So I am interested in purchasing my first starter kayak and it seems like now is the time to purchase one since both Dicks and Menards are having sales. I currently just finished grad school so funds are a little tight and I saw a couple around the $200 range that I am interested in. Menards has the Viper 10'4 for $169, and Dicks has the Pelican Trailblazer 100 (10'4") for $179, and the Pelican Trailblazer Angler for $199. I was hoping for some advice on these kayak, especially if you have had any experience with these before. Are they worth it, and which do you think would be best? Or should I wait and save a little more to purchase a higher end kayak. I appreciate your feedback and look forward to hearing from you guys. Thanks
Advice on buying a Kayak
eleed89
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So I am interested in purchasing my first starter kayak and it seems like now is the time to purchase one since both Dicks and Menards are having sales. I currently just finished grad school so funds are a little tight and I saw a couple around the $200 range that I am interested in. Menards has the Viper 10'4 for $169, and Dicks has the Pelican Trailblazer 100 (10'4") for $179, and the Pelican Trailblazer Angler for $199. I was hoping for some advice on these kayak, especially if you have had any experience with these before. Are they worth it, and which do you think would be best? Or should I wait and save a little more to purchase a higher end kayak. I appreciate your feedback and look forward to hearing from you guys. Thanks
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My best advice is save another $200 ontop of your budget and find a good used wilderness system on craigslist. My brother in law did the whole menards route. Don't do it man. Get a good starter kayak. The $100 take is gonna be something that you'll loose money on. Get a OK or a wilderness system and then you can resell it and trade up when you're ready. The menards route you'll be hard pressed to resell.
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if you are under 200lbs and plan on fishing small lakes and rivers i'd go for this one
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/produ ... d=31976486
i wouldnt touch the menards, pelican, sundolphin or lifetime yaks. used is a good option as well but i rarely see good ones on craigslist. you might be waiting a while if you go that route
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/produ ... d=31976486
i wouldnt touch the menards, pelican, sundolphin or lifetime yaks. used is a good option as well but i rarely see good ones on craigslist. you might be waiting a while if you go that route
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This wouldn't be my first choice but if still take it over the ones you mentioned.
http://chicago.craigslist.org/nch/boa/4536239558.html
Every week there are new kayaks on craigslist. Just keep you eye out every day
http://chicago.craigslist.org/nch/boa/4536239558.html
Every week there are new kayaks on craigslist. Just keep you eye out every day
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While I've not tried the Menards kayak, my first kayak was a $200 Dick's sit in kayak (I think it was a Pelican) and I loved it. I honestly didn't know how much i'd ultimately use it so I really didn't want to spend more money, understanding that if I wanted more down the road, i'd worry about that when the time comes. Well it turned out I LOVED it. It was probably one of the best $200 I ever spent. I used it for 2 years and sold it and then upgraded to something a bit more practical for me needs. For a starter kayak, I couldn't have been happier.
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After having a sit-in and now a SOT i'd never go back to a sit-in.
It's a lot more movable room...i like the option to hang my feet over the side when its pipping hot out. also it's much more manageable if you dump the yak over. Also there's a lot more dek space for rigging stuff up. If you look at every tournament kayak angler and the guys hooking stuff in big waters...it's pretty much a SOT world. (nothing wrong with sit-in..just a little more restrictive)
Alot of guys told me to not buy the Ascend from bass pro...but i did anyways. Sold it within a year after buying.
It's a lot more movable room...i like the option to hang my feet over the side when its pipping hot out. also it's much more manageable if you dump the yak over. Also there's a lot more dek space for rigging stuff up. If you look at every tournament kayak angler and the guys hooking stuff in big waters...it's pretty much a SOT world. (nothing wrong with sit-in..just a little more restrictive)
Alot of guys told me to not buy the Ascend from bass pro...but i did anyways. Sold it within a year after buying.
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Florida and Woz are 1000% correct.
When it comes to fishing kayaks, I would never own anything other than a sit on top for every reason that Woz mentioned.
When it comes to fishing kayaks, I would never own anything other than a sit on top for every reason that Woz mentioned.
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Sit on top:eleed89 said:
Pros- stability, fish-ability, better tracking, comfort, storage, high weight capacity, better for big lakes and ocean.
Cons- heavy, longer, expensive
Sit inside:
Pros- light weight, easy to paddle and turn, cheap, drier (sometimes)
Cons- doesnt track as well, less room to move around and less storage
I have two Wilderness Systems Sit on Tops and a Perception Sit inside. most of my fishing is done on the sit on tops but sometimes you just cant beat the light weight of the sit inside to get to remote places. For example, I fished a small Vilas county lake last summer that required walking down stairs to get to the launch. There is no way I could've done that solo with my 70+ pound sit on tops.
IMO get what you can afford now and when you have more money upgrade to the high end sit on top. you can always keep the sit inside as a loaner or for those remote locales that you cant get the big yak into.
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Tracking, speed, and stability have nothing do do with Sit on top versus SOT. Bottom hull design, width, length, etc influence the boats tracking ability, turnability, and how fast it is, and glide. I used sit-ins for a couple years as they were lighter. Now that I have a SOT I realize the advantages and dis-advantages of each. If you get out of the boat often while fishing I would suggest a SOT for sure. In general if primary usage is fishing SOTs are more convenient. Big waters that are hectic SOTs are safer if it stays sealed it will float better. Unless a sit-in has sealed chambers and/or float bag a flip off shore will be more problematic.
The swifty with built in rod holders that F-rigger provided a link for is a great starter sit-in boat. Perception has quality plastic, and still light. It's a rugged boat, a little slow, tracks decent, turns good (a good blend) - it's a good fishing sitin starter boat. Had one - liked it.
If you wanted a really low cost SOT to use for a couple seasons.... I wouldn't rule out Pelican, perhaps not as rugged but would suffice. If you can spend sometime sitting in one at Dicks...with the minimalistic seats on low end pelicans if you aren't comfortable for 10minutes...well in 3 hours of fishing it will be much worse.
I can't see why anyone would consider a Menards boat.
The swifty with built in rod holders that F-rigger provided a link for is a great starter sit-in boat. Perception has quality plastic, and still light. It's a rugged boat, a little slow, tracks decent, turns good (a good blend) - it's a good fishing sitin starter boat. Had one - liked it.
If you wanted a really low cost SOT to use for a couple seasons.... I wouldn't rule out Pelican, perhaps not as rugged but would suffice. If you can spend sometime sitting in one at Dicks...with the minimalistic seats on low end pelicans if you aren't comfortable for 10minutes...well in 3 hours of fishing it will be much worse.
I can't see why anyone would consider a Menards boat.
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Get a yak that meets your needs. If you are a weekend angler that enjoys hitting a small pond like Beck, then a menards or dicks yak would be great for you. It is overwhelming when making a big purchase without much info but like anything else, dont let trends and big names coerce you into something you dont need. I have a dicks yak and my buddy a menards yak. We do very well on beck and the DPR every week and we spent 275 on ours.
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Here is what I will say in favor of a cheapie yak. It gives you a chance to see if you really like kayak fishing. If you buy a cheap yak, only take it out a few times and then it ends up collecting dust, then no big deal.
You're also not out a ton of money if you DO end up liking it. Sell it for a quick hundo or keep it as a spare for the wife, girlfriend, friend, etc...to use occasionally.
You're also not out a ton of money if you DO end up liking it. Sell it for a quick hundo or keep it as a spare for the wife, girlfriend, friend, etc...to use occasionally.
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This is true but I was speaking in general terms of the common fishing kayaks. 99% of the time a 30"+ wide SOT is going to be more stable than any SINK. Tracking is mostly a factor of length and most SOT's are 12FT+ vs under 12FT for a SINK.Skifish1 said:
Sit in side kayaks are generally faster, track a better line and offer more versatility. But don't go shorter than 12 ft and 14 ft advised unless you want a whitewater boat.
SOT BOATS are generally "more stable" but ths makes them considerably slower, harder to get up to speed and with less glide. Sit inside kayaks are also very stable depending on hull shape, width but in general because your center of gravity is at waterline instead of above waterline. So I order for a SOT to be as stable as a sit inside boat, the SOT is generally made wider and with greater volume. This necessarily makes the wider SOT fatter and slower.
In terms of versatility, I can pack my WS Pungo 140 with enough dry gear and food to camp for few days. And when she is loaded properly, she is a dream boat with lots of to speed and glide. A SOT with its higher volume, higher profile and much wider beam would catch wind, is harder to paddle straight and dry storage is limited.
If you are looking for a boat that you can paddle out a mile or two, get in and out of a lot, fish and paddle wiggle waggle back to the ramp, then a SOT is your choice. But if you want a boat that will take you 10-20 miles, fully loaded, camp or picnic, fish and do it rapidly, then the sit inside kayaks are your choice.
BUT, as mentioned earlier, hull shape, chine, length, paddeler's skill should all be considered before buying.
I like the WS 140 and my wife paddles the 120. We love these boats from the big waters of Teton Lake to wisconsin river reaches north and south, the Chippewa and slower flat portions of the Flambeau, devils lake, lake wisconsin a our home waters at Busse lake......I would not take these in any white water more than level 2. They are too long with too much chine.
For friends, I have an Old Town 138 that has a double hull and a very flat bottom like a canoe, wide cockpit and is therefore very stable. But it is wide at the waterline and is therefore by definition harder to get up to speed, had less glide ratio and is slower. But a very nice classic kayak with stability as it's hallmark. And it is an I breakable tank against rocks and logs in current.
I have no interest in narrow, less stable truly fast kayaks as I don't want to trade the comfort for performance. Similarly, I personally have no interest in a wider, flat bottom, short SOT as I don't want to trade still more stability for speed. How much stability do you need? How much speed do you want?
They're are plenty of paddeler's who would say that my WS 140 is a big fat slow bathtub of a boat. But for me, it is prefect for my uses.
Any boat you get should look beyond cost, to a point, with attention to what you want your boat for. And if you don't go over the top on any one aspect, you can really start to narrow down the many many choices. If you go over the top with stability, you can find some speed. If you don't go over the top on speed, you can add some comfort, storage and stability.
I would suggest getting a copy of Canoe and Kayak magazine and go to all of the manufacturers websites.
SOT BOATS are generally "more stable" but ths makes them considerably slower, harder to get up to speed and with less glide. Sit inside kayaks are also very stable depending on hull shape, width but in general because your center of gravity is at waterline instead of above waterline. So I order for a SOT to be as stable as a sit inside boat, the SOT is generally made wider and with greater volume. This necessarily makes the wider SOT fatter and slower.
In terms of versatility, I can pack my WS Pungo 140 with enough dry gear and food to camp for few days. And when she is loaded properly, she is a dream boat with lots of to speed and glide. A SOT with its higher volume, higher profile and much wider beam would catch wind, is harder to paddle straight and dry storage is limited.
If you are looking for a boat that you can paddle out a mile or two, get in and out of a lot, fish and paddle wiggle waggle back to the ramp, then a SOT is your choice. But if you want a boat that will take you 10-20 miles, fully loaded, camp or picnic, fish and do it rapidly, then the sit inside kayaks are your choice.
BUT, as mentioned earlier, hull shape, chine, length, paddeler's skill should all be considered before buying.
I like the WS 140 and my wife paddles the 120. We love these boats from the big waters of Teton Lake to wisconsin river reaches north and south, the Chippewa and slower flat portions of the Flambeau, devils lake, lake wisconsin a our home waters at Busse lake......I would not take these in any white water more than level 2. They are too long with too much chine.
For friends, I have an Old Town 138 that has a double hull and a very flat bottom like a canoe, wide cockpit and is therefore very stable. But it is wide at the waterline and is therefore by definition harder to get up to speed, had less glide ratio and is slower. But a very nice classic kayak with stability as it's hallmark. And it is an I breakable tank against rocks and logs in current.
I have no interest in narrow, less stable truly fast kayaks as I don't want to trade the comfort for performance. Similarly, I personally have no interest in a wider, flat bottom, short SOT as I don't want to trade still more stability for speed. How much stability do you need? How much speed do you want?
They're are plenty of paddeler's who would say that my WS 140 is a big fat slow bathtub of a boat. But for me, it is prefect for my uses.
Any boat you get should look beyond cost, to a point, with attention to what you want your boat for. And if you don't go over the top on any one aspect, you can really start to narrow down the many many choices. If you go over the top with stability, you can find some speed. If you don't go over the top on speed, you can add some comfort, storage and stability.
I would suggest getting a copy of Canoe and Kayak magazine and go to all of the manufacturers websites.
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