Kayaks

[1ststater]

Hi All, 

 

Been Yak shopping for a while and now pretty confused: Any recommendations for a good Kayak under $1500? Looking at just staying in lakes/ponds and maybe canal waters.

 

Thanks!

[JimT]

we started with an Old Town Predator MX and have been very happy with it. usually around $1300-1400 

[bulldog1935]

My buddy Josh, who worked through college rigging kayaks at Jerry B's in Corpus, and now owns and runs Texas Kayak Fisherman forum, put this spreadsheet together on kayaks, paddles and pdf's:  

Kayaks, PFDs, & Paddles - Google Sheets

Note he has filters for price, recommended use, pedal drive, etc.  

[Koz]

I did a write here on BR on my Seastream Angler 120 pedal drive kayak. I bought it for $1,399 and I love it. The price has gone up since then, but occasionally you can still find a deal.

[GTN-NY]

Look for used. Could save you some money

[David 7]

I have a Pelican Trailblazer 100 NXT which is about $250. It’s a 10 ft sit in kayak and is very light. I know there are much more fancier kayaks out there but honestly I wouldn’t trade it for anything else. Super light weight and very durable. Great for taking to ponds and small lakes.

[Dens228]

11 hours ago, GTN-NY said:

Look for used. Could save you some money

Not around here........a lot of people are getting close to full retail on good condition used kayaks. People don't want to wait months for the kayak they're looking for.  

 

[GTN-NY]

1 hour ago, Dens228 said:

Not around here........a lot of people are getting close to full retail on good condition used kayaks. People don't want to wait months for the kayak they're looking for.  

 

Well that sucks. It’s a bad time to buy anything right now. We’re heading out now to look for a good used suv for my wife. Prices are so inflated 

[Boomstick]

I have a Bonafide SS127 myself. Decent unit, but I'm not sure I would buy one again for several reasons. Mainly is the poor fix at fixing an issue where the seat wears through the hull. For existing units, they received a hard plastic piece that screwed on the kayak and that solves the problem. For newer units, they have glued pads there and they just do not stay more than a trip or two, so I have to constantly re-glue them with the strongest apoxy I can find just about every time I go out - and it's hard to find time, in short I don't think any glue is ever going to hold that. It seems to be a common problem for others too. I also never received the cable to assist in putting my seat into the lower seat position, and customer support is, well non-existent.

 

My youngest son has an Old Town Topwater 120, which is a bit cheaper. The biggest disadvantage is that it does not have a dry pod which is a very convenient fish finder mounting solution and it doesn't come with a back rail. However it comes with three additional rod holders (two for permanent rod storage, one is designed to be able to rig up), and cup holders, so I probably wouldn't use the rear tracks - so we never had to add any. It does have some advantages though. First, it's significantly cheaper. It's also lighter, faster, tracks better (the rudder or at least flex wings on the Bonafide are 100% required for practical usage). And while it may be easier to flip, it rocks less on the water making it easier for me to stand and not fall out of the boat on choppy water.

[dickenscpa]

On 8/28/2021 at 8:56 AM, GTN-NY said:

Well that sucks. It’s a bad time to buy anything right now. We’re heading out now to look for a good used suv for my wife. Prices are so inflated 

I bought my Hobie before this shortage hit but I was driving a 2006 truck and my wife's car was a 2008 - both decided to lay over and die within 6 mos of each other. Due to their age and the repairs needed, it was not worth putting that kind of money into two old vehicles. So...I wound up having to replace both at probably the worst time to buy vehicles in a long while. Compounded by my son going off to college and needing a vehicle for his sophomore year. He was sharing my wife's car and it was "ok" for a while but it started getting to the point of his job upgrading, school responsibilities upgrading, etc that it was inconveniencing my wife and I as well. Our daughter is only 11 so she 100% has to be carted around and it was getting to the point me and/or my wife was having to be in two places at once more often than not.

 

It does suck! LOL!