Opinions of said boat?

If your in the medium to small weight range they are a good boat. A bit of an outdated design, but if you want a boat to last they're a good choice. Blow moulding has some technological limitations that makes most all blow moulded boats have a pointed bow which diminishes the volume in the bow as well as surface area making it a bit tougher to keep the bow on the surface. The rails have that subtle chine that is reminiscent of the Nomad but is a very different boat.

JP Paddled one for a very long time and he would be able to go specific on its finer points. If your looking for something modern with volume I'd go a different direction.

When I got mine in 2008 it made sense to choose the Salto for its assets over its shortcomings. I'd be happy to enumerate both the pros and cons of that boat, but by 2010 boat designs crossed a threshold in my opinion that didn't warrant stickin w/ the Salto and its design limitations. Jed essentially sums those up.

The bottom line is the wright/size range. I think you are too tall for the Salto. It will litterally "cramp your style". Jed is right- its better for a runt like me or someone w/ a smaller build.
Even still, the total volume is only 69 gallons or somethin, and by 2011 puffed up, intelligently distributed volume was in vogue for legit reasons.

I got the Eskimo for its Nuke Proof strong plastic. But being lighter weight and a more experienced kayaker any contemporary boat will do because...
-I don't grind every sh*tty mank rock I see. I go for wet boofs and save my plastic. If its a must-make move I'll grind the sh*t out of it though. Cost of doin business.
-I don't sit on my boat or let others do so. "GET THE fu*k OFF MY BOAT!"
-I don't drag my boat (well, in moments of hardship in the woods, sure- Im gettin to be an old man. Better it than me)
-I pilot my kayak in a proactive way. Ain't no floater Driftwood Zombie. Paddle around scratchy little rocks.
-Just paddle with more water in the creek in general.

Those who adhere to these basic tenants will find they preserve their boats better with fewer scratches.

Quick Quiz:
How do you cut a sheet of plastic in two?
Score and Snap.
Get a nice deep gash or three in your boat and then go land flat on some rock...no coincidence most boats break under the seat.

Eskimos are super strong in this regard though.
Seriously if Eskimo started making boats again they couldnt pay me to paddle one (unless it was a new design but that aint gonna happen).

Mamba.
9R.
Jackson Zen...

Those are the boats that got me salivating when Shiva ain't lookin. But Hawthorn's criticism of the Salto was correct back in '08 when he said that Eskimo was stuck in an outdated design paradigm. If itcwasnt true then it certainly is now.

Boats have come a long way.

I paddled the original version for years and thought it was a great boat for it's time. I stuck with it for probably a bit too long, and the first time I got in a planning hull boat (H3 on the Lil White), I thought it was a "cheater boat", because it made so many things easier.....and the Burn was literally the "attack hovercraft".

But back to the Salto.....at 165lbs I thought I was pushing the upper end for the original design the 2nd version seemed to float folks a bit higher. But it was a user friendly boat, that you could throw around easy, and was okay being paddled on it's side, something most planing hulls and ex-girlfriends frown on.

No pillar was great, and the simplicity of design was fabulous. Bomber plastic. Few moving parts to break. If the outfitting fit you, it was good, if it didn't then look elsewhere.

Now there's better displacement and planning hulls options. I'm paddling a Nomad now (aka Old Man), and it's a great boat with some similarities to the original Salto, especially the "user friendly" design. Tough to go wrong with it, unless you're looking for more performance, in which case there's all sorts of options.