You don't see a contradiction in these statements?

Yes, I am aware of the potential for confusion. I intentionally wrote them to make a point. It is not a contradiction. "Suitably" is highly dependent on intended use and paddler skill. You can not say any design is "suitable" until you know who is using it, what their skills are and what they want to do. It isn't the design that is suitable it is the user and use.

There are two questions: Why can designs be locations specific, and when is location not important. Location specificity is due to a fine dicing of how the skilled paddler uses their kayak. Location irrelevance occurs when the paddler is not skilled enough to take advantage of differences, or even worse the higher performing boat may be dangerous.

As an example, some paddlers take surf skis out into extremely rough conditions, therefore it is suitable for rough water, but many beginners can't get 5' from shore without capsizing, therefore it is not.

When someone asks me for a recommendation on a design, the first question I ask is "what is your experience level", followed by "how do you intend to use it", only after I have clarity on those questions, do I care where it will be used.

A beginner paddler, who wants to go for relaxed shoreline morning paddles of a mile or so from his summer place, will not be well served by a design intended for going out playing in 10 foot waves just because his place is on Lake Erie. If he wants to eventually learn to paddle across the lake, my recommendation would change. Once the paddler's skills and how the kayak will be used is known, there may be a very specific design that is most suitable, but it can only be determined with knowledge of user and use.

If you disagree, tell me exactly what design every Lake Erie paddler should have. If you think that is a silly question, you agree with me.