Comparison of non-paddle kakyaks

[J.A. Veil]

Last evening I came across a comparative review of six fishing kayaks, none of which use paddle power. The review was published by Outdoor Life http://www.outdoorlife.com/6-best-fi...dom=fb#page-11. The table below shows the six models and their review by various criteria. To my knowledge Outdoor Life is an independent publication with no allegiance to any kayak brand. I am not sure why they selected the specific models in Native's and Hobie's lines to test -- both brands have numerous pedal-powered models. All but the Perception Pescador received high ratings. The Native Slayer Propel 13 scored the highest of these models. We are fortunate to have many choices in pedal-powered kayaks these days.


Fishing Kayak Test Results

	Native Slayer Propel 13	Hobie PA14 w/MD180	Old Town Predator PDL	Perception Pescador 120 Pilot	Wilderness ATAK 120 Helix MD	Old Town Predator Minn Kota
Specs
Price	$2,599	$3,449	$2,799	$1,699	$3,649	$2,999
Length/Width	13'2"/33"	13'8"/38"	13'2"/36"	12'5"/34"	12'3"/35"	13'2"/36"
Draft	1'	1'10"	1'6"	1'4"	2'2"	1'6"
Weight	85 LB.	145 LB.	117 LB.	85 LB.	101 LB.	117 LB.
Capacity	400 LB.	600 LB.	500 LB.	524 LB.	400 LB.	600 LB.
Subjective
Transport	9.3	7.1	8.2	9.7	7.3	7.9
Stability	8.9	9.8	9.3	7.7	8.7	9.5
Rigging	8.8	9.7	9.1	8.5	9.8	9.1
Fishability	9.3	9.5	9.3	8.5	9.7	8.9
Durability	9.6	9.2	9.5	8.1	9.6	9.2
Comfort	9.8	9.9	9.5	9.2	9.6	9.5
Objective
Propulsion	9.4	9.8	9.3	7.1	9.7	9.2
Maneuverability	9.8	10	8.5	9.2	9.2	8.1
Speed	8.5	8	8.2	7.9	9.2	10
Price/Value	9.7	8.5	9.3	9.1	8.2	9.2
Overall	93.1	91.5	90.2	85	91	90.6

[ronaultmtd]

Maybe they went with the top of the line in each manufacturer- They missed the most popular and widely used model- the SUV of fishing kayaks- the Hobie Outback

[silasvirus82]

Yea, that comparison is less relevant without a paddle kayak in the mix, but that's Outdoor Life for you. It appears they tried to pick a variety of boats, but the PA is in a different category than the rest. Very few of the "reviews/comparisons" I've read there are unbiased or reputable. I get it that you have to limit the number of boats, but an Outback would have been more relevant than the 14' PA. The gun reviews I've read are a joke, bows obviously favor certain brands and omit others. My dad subscribed for decades up until the last 5 years or so. Seems like all the mainstream magazines like this are marketing propaganda, more ads than content and content that is questionable at best.

[RavensDfense]

Maybe they went with the top of the line in each manufacturer- They missed the most popular and widely used model- the SUV of fishing kayaks- the Hobie Outback

I would have to agree. To compare the PA 14 to the Propel 13 is not quite fair. It would be the same if the authors compared the new Native Titan to a Revolution or an Outback. Two totally different categories, price points, etc. However, tables like this are very helpful for someone who is considering which kayaks to consider....so long as they are comparing apples to apples.

[mchottie]

I have the hard copy, I think it was the feature of the April 2017 issue. I was intrigued by the results, good win for the Propel 13.

[silasvirus82]

Maybe they went with the top of the line in each manufacturer- They missed the most popular and widely used model- the SUV of fishing kayaks- the Hobie Outback

These are "The 6 Best Fishing Kayaks", not the top of the line (rolls eyes). I'm pretty sure Hobie sells more Outbacks than they do any other model and for good reason.

[ronaultmtd]

Best fishing for what? Fresh water bass? Flounder, redfish in the marshes?

There is no such thing as "one best fishing kayak"....depends on what you are fishing for, the waters you are fishing and how you fish...

[yakscientist]

I would also like to see the outback or revo added to the comparison, and the feelfree lure kayaks with the new pedal drives as well. They look pretty spiffy IMO, and feelfree seemed to offer a lot for the money before the addition of the pedal drive, so it'll be interesting to see how much it'll cost when it's all said and done. Oh and maybe even include the wilderness radar kayak as well. The review at least seems a little subjective, and honestly, the only recent online reviews I've found which don't seem to be, are alan hawk's reel reviews. If only he reviewed kayaks... That being said though, I do like to see all the specs listed in one chart, as they were in one of J.A. Veil's earlier posts about kayak weights/capacities. Here's a thought, we get 10 people from this forum together, each with different or mostly different kayaks (can't have 10 outbacks), and then everyone swaps kayaks for a day, and write a few pages about what they liked or didn't like about it. We could make it a sort of Meet and Greet, just meet somewhere on a fairly calm day, all fishing the relatively same area, have some paddlers switch to pedal yaks, and pedalers switch to paddle yaks. We could leave them rigged as we would normally fish, and really would just be moving ourselves and our preferred rods/tackle around. We then have a nice roundtable discussion, and then write our reviews over the next week or so. We could draw which yak we are going to review out of a hat too, so we aren't biased as far as sampling goes. Just a thought. Oh and I'd certainly submit my own kayak into the review, and since it's a sit-in paddle kayak, it'd probably be a good comparison against majority sit-on top paddle and pedal kayaks.

[Seasalt]

Interesting article. Thanks John for sharing and bringing it to our attention.

I agree that comparison of Native Slayer 13 to Hobie's PA14 is not a good comparison. I would like to see the criteria for determining how they chose the yaks. Outback would be a better comparison to Slayer 13.

I believe Hobie being the first to market with the peddle kayak capture the large part of the market. They seem to have sustained it pretty good as well with customer support and quality products. But, their prices are high, especially the accessories. Overall, competition would be good for the end consumers.

One thing I have noticed about Chesapeake Bay kayak community is that there is a large Hobie following. Native and other vendors have a difficult job of changing people's perception as it's almost an occult-like following. Hobie deserves credit though...

[ronaultmtd]

There is a Hobie Mirage Drive and then there are all the one's that compare themselves to the Hobie Mirage Drive- what sold me on the Mirage Drive was fishing at PLO at a meet and greet- I had an Ocean 13 paddle yak- pretty nice kayak, and we all left the launch together...we were fishing for croakers that were about two miles out in Cornfield Harbor- by the time I arrived the Hobie guys were done fishing and starting to head in...by the time I got back to the launch they were all sitting around completely loaded just shooting the bull about the day's fishing...looking well rested while I was exhausted from fighting the wind and tide paddling...that was about five years ago...and I am solid on the Outback- love that model...

[docirv]

I agree with the group not having the outback in there was a glaring error on their part and skews all findings. But we all love our pedal yaks no matter what brand. Right?