So I’ve been on the market for a new ride for a while, partially because I had some very specific requests and it’s taken me a while to find a boat that met those requirements (not to mention finding the cash to pay for it).
The main requirement, was that I needed something with enough primary stability for a dog to ride along. In calm conditions, I can stand and fish out of alot of kayaks including my 28″ wide T-140, I needed something more than that. Self bailing was not a strict requirement, but a major plus as well. I also didn’t want to give up much tracking, spending the last year and a half in a T-140 spoiled me and I knew that if I had a boat that spun like a top, I wouldn’t take it out very often.
A SUP-Yak, namely the Diablo Adios, was at the top of my initial list. The more research I did, the more sure I was that was going to be the boat that fit my needs. Unfortunately, there are not many dealers in my area that provide demos. So I had to make my purchase on faith that it would be the right match for me.
Well the moment of truth came this morning, and to make a long story short… I couldn’t be happier with my choice.
Here’s a short, crappy video of my first trip out:
Now I didn’t get much of a chance to fish today, and as you saw in the video I didn’t use a seat. I’ll make another report and video commenting on the fishability, comfort and performance the next time I go out.
First impressions:
Super super stable. As you saw in the video,I was able to comfortably stand in a lake with 10-15 mph winds, and a dog running around the deck. The stability trumps the competitors SUP-yak. As far as comparing it to other stand-intensive boats…I really can’t say. I’ve never really found a standing condition I wasn’t comfortable in with the JK Coosa, Hobie Outback, WS Commander and Native Ultimate. All I can say is this thing is more than stable enough for my needs and is comfortable for both me and the dog.
Fast enough. You’re not going to win any races in an Adios, but I didn’t break a sweat on a half mile paddle back against a 10-15mph wind with no seat. My next trip, I’ll have the seat in and be able to give it a much better performance rating from a paddling and comfort position.
Easy to load. I’m 6′ #160 soaking wet, not exactly a big dude. But the 69#s of the Adios is not hard to throw around. It took my a while to figure out how to car-top two boats on my Jeep. Even on the day I sold it, I could not for the life of me load my Redfish 12 on top of my Jeep if the Tarpon was on there first. Not an issue with the Adios. The handle position and the huge area that the weight is spread around make loading relatively easy… If anyone want’s I can post a video.
Thanks for reading guys, keep an eye out for that second report!
Have any of you ever wondered what that green RSS icon on my page is? Ever clicked it?
If you haven’t you’re really missing out! Its a link to the Outdoor Blogger Network. The internet’s biggest and best collection of blogs relating to outdoors. From birdwatching and hiking to hunting and fishing and everything in between!
Not only does the OBN provide an awesome service to bloggers by providing them with a FREE way to spread the word… they also hold tons and tons of giveaways for their registered bloggers. And this week they’ve stepped it up in a big way, by giving away tons and tons more free stuff than normal. If you’re an outdoor blogger… you owe it to yourself to check out the OBN!
Some of you 8 followers may have noticed a lack of posts recently… that’s due to a few reasons….
I haven’t had much to report fishing wise… between this crazy heat, the terrible schedule of my local reservoirs, moving, etc. I just haven’t had anything to report. I bagged one dink on my birthday on the 20th… I haven’t even had a chance to fish since then! I know major bummer.
Both are two big names in the kayak fishing world, and now they’ve joined the blogosphere! Both powered by their respective pro-staffers, they promise to be two of the most informative fishing blogs you’ve ever run into.
Kayak Bass Fishing Blog will bring you freshwater kayak fishing reports from across North America as well as tips and trick, product reviews, fishery profile, etc. from said pro-staff. You don’t want to miss out!
The HOOK 1 Blog, Kayak Fishing Blog, powered by the HOOK 1 Crew, will have a ton of product reviews, rigging tips, and special giveaways and promotions for products at KayakFishingGear.com. And of course, regional fishing reports and tips from dozens of the best anglers from across the GLOBE!
Please check them both out and let me know what you think!
DISCLAIMER: The below is nothing but my opinion. I have not paddled a single one of these boats, nor have I seen them in person. Do not take what I say as the gospel truth — but merely ramblings.
So originally I planned on making one blog post talking about all the new kayak models that got released at this year’s ICAST — turns out I got a little distracted and did about 1,000 words worth of rambling on the topic of fishing kayaks under 12 feet…
Anywho — Hobie and Wilderness wasn’t the only companies making waves at ICAST… Ocean Kayak released 3 new models, NRS launched a new inflatable fishing SUP and Wildy teased us more with some shots of the newly re-designed Ride 135.
Ocean Kayak Tetra 10 and 12
Check out the press release and specs from YakAngler.com
First impression… I love the lines, it looks like a super easy kayak to paddle.
Cost-wise, I think this is a great addition to the kayak fishing world. In the world fishing sit-on-tops kayaks in America, there are a few big names everyone knows that have been in the game for a while, Ocean Kayak, Hobie Cat, Wilderness Systems, Native Watercraft and Malibu. Every brand’s 12 foot long, rec. model SOT kayak MSRP is at least $900ish.
Every brand that is, but Ocean Kayak, whose Angler editions of the Drifter, Prowler 13 and Caper MSRP for$759, $799 and $829 respectively. The new 10 and 12 foot models come in at $650 and $750, throw in another $110 and you can get OK’s Rod Pod and 2 flush mounts installed. Granted you’ll probably want a seat upgrade eventually; but still, that’s a lower barrier to entry to get into a kayak from a well established manufacturer, and I love seeing that!
Ocean Kayak Ultra 4.3
Last year OK released their Ultra 4.7 stateside. This model was made popular in the big water off the coast of New Zealand and Australia, so you know its seaworthy. I had the privileged of seeing one of these beauties in person on my trip with Jim Sammons this spring. Along with that, I had the displeasure of helping tote this thing from the parking lot to the water… That SOB was heavy.
For this reason… I think that making a two foot shorter, 18 pound lighter boat is a very good call. At 14’1″ it’ll still track well and the lower weight may even make it easier to paddle for kayakers like me. For more information on this boat check out: Kayak Fishing Magazine.
NRS Inflatable Paddleboard
My first kayak was a 9′ Inflatable SINK called the Dragonfly XC made by a company called Advanced Elements. My buddy picked up a used inflatable at the time as well. I bought it at the begining of my senior year of highschool, due in large part to the fact that I would be able to store it in my dorm room the next year.
After never being able to rig it to my liking, struggling to get it folded up just right after a long day of fishing and dealing with pinholes that refused to be fixed and inefficient paddling… I swore off inflatables for good. My buddy stuck with his, until one hot summer day on Lake Lanier when it popped on him like a balloon.
I’ve never looked back on inflatables… but honestly this one is making me think again. While it’s not on my short list of boats I definitely think there is a market for super durable and reliable inflatables, NRS may just be catering to that market!
Wilderness Systems Ride 135 sneak peak
Yesterday I called the Ride 135 “one of the best all around fishing kayaks ever“. In my opinion, its the perfect length to tackle water from shoal filled rivers, to large impoundments, to tide water areas and way off the beach. On top of that, many anglers can stand in the Ride. One of the only drawbacks I’ve heard of the Ride 135 is a wet seating area.
It appears as though Wilderness may have just fixed this issue and made a great boat even better.
2012 Ride prototype. Image of the redesigned seating area. Tons of flat space, movable (and removable) seat. Featured on both the new Ride 115 and Ride 135.
The web guy, not known for his balance ability, standing up in a Ride prototype. Plenty of foot room for size 12 sandals.
DISCLAIMER: The below is nothing but my opinion. I have not paddled a single one of these boats, nor have I seen them in person. Do not take what I say as the gospel truth — but merely ramblings.
So this week ICAST (AKA International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades AKA the place to be if you care anything about fishing) took place in Las Vegas. Lure and Tackle manufacturers debut alot of their new stuff here, kayak manufacturers launch new boats, etc. I would have loved to go, but plane tickets, 3 night stay in a Vegas hotel and 3 days worth of Vegas meals was slightly out of my budget…
So I did the next best thing — spent all my free time this last week trolling twitter trend #ICAST, the facebook pages of my favorite fishing companies and all the major kayak fishing news outlet pages (those being Kayak Angler Magazine, YakAngler.com, and Kayak Fishing Magazine).
What I found was generally good. Ocean Kayak, Wilderness Systems and Hobie released new models of kayaks. I planned on offering my spin on all these new models — but I got so hung up on three in particular that I figured I’d be nice and break it up for you guys.
What do these three kayaks have in common you wonder? Well they’re all in the 11 foot range… which is honestly a trend that has me scratching my head.
The short boat trend
Last year the Jackson Kayak Coosa grabbed the attention of everyone in the kayak fishing world. This 11′ 3″ long, 31.5″ wide was designed head to toe for fishing. Sure there were plenty of short boats that were super stable before… but none of them were really designed for fishing, and certainly none of them were designed for paddlers over 200#s to be able to stand comfortably and fish.
This innovation is a great leap forward for kayak anglers and don’t get me wrong I love seeing it… but in my opinion, for adults, a 12′ kayak is plenty short enough to be maneuverable in any kind of water that’s floatable and fishable. Heck Wenoah’s shortest whitewater canoe is 16′!
That being said, it looks like its a trend I’m going to need to get used to… Hobie and Wilderness both launched 11 foot models of some of their other popular boats.
Hobie’s Mirage Revolution and Quest 11′s
To much acclaim, Hobie released an 11 foot version of their super popular Revolution line powered by their trademark Mirage drive. Much acclaim is a little bit of an understatement, this little pedal boat won Best Boat award at ICAST! Which is awesome, I love seeing kayaks win that award.
But I’m a little perplexed… It’s short and maneuverable… but it’s got the mirage drive so it won’t be useful in tight rocky rivers. The Outback is short and maneuverable, plus most people can stand in it.
Yes this fills the gap between their 9′ Mirage Sport and this boats big brother the 13′ Mirage Revolution, yes this will be less cumbersome to load and unload than its longer counterparts… but is that going to be enough to move sales? I sure hope so… that means that this sport is growing and to a size demographic that includes women!
Here’s a short video the from Issac at YakAngler:
Regardless of my thoughts on 11 foot boats, Congrats to Hobie for another Best Boat award! They’re an awesome company to work with and they are very devoted to growing the sport of kayak fishing. I’m sure the boat is going to sell like hotcakes regardless of what this wannabe expert thinks, and I hope it does.
Wilderness Systems Ride 115
I’m a big fan of Wilderness Systems products. The Tarpon line are the most efficient rotomolded boats I’ve ever paddled, the Ride 135 is one of the best all around fishing kayaks ever. The Commander line of hybrids were a great answer to the Ultimate series, The Pungos are sweet SINKs. At this point, I really didn’t think there was any room in their line up for anything but maybe a paddle board.
Behold the Ride 115, a boat that, in my opinion, is Wilderness Systems’ answer to the Coosa. It is marketed as an easy to transport, easy to store, river fishing and small water boat that you can stand in.
Its got some features the Coosa doesn’t have… for example, Slide Trax. These easy to use rails add a ton of versatility and ease to rigging. It also appears that this boat is going to paddle a little better than the Coosa. Being shorter than 12 they’re both going to lack in the tracking department, that’s just a fact of life, I don’t care what sales pitch you’ve heard. It’s really going to be a question of which boat will suck at tracking less. The Ride 115 has the Phase 3 seat, which is a great paddling seat… but in the sheer comfort department the Coosa seat will win. Not sure how much that will matter to anglers, most of whom will be doing alot of standing.
Also, the layouts are conducive to different styles of fishing as well, it will be very interesting to see what this competition leads to and what kind of anglers gravitate to the different boats when the dust settles.
My suggestion to anyone on the market for a short boat like the Ride 115 or Jackson Coosa — find a local shop that sells both or either of them get some serious butt time in both. A few hours in both flat water and a river scenario in both would be ideal if they’d let you! Make sure you can deal with paddling an 11 foot boat, especially if you come from a touring kayak background or you fish out of a longer boat.
I guess my biggest worry is that their won’t be enough of a market for all the short boats out there, I sure hope I’m wrong. I’d hate to see a boat like the T-100 (which is by far the best young kids kayak I’ve ever encountered) hit the chopping block because all prospective buyers went to the Ride 115, or worst case scenario — the sales for everyone gets spread too thin and the companies take a hit.
But I’m sure that wont be the case. I’m sure the problem is with me and my picky-ness, and there’s a huge market for these short boats. Or maybe I should actually put serious butt time in these kayaks before I go spouting off about them… Who knows maybe one day I’ll buy in to the short boat trend… if I had a wife who wanted to be able to car-top a boat on her own, or I had the storage and disposable income for a niche boat like that… one can dream I guess. These companies are all well established and know what the heck their doing. So I’ll get off my soap box.
Feel free to help me understand/tear me to pieces/agree in the comment section.
