Kayaks

Featured review by Bill Rawlinson (Finalcut)

Super stable and tracks well. This is a great kayak for touring around lakes and rivers. Great for beginner paddlers and beyond.

I've been a canoer my entire life but decided that my big 15' canoe was a bit too heavy for me to man-handle alone so I sold it and bought the 12' Wilderness Systems Pungo 120 kayak which weighs about 49 pounds (30 pounds less than my old canoe).   I had never sat in a kayak before and I was a little nervous about how different it might be from my canoeing experience. My concerns were misplaced though because this kayak is very user friendly. Getting in and out of it is a breeze. The cockpit opening is HUGE and the boat is so stable I had no trouble standing up in the kayak on the water while holding onto nothing to help me get in/out.

Read more: Wilderness Systems Pungo 120 reviews (4)

Featured review by Christina Chu

Folds up to take up very little space; is lightweight and portable (don't need a special rack on my car).

Folds up to take up very little space (approximately 30" x 30" x 10"); is lightweight (~25 lbs) and portable (don't need a special rack on my car), fits inside a Ford Taurus' trunk (I have fold down seats in the back but it'll fit in a taurus without those seats too). Can be [semi-easily/inexpensively] checked on a plane! Folds out to ~25'. Tracks fairly straight in water. Can be tricky to unfold/refold without practice, but the Oru company's online videos are helpful. Material is similar to the white plastic corrugated material that post office bins are made out of.

Read more: Oru Kayak Bay ST reviews (2)

Reviewed by Paula Johanson

This inflatable folding kayak is portable on buses and inside SmartCars and by small people. A very dependable recreational kayak, well-made with a terrific warranty. Available from the manufacturer, some stores, and West Marine stores and website.

The Lagoon is my favourite kayak of the several different boats I own. I've used an older version of the Lagoon for eight years without it failing. It's still a reliable, convenient recreational kayak. Here's a photo of me using it for the first time, in 2006. This 9'6" kayak is very stable, very confidence-building, very responsive to the paddler's moves. Hundreds of times it's been inflated and used, then deflated and put away. I've banged it into docks, run it up onto rocky beaches, and waves shuffled me across barnacled rocks without any damage beyond a few light scratches on the outside of the outer hull.

Read more: Advanced Elements Lagoon1 review (1)

Reviewed by Ralph Troutman

Old Town produced a great family recreational kayak in the Twin Heron. Excellent learning kayak and wonderful for a quiet day on lake or stream. I've paddled most of my life and this is the most comfortable kayak or canoe I've had.

Visited the Old Town factory in Maine and found a great deal on a Twin Heron kayak. Couldn't wait to get it in the water! This 60-pound kayak is easy to handle out of the water with two carry handles and lots of places to grab when you lift it onto a vehicle. Unique colors even look good sitting on top. The kayak excels once you get it into its natural environment, a lake, pond, or quiet stream. The Twin Heron is easy to paddle and tracks well, hold plenty of gear, and the seats are comfortable for an extended trip.

Read more: Old Town Twin Heron review (1)

Featured review by Dean Myers

Great rec kayak for lakes and slow rivers, capable of light overnight trips.

Have had this kayak almost three years. I've dragged it, banged it, shot over ice and hit bottom more than a few times. Aside from a few scratches, the hull is perfectly intact.  It's easy to get in and out of, has a very comfortable and well adjustable seat, a fairly big water-tight hatch on the back (enough for a tent and sleeping gear), a little water-tight hatch on the dash for keys or a cellphone (I use this hatch regularly and it hasn't failed), adjustable foot stays, bungee tie-downs on the front top which hold extra gear well, a paddle holder, knee pads, and a good skirt lip.

Read more: Old Town Dirigo 106 reviews (2)

Featured review by Joseph Renow

A lot of boat in a small affordable package!

I should start off by saying that I really love this boat...and every piece of gear (even that you make) is usually a compromise…and the Heron 9XT is no exception. My complaints aren’t so much about a lack of high-end features as it is low-end features…but let’s start with the things that I really dig about this boat. The Good: First…the price…I was working on a very small budget…and did not want to spend a lot of money on a kayak…but still wanted a boat that was capable of soloing trips as long as 10 days or more…so safety (keeping things dry + maneuverability) and comfort (roominess + back-support) were not things I wanted to sacrifice on too much.

Read more: Old Town Heron 9XT reviews (2)

Reviewed by John Fickler

Highly portable 12 1/2 foot, 31-pound inflatable kayak.

If you want a kayak that can ride inside your truck/car, this is the one for you. I have a wooden canoe that stays home most of the time because I don't have a place to easily transport it on the truck/travel trailer combo. The Sea Eagle 385ft solved this problem. I camp all over about a four-state area and almost always bring this kayak if there is a lake nearby. I bought the optional Watersnake electric motor and transom. The transom straps nicely to the rear of the kayak and provides a stable/sturdy motor mount. I modified the transom by adding a rod holder for fishing.

Read more: Sea Eagle 385ft FastTrack V-bottom review (1)

Featured review by Wade In The Water

A versatile, high quality kayak built to last a lifetime.

The Wilderness Systems Tarpon 140 is not marketed as a lightweight boat, so I'm not going to deduct points because it's heavy, but know that it is. The Orbix hatches used on these boats look really cool and are convenient to open and close; but they all leak which some people consider a really big deal. I don't. Kayaking is a water sport. That means I and my stuff will probably get wet. Stuff I don't want wet I put in a dry bag; easy. You may feel differently. So that's the bad. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's talk about the good.

Read more: Wilderness Systems Tarpon 140 reviews (3)

Reviewed by Maddix

A most excellent kayak for flat and mostly calm waters (rivers, lakes, and bays). Very stable with plenty of room for a companion, whether a larger dog or most tweens and younger. Excels at kayak camping.

Don't be fooled by the Cons, this is an awesome kayak if you are serious about bringing your buddy with you, kayak camping, or both.  It also works just fine for a short solo paddle as well, although so do plenty of other kayaks. Marketing. I fault copy/paste marketing folks for having bad info out there regarding this kayak. Half the ads I saw and some reviews listed a skeg, when in fact no skeg is available. How can you trust a review that is nothing more than a copy of the company's marking materials in the first place? Accessories.

Read more: Perception Prodigy 13.5 review (1)

Featured review by JMarley

After paddling the boat for 3 years I can say that the boat is well made and it is very sable in extremely rough conditions. The seats are really comfortable and even though my wife has arthritis and I deal with lower back pain, we can spend several hours out on the water without much trouble. We used to have two single kayaks, but we both paddle at different rates so someone was always waiting for the other person to catch up. With a tandem, you never have to wait for someone to catch up. If someone gets tired they can stop while the other keeps paddling, and the result is that you go a lot farther and faster than you do in single kayaks.

We have owned a Double Vision for three years and have taken it out in all kinds of conditions. We paddle the boat in lakes, but mostly paddle the boat in the Delaware and Chesapeake bays. I have been amazed that no matter how rough the conditions are, the boat always remains REALLY stable. We were out in the Delaware bay last year with 25-30 mile an hour winds with breaking white caps and the boat moved great through the waves and rough conditions. At no time did the boat ever feel tippy and we were able to paddle several miles up wind in some very rough conditions.

Read more: Current Designs Double Vision Tandem reviews (2)