These are good suggestions. I like the fly to extend close to the ground. This results in less wind-borne dust etc than with a higher cut, but the bad trade-off is more sweating/dripping – hence the use of mesh has become more common.
I like gear to last forever, but it doesn’t. With some tents the zipper fails early but can be replaced. My last couple of tents died when the fly’s waterproofing layer became porous or peeled off. The same thing happens to floors too, but that doesn’t bother me as much. You can’t fix it and usually the manufacturer will not sell a replacement or give a warranty replacement for the fly – except MEC might with their brand – they replaced my Wanderer fly when the annoying zipper jamming design was changed to a more sensible design, even tho it was still in good shape.
Compact packing size and good metal poles are important but light weight is not an issue for kayaking. MEC is a good bet overall but MSR, Sierra Designs etc are worth considering, although usually more costly.