In the market for a new kayak

[Kenza]

I have read a lot of post, reviews, and went on the website of many kayak manufacturers. I am looking for the current specs in that order:
1. light
2. fast
3. stable (fairly stable is fine)

i mainly use if for fishing and it has to have awesome surf handling, surf launching, and able to sit out in the open ocean while i fish there
I want it light and fast as i might do some touring with it.

i am not tall, 5'5 (165cm) around 68kg, and can handle anything under 30kg that has a good handle in a position that allows me to shoulder carry it around.
Just a side note, hobie kayaks has handle in the worst position that does not allow me to shoulder carry it so those are all out of the equation.

I have short listed this to the top few on my list in this order:
1. Stealth kayak (not sure which one though - splash, supalite, supalite BFS, or Evo)
2. Wilderness System - Tarpon 120, or Tarpon 120 Ultralite, i have not got my hands on the 140 or 160 so im not sure if i can handle it on my shoulders..
3. ocean kayak trident ultra 420 - not sure about the speed of this thing..
4. ocean kayak prowler 13 - not sure how these things compare to the Tarpon series..

Hoping that everyone can shed some light and help me with making this hard decision as i am currently in a dilemma and not being able to try out all the different types of yaks in the water i have to go with what i have used... looking to buy one by november this year.

** note one of my biggest querry is the speed difference from the shorter kayaks very noticable compared to the longer ones? i want something fast but still easier to handle (light)..

[Agent009]

Mate you've made one glaring omission....barracuda sot!

Ticks all the boxes and more. Very light, fast and fantastic surfing capabilities.

[nad97]

In the Stealth range a superlite or superlite X would be enough and keep the weight down.
The evos are built for speed not for surf ability but I belive they still surf OK but cant coment as have not used one before
Ant would be able to make a better call as he has bot superlite X and evo. The stealths are a great yak

[eric]

Stealth.

Decide what you want.

Surf? Superlites.
Speed? Evos/Splash/Fisha.

All are surprisingly stable, the Splash is very light and I've not only camped with it before, I'll be doing it again in two weeks.

[Kenza]

Stealth.

Decide what you want.

Surf? Superlites.
Speed? Evos/Splash/Fisha.

All are surprisingly stable, the Splash is very light and I've not only camped with it before, I'll be doing it again in two weeks.

eric, love your yak! it made the hobie oasis look like a slug! thats why the stealth is at the top of the list.. i reckon if i am gonna tag along on your trips i might have to get myself one of them.. but im not sure if the superlites are more suitable for my needs and is the speed difference significant..

[Kenza]

Mate you've made one glaring omission....barracuda sot!

Ticks all the boxes and more. Very light, fast and fantastic surfing capabilities.

Completely my bad, i had a look at the website for the Baracuda SOT ultralight Fish Pro and it did tick all the boxes!!!i love the design..thanks for the suggestions!!
A few questions about it is
how does it handle the surf?
Is the material durable?? compared to the other polyethelyne kayaks, and also compared to the stealth kayaks which are fiberglass..

Now there is one more kayak to add to my dilemma... but after looking at the barracuda i can nearly rule out the ocean kayak series as i dont think the quality of their finish is any good.. the ones i see in the shop has lots of offcuts and scraped plastic inside the yak... The tarpon seems to have a better finish...

[keza]

Re the barracuda, it is very durable, more so than glass. Having said that, I have added some deck grip to the ridges on the base of mine (tip from Occy) to help with the rocks but that's because I'm still in the honeymoon faze.
They are meant to be good in the surf but i'll be trying that out next week.
Very stable, moves along with not much effort. I doubt it would be as fast as a stealth but I guess it depends on the model.

[Kenza]

after checking out the Barracuda SoT, i also stumbled across the hurricane pheonix which seems to be the competitor comparison.. does anyone have a comparison between the two?? according to the melbourne kayak shop their website states that the hurricane has better everything compared to the barracuda.. (http://www.southernadventures.com.au/pa ... Kayaks.htm).. is this really the case?

at this stage i am still leaning with the stealth, are there any stealth dealers in victoria region?

[BrisbaneJamie]

.....................

[keza]

after checking out the Barracuda SoT, i also stumbled across the hurricane pheonix which seems to be the competitor comparison.. does anyone have a comparison between the two?? according to the melbourne kayak shop their website states that the hurricane has better everything compared to the barracuda.. (http://www.southernadventures.com.au/pa ... Kayaks.htm).. is this really the case?

at this stage i am still leaning with the stealth, are there any stealth dealers in victoria region?

There is a full review of a Phoenix 130 in the rigged kayaks section , ( Camel ) is the member who has written the post up, he seems pretty happy with the Phoenix. Sidenote read the Baracuda SOT thread on the forum , there seems to have been some issues with leaking and structural integrity with some kayaks, bear in mind I said some.

Jamie

At this point the Barracuda rep isn't on the forum but says that early on they have some detailing issues in the factory, he is happy that these are now sorted out and the end product is A1.
The issues were to do with leaks and the seal around the seam. Nothing to do with structural integrity.
I love mine. If I only launched on sand then I would have looked at a stealth.

[Agent009]

I was in a very similiar position (to the original poster).

Pretty much narrowed it down to the Barracuda or a Stealth.

Problem was that I do a lot of surf launches and estuary (about half/half). Was looking at Stealth Evo 465 but doesn't handle surf all that well. Was also looking at Stealth Supalite which is great in the surf but not as nice to paddle as the Evo (or as fast).

The Barracuda is fast enough and great in the surf so ticks both of these boxes. Plus its only 20 or so kg's!! And you don't have to worry about scraping over rocks etc.

I have ordered a Barracuda and will pick it up in a few weeks. The only other kayak I was looking at was the Jackson Cuda. I think it's one sexy looking kayak and has so many features its ridiculous. The only thing is it weighs 33kg which is kinda putting me off it.

[camel]

Kenza

Brisbane Jamie mentioned my Pheonix.

I love the Barracuda. And would have bought one if I had an extra $1000 or so on hand at the time. I preffered it because of the center hatch.

Having said that i also love my Phoenix its the poor mans Barracuda. And suits my style of fishing very well. The price difference for me was too large to ignore. I was able to look at both in store. And I would say the quality of finish on the Hurricane Phoenix is better. Hurricane have been making thermo formed kayaks for a long time so it should be. But its not as customisable as the Barracuda.

If your planning on offshore fishing and surf launches go the Barracuda. I feel its better suited to that style of fishing. Look up Barracuda kayaks on youtube there is a heap of good videos from paddleguyjas.


Regards

Ant

[mingle]

If you're after something light, I think you're limited to the thermoformed/glass yaks - those others in your list all seem to be pretty heavy in comparison.

For the money I think the Hurricane Phoenix 140 would be the go (they also do a shorter 120 & 130 model):

http://www.sit-on-topkayaking.com/Kayak ... ix140.html

http://www.paddling.net/Reviews/showRev ... ?prod=2006

Cheers,

Mike.

[Kenza]

i went into the shop yesterday and had a look at the hurricane phoenix 120, i lifted it up really easily and i think the 140 would be most suitable for me. The shop owner said that the baracuda was thinner in material and not as durable as the phoenix but lighter. i found the phoenix 120 a tad too easy to carry hence i think the 140 would be just nice.

what i am worrier about is that the phoenix and cuda looks like a tupperware....it is 2 piece the top is siliconed onto the bottom. the owner said it is important to store it on either sitting up or upside down and never on the side or the seam will pop.

does anyone knows how durable the siliconed seams are??

thanks for all the response everyone!!

my conclusion so far is that stealth is still much faster and durable than the cuda or the phoenix,
but unfortunately buying them new is at least $500 more expensive than buying a phoenix and at least $200 more than buying a cuda..

hope to hear more thoughts.

[camel]

does anyone knows how durable the siliconed seams are??

.

As far as I know, on the Phoenix two adhesives are used at the seam. A glue on an internal channel that structurally holds and seals the two halfs. And the white silicon on the outside of the seam that is more cosmetic than anything else.

Ant