Revo or Outback?

I used to own revo. and Adventure and most of the time my revo.is colllecting dust sitting in the garage . so I just answered your question .. in fact I just ordered the new REVO. 16 last friday ... cause is really that good . specially when the weather gets nasty out there on a pelagic ...

I used to own revo. and Adventure and most of the time my revo.is colllecting dust sitting in the garage . so I just answered your question .. in fact I just ordered the new REVO. 16 last friday ... cause is really that good . specially when the weather gets nasty out there on a pelagic ...

Dang, Don.  A 2015 Adventure 16 and a 2015 AI both on pre-order.  I am so envious. 

I think the outback certainly has some nice features such as usable deck space....
But also consider ease of loading cartop. It's wider beam makes it harder for one person to grab midship.
 I found that The outback is also too wide to fit into my Hullavator rack.

But if you use saddles or have a truck it's wide beam won't be an issue
My $.02

If you're getting it for fishing, I'd get the Outback over the Revo.  The Outback is more stable and (more importantly) has more deck space then the Revo, which you'll appreciate when fishing out of it.

I own an Outback and have fished it everywhere from small ponds, large rivers, to the SF Bay, HMB, and Bodega.  I also own a Wilderness Systems Tarpon 160 and will soon be buying a Native Slayer Propel, but the Outback is my go-to fishing kayak.

A kayak is only as stable as the person operating it.
I feel just as, if not more comfortable on my Adventure than I do my Revo.

Initial stability is better with the 5 inch wider Outback but the offset is that it is a slower boat to pedal around or to paddle through the surf. The Outback's added width and side trays are convenient for fishing and it has enough deck width to cut out the 8" round hatch that is worthless and install the PA12 rectangular hatch that sells as a kit for a little over $100.

I would go to CCK and try them both which is what I did, driving from Moss Landing area up to Oakland. It is the only way to see which you prefer.

I decided to go with the performance of the Revo 13 over the added side trays of the Outback. Stability of the Outback versus the Revo 13 was never a consideration.

The side trays are handy and the ability of upgrading the Outback with the rectangular PA12 hatch make it a better boat for sitting and fishing. It is getting out to a spot and back again that is where I prefer the performance of the Revo - for me it is a lot more fun to pedal a long distance and is better suited to use with a sail.

But it is a purely subjective decision so the only way to be sure is with on the water demos of both boats on the same day which is where CCK is great as they have the boats and access to the SF bay and have Mirage drives with both the standard and turbo fins to try with the boats.

Like most have said.  DEMO.

   Contact your local shop, find out what they have available to demo, set up a time and go DEMO.  I find it best to call ahead since most shops are only staffed by a couple people at best and an appointment to do more than browse the boat is in the best interest of you, the potential buyer.  Nothing worse than showing up to see/test drive a yak only to find out it has been sold 

   Get to know your local shop.  I prefer to keep my business local in the event of a warranty issue.  Best of all, you will get to know GREAT people in your area who share the passion of paddling.  Most local shops are also willing to hook you up with some sort of NCKA price.

   It's a GREAT time of year to look since the 2015 models are coming soon!

   

Like most have said.  DEMO.

   Contact your local shop, find out what they have available to demo, set up a time and go DEMO.  I find it best to call ahead since most shops are only staffed by a couple people at best and an appointment to do more than browse the boat is in the best interest of you, the potential buyer.  Nothing worse than showing up to see/test drive a yak only to find out it has been sold 

   Get to know your local shop.  I prefer to keep my business local in the event of a warranty issue.  Best of all, you will get to know GREAT people in your area who share the passion of paddling.  Most local shops are also willing to hook you up with some sort of NCKA price.

   It's a GREAT time of year to look since the 2015 models are coming soon!

 

I've demoed them both in calm water. I was just asking for opinions on stability in open ocean. I do most of my fishing in the salt in unprotected water. I don't know anyone that will let me demo them out there. Suggestions?

At CCK you can take them out into SF Bay and on a windy day it an excellent simulation of any other bay along the coast. I did this with both boats with a wave chop and that was where the slap on the 2014 Outback was less than desirable for me.

The Outback is more convenient with the added width and option of installing the Pa12 rectangular hatch kit so you can have Plano boxes handy and stored in front of you and within easy reach.

I found no difference in stability only in drag between the two boats. If I was going out only a few miles and back the Outback's less efficient hull (at least on the 2014 model) would not be a big concern. But I like to go out a lot further than that and the Revo makes it fun to do so. I don't know how much faster it actually is to peddle but it feels a heck of a lot faster.

In some ways doing the demo with both made it a lot more difficult to buy and be happy with the Outback. If all I had tried was the Outback I would have been happy with it. It only suffers by comparison to the Revo 13 which is a bit like comparing a Jeep CF to a Mazda Miata. They each have their pluses and minuses but stability for going offshore is not one of them.

I have the Outback for a year now and rented the Revo for a couple of days (CCK) .  The first thing I noticed about the Revo is lack of deck space compared to the Outback. At first  the Revo felt tippy compared to the Outback but that went away after a few minutes. I chose to stay with the Outback because of the deck space that I was used to.
At CCK they have a "try out" program that I found useful.  For around $300 you can try out any of their kayaks for several days at a time over a period of 90 days.  If you decide to buy one of their kayaks the rent money is applied to the purchase. Using this program my wife has has a 2015 Outback on order and we tried out several of their boats.

I have the Outback for a year now and rented the Revo for a couple of days (CCK) .  The first thing I noticed about the Revo is lack of deck space compared to the Outback. At first  the Revo felt tippy compared to the Outback but that went away after a few minutes. I chose to stay with the Outback because of the deck space that I was used to.
At CCK they have a "try out" program that I found useful.  For around $300 you can try out any of their kayaks for several days at a time over a period of 90 days.  If you decide to buy one of their kayaks the rent money is applied to the purchase. Using this program my wife has has a 2015 Outback on order and we tried out several of their boats.

That is awesome. Thank you so much! I'm going to go try that out.

Oh man, a peddling Dave W.  We're gonna be the yin and yang of Dave Ws.

Yah. I have to unfortunately. I was a baseball pitcher growing up. Neither me or my coaches knew much about conditioning young arms. So now I have shoulder issues. Hurts like all hell when I get home if I paddle more than 5 miles.

Just kidding ya, man

Revo 13 for me, handles rough water well and can tow a buddy at the same time.  I've owned several Revo 13s and waiting on my new 2015 on pre-order.



Weather was flat then by 9:30am wind blew 16+ knots with steady 7 to 8 ft swells.  Our Revo 13 got us back safe.