Hobie or Old Town or...

Well I couldn't wait until January, pulled the trigger on a 2019 Hobie Outback today. I got a very good deal. One of the hardest decisions I've ever made cause I sure liked the Old Town too. I pick it up next Saturday and will be on the water somewhere by Monday...lol  Thank you all for the input.  I really appreciate it. I'm sure I'll have a flood of questions in the months to come.

You won't regret it. See you on the water...

Ended up going to Camanche to meet up with a buddy for the first trip. No sonar so I was fishing blind and got nothing. But I did enjoy my ride. There's few things I need to address to make the trips easier but nothing major except maybe the new PFD. The one I have have has too much padding in the back and is very hot. Sonar was delivered while I was out yesterday, naturally, so now I'm planning the next trip. Think I'm going to do a couple more lake trips before I take it out in any tidal waters but I'm looking forward to hittin Montezuma Slough in November. I figured out the pics....Bill

Right on Bill, looking good!

Looks pretty.  Enjoy it

That kayak wants to be seen! thanks for the pic. glad you found a good fit!

Very nice!

Thanks everyone. I'm loving it so far for sure. I got another question. If any of you transport your yak in the back of a pick up, as I do, do you take the seat, box, sonar, etc... off while underway? I drug a boat around for 16 years with all that stuff left on with no problems and it would be a few less things to do when I got to the water. Thanks...

do you keep it upright? I wouldn't see a problem with it if everything is secured down, I would maybe bungie the seat so it doesn't flap up.

when I transported in the truck bed before I got the Camper top I took all that off cause it was a brand new ( to me ) kayak and I didn't want anything to break! lol.

If I still transported in my truck bed with one of those lumber rack extender thingies I would def transport with seat and rod holder on, battery in the hull, tackle in the center hatch and be fine with it.  but I would still be sketch about the FF just cause I don't have a super solid mount for it. flops a tiny bit.

Thanks everyone. I'm loving it so far for sure. I got another question. If any of you transport your yak in the back of a pick up, as I do, do you take the seat, box, sonar, etc... off while underway? I drug a boat around for 16 years with all that stuff left on with no problems and it would be a few less things to do when I got to the water. Thanks...

Your Hobie Vantage seat retails for $528.  I personally would not take any chances.

You got a point there about the seat. I was mainly thinking of my tackle box. It's strapped down good. I think I will take the sonar and seat off.

I would love to hear your feedback when you surf launch your outback. I’m trying to decide between a revo 13 and an outback. I don’t really want to modify a revo. But, I don’t want to be slugging it out against the current and wind either. And I don’t want to struggle through the surf zone unnecessarily.

I was in a kayak on SF bay once and the current/wind was so strong that I could not over come it. Had to drift from the gg bridge to Sausalito, beach the boat downtown and take a Lyft back to my car. Never want that to happen again.

However, I’ve also flipped in Tomales. Was in the water for 20 minutes  and this was before I knew I should be wearing a wetsuit or dry suit. Was shaking like a leaf when I hit the beach..

The stability versus speed factors weigh heavy on my mind.

I would love to hear your feedback when you surf launch your outback. I’m trying to decide between a revo 13 and an outback. I don’t really want to modify a revo. But, I don’t want to be slugging it out against the current and wind either. And I don’t want to struggle through the surf zone unnecessarily.

I was in a kayak on SF bay once and the current/wind was so strong that I could not over come it. Had to drift from the gg bridge to Sausalito, beach the boat downtown and take a Lyft back to my car. Never want that to happen again.

However, I’ve also flipped in Tomales. Was in the water for 20 minutes  and this was before I knew I should be wearing a wetsuit or dry suit. Was shaking like a leaf when I hit the beach..

The stability versus speed factors weigh heavy on my mind.

I think you answered your own question.  If speed is most important, then pick the hull that can accommodate speed better.

I would love to hear your feedback when you surf launch your outback. I’m trying to decide between a revo 13 and an outback. I don’t really want to modify a revo. But, I don’t want to be slugging it out against the current and wind either. And I don’t want to struggle through the surf zone unnecessarily.

I was in a kayak on SF bay once and the current/wind was so strong that I could not over come it. Had to drift from the gg bridge to Sausalito, beach the boat downtown and take a Lyft back to my car. Never want that to happen again.

However, I’ve also flipped in Tomales. Was in the water for 20 minutes  and this was before I knew I should be wearing a wetsuit or dry suit. Was shaking like a leaf when I hit the beach..

The stability versus speed factors weigh heavy on my mind.

I’ve owned both a newer Revo (2015) and outback (2019). The speed between the two is not very noticeable. The outback actually performs better speed wise when it is loaded down with gear. Empty and cruising I would say the revo is slightly faster.

In the surf the outback launches better, but the revo lands better. When launching the width of the outback keeps it above the waves better than the revo. When landing the outback does not like staying pointed straight. I think that the non storable rudder on it vs the storable rudder on the revo has something to do with it. I flipped my outback on my first 3 landing attempts until I figured out that it didn’t surf like a revo.

For the earlier question about keeping stuff in the kayak. I keep my seat attached, fishfinder, battery, center hatch with gear, and front hatch. I would be careful about keeping too much tackle though. I would worry about the hull having enough support to carry all the extra weight.

I would love to hear your feedback when you surf launch your outback. I’m trying to decide between a revo 13 and an outback. I don’t really want to modify a revo. But, I don’t want to be slugging it out against the current and wind either. And I don’t want to struggle through the surf zone unnecessarily.

I was in a kayak on SF bay once and the current/wind was so strong that I could not over come it. Had to drift from the gg bridge to Sausalito, beach the boat downtown and take a Lyft back to my car. Never want that to happen again.

However, I’ve also flipped in Tomales. Was in the water for 20 minutes  and this was before I knew I should be wearing a wetsuit or dry suit. Was shaking like a leaf when I hit the beach..

The stability versus speed factors weigh heavy on my mind.

I’ve owned both a newer Revo (2015) and outback (2019). The speed between the two is not very noticeable. The outback actually performs better speed wise when it is loaded down with gear. Empty and cruising I would say the revo is slightly faster.

In the surf the outback launches better, but the revo lands better. When launching the width of the outback keeps it above the waves better than the revo. When landing the outback does not like staying pointed straight. I think that the non storable rudder on it vs the storable rudder on the revo has something to do with it. I flipped my outback on my first 3 landing attempts until I figured out that it didn’t surf like a revo.

For the earlier question about keeping stuff in the kayak. I keep my seat attached, fishfinder, battery, center hatch with gear, and front hatch. I would be careful about keeping too much tackle though. I would worry about the hull having enough support to carry all the extra weight.

Thanks for the detailed first hand experience with the two J.

This thread is gold.

I still haven't had a chance to take it to the beach but I keep watching posts here and videos on YouTube to learn more about it. First, I'm not going until I get the wetsuit, and then from what I've seen so far is launching seems to be a little easier then landing. I've seen a couple vids where they actually do surf in. Another where the guy got out and swam behind the yak in. I was reading your post ThreemoneyJ and you said "I flipped my outback on my first 3 landing attempts until I figured out that it didn’t surf like a revo." Other than figuring out that it didn't like to surf, what did you do to get in successfully? I've had mine out now four times but only once where there was current, the delta. I was going to try and hit Anchor Bay for the first beach trip as Duckguy graciously offered to go out too which would be cool. I will try hard to take him up on that. However, Doran may be the first spot. Looks a little easier for learning.