video for the Wilderness Systems Radar kayak

[yakscientist]

I feel like more kayaks should come with sail mounts as well. That's honestly one of the things that's keeping an outback near the top of my list, reverse doesn't seem necessary to me, as I'll always have a paddle close by. Although that $1800 pescador pilot is very appealing, especially since I already have had great experiences with my perception sound.

[ronaultmtd]

I am 70 years old and have two bad (bone on bone) knees- my ortho surgeon keeps asking me if I am ready for replacement knees...my Outback is used 99% of my time on the water even though I own a Ocean Prowler 13 that is much lighter...I rarely lift the entire weight of the kayak and the fat sand tires on the cart makes launches and recovery pretty easy- having a pickup truck is essential to my fishing- don't think I would be able to use my Outback much without the ease of loading and unloading my Ranger 4X4 gives me...

[Turtle135]

But I have to wonder what market the pedal driven kayak companies are responding to. Are they overshooting their target? Every “bell and whistle” as referred to here recently in another thread adds weight. At some point, they will create a boat that can only reach the water by trailering. Hobie is there already with its PA series. Trailering (in AA county at least) significantly reduces the areas where you can launch.

I suspect these new pedal driven kayaks from Wilderness Systems, Old Town and Feel Free are primarily targeting the fresh water bass fishing crowd. The kayak bass fishing tournament scene is growing at a rapid rate right now. One of the tournament trails had a $ 35,000.00 payday for the winner of their championship tournament this year and their goal is to increase that over the next several years to a $ 100,000.00 payday to the winner. The propulsion and bell and whistle accessories seem to be geared towards a tournament angler being more efficient on the water.

Hopefully the rising water in the kayak industry benefits us all in the end with better products and more options (not sure we will see lower prices).

[Oldbayrunner]

I suspect these new pedal driven kayaks from Wilderness Systems, Old Town and Feel Free are primarily targeting the fresh water bass fishing crowd. The bass fishing tournament scene is growing at a rapid rate right now. One of the tournament trails had a $ 35,000.00 payday for the winner of their championship tournament this year and their goal is to increase that over the next several years to a $ 100,000.00 payday to the winner. The propulsion and bell and whistle accessories seem to be geared towards a tournament angler being more efficient on the water.

Hopefully the rising water in the kayak industry benefits us all in the end with better products and more options (not sure we will see lower prices).

Not really as far as Feel Free they are coming out with a new ocean kayak called the Dragon that works with their Overdrive system. I use a side mount TM on my Lure at present but the thing that intrigues me with the Overdrive is the option to peddle or power drive

[DanMarino]

Good points by everyone.
1. I'm interested in a light kayak since i'm getting older and weaker.
2. I'm interested in a pedal powered kayak because I want to increase my range and reduce wear on my shoulders from paddling.
3. I'm not interested in a kayak with a heavy battery and electric trolling motor. Might as well get a cheap jon boat off of Craigslist for that.
4. I'd be interested in a Native Ultimate with the propel. I know they stopped making them for some reason.

For the type of fishing I do, there is no perfect kayak. So I understand that I will likely own several different models. So I'll be keeping an eye out for something used and in decent shape.