells, as it punches thru a wave, surf and such. The Phoenix has a very looooong glide. My other kayaks sort of brake when you stop paddling.
Its a great kayak, as Ive found out. Its good attributes dont jump at you as soon as you sit on it, but due to the weak power plant (me) you get a feel for it after some time, and with the help of electronics (gps)
Its not for everyone. If oil platform stability is your main concern look elsewhere. It is rocky (low primary stability) but has solid secondary stability (warns you well before the point of no return). I knew this before hand, and accepted it in exchange for speed.
Its available from two dealers in socal. I wont say it here, with respect to the sites sponsors. You can find that info on the manufacturer's website if you really want to check one out. If you check out the 14 footer, its 50 pounds. The 12 footer is a bewildering 35 pounds.
regards, /bing