Hobie Revo 13 Opinions

What are some thoughts on the Hobie Revo 13? I am thinking of selling my small aluminium boat and Moken 12.5 to buy a 2017 revo 13 and im wondering if anyone has anything to say about how they like or dont like theirs. I would mostly be using it on the Napa river for striper fishing and the coast for rockfishing and maybe salmon. I am also looking to do some trout/kokanee trolling in the future. Does it fish well without the mirage drive if I was fishing flats for stripers? Is it very roomy? Is it comfortable after a long day of peddling?
Thanks

What are some thoughts on the Hobie Revo 13? I am thinking of selling my small aluminium boat and Moken 12.5 to buy a 2017 revo 13 and im wondering if anyone has anything to say about how they like or dont like theirs. I would mostly be using it on the Napa river for striper fishing and the coast for rockfishing and maybe salmon. I am also looking to do some trout/kokanee trolling in the future. Does it fish well without the mirage drive if I was fishing flats for stripers? Is it very roomy? Is it comfortable after a long day of peddling?
Thanks

Do it. My Revo 13 is among the most versatile kayaks that I have ever fished out of. You can do all of the things you listed and more. If the river you fish is deep enough to allow for the mirage drive, then you will love the kayak on the river. The 180 drive is a complete game changer on the river (at least it has been for me this shad season). 

I have used the revo 13 to jumpshoot ducks on flats where the depth is less than the mirage drive draft. I still use the mirage drive. You can provide sufficient propulsion over flats by making short and rapid peddlestrokes that keep the mirage fins close to the hull. As long as you have water deep enough for the rudder then in my opinion you are AOK. If you don't have enough depth for the rudder, then fugetaboutit. The Revo 13 paddles like a nightmare.

Comfortable: Yes

Roomy: No, but it's sufficient. The tankwell isn't deep, and finding a place to put your hawgtrough is a PITA. I just got a hawgtrough bracket for mine (after 4 years of frustration). Problem solved.

My $0.02

i love the revo 13, way better then my outback when I had it . It's perfect very versatile,fast , stable. 

I have a Revo, a Tarpon and a Trident.  Compared to a paddle-powered kayak, the Revo is a PITA to paddle (with the drive out), and compared to a pedal-powered kayak, the Trident and Tarpon are a PITA for trolling.

Mounting things on the Revo is a challenge - surmountable, but for a fishing kayak, there's not a lot of room for fish finders and rod holders.  There's a whole lot of space on a Revo you can't use because of the space you need to operate the pedal drive.  It's noisy, pedaled or paddled, when trying to sneak up on fish in freshwater.

There are a lot of downsides to a Revo, but - big BUT - it's my favorite kayak of all time.  It's extraordinarily stable in rough water.  I can pedal much further than I can paddle - and that's been important to me when opposing the wind and (or) the current, and my butt likes the old-style (pre-Vantage) seat of the Revo more than the seat in the Trident or even the AirPro seat in the Tarpon.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Not long after I bought the Revo, I stopped using conventional fishing gear and now fish only with fly rods, so some of the clear advantages of the Revo are no longer important to how I fish - and it's still the best kayak I've ever owned.

The revo 13 doesn't paddle that poorly.  Sure it isn't great compared to the popular paddle yaks but its not completely horrible.  I wouldn't plan on paddling it a lot, but in a pinch/shallow stretch/broken drive situation you'll be fine paddling.

It fits all of your criteria except the roomy part.  There is not a lot of space.  I have several feet worth of gear tracks to overcome that problem and its nice to be able to reposition things quickly and easily.

I call the Revo 13 my Ninja boat. 

It is lighter, faster, quiet, and allows for handsfree fishing.  Like Archie says, finding a place for your Hawg Trough sucks.  The Revo will force you to leave the unnecessary gear home or in the car.

By the way, I sold my Boston Whaler and replaced it with my Revo 13.

I love my Revo 13!  I place my Hawg Trough under the front hatch bungee.  I put some stickers on the hatch cover to prevent scratching.  Picture is at EKG a few weeks ago.

The Revo 13 gets the job done! 

Revo 13 FTW

Thanks guys for all the input, does anyone know a good place to test one out near Napa?

I've never found myself wanting more storage space in my revo.
It is super comfortable for long days.
It drafts pretty shallow with the fins in. If you have to take the fins out it is a manageable kayak with a paddle

As far as a test paddle goes there are many good shops around napa. For a Hobie dealer I'm fond of Wind Toys in Santa Rosa (its local to me and the owner lives in my neighborhood so im biased), but have also had good experiences with CCK in oakland. I'm sure others on here have good suggestions and experiences at other shops as well.

EDIT: If you want to chase stripers in the Napa River on a weekday I'll come along and you can test my 2015 out. Its the same, just no MD 180 although I have one of those too...

Thanks guys for all the input, does anyone know a good place to test one out near Napa?

The closest place that I can guarantee a demo is Adventure Sports in Oakley or Sacramento. It looks like your closest dealer is Wind Toys in Santa Rosa, but I don't have any experience with them. It sounds like ThreemoneyJ has had good experience with them.

What's their demo policy, John?

If you aren't in a hurry and don't care about the 180 drive, I'd watch the classified section here. There are some killer deals to be had if you can buy it before Sailfish scoops it up. 

FYI if interested in trying Revo or Outback CCK under Classes Events has a Hobie fish day next weekend up on coast.
Perfect place to try before buy
Any kayak is all dependent on your weight
I am 240 and found the Revo 13 to my surprise TIPPY on fresh water doing demo last week
Read the specs, talk to folks but the final decision is your BUTT check in bad conditions.
Bad conditions = sloppy chopy water with swell
May not be your cup of tea????

FYI if interested in trying Revo or Outback CCK under Classes Events has a Hobie fish day next weekend up on coast.
Perfect place to try before buy
Any kayak is all dependent on your weight
I am 240 and found the Revo 13 to my surprise TIPPY on fresh water doing demo last week
Read the specs, talk to folks but the final decision is your BUTT check in bad conditions.
Bad conditions = sloppy chopy water with swell
May not be your cup of tea????

The secondary stability is comparatively pretty good though.  It might feel tippy on flat water but it performs really well in the slop and chop.

Echoing what everyone else said, the Revo 13 sounds like a good fit for what you're planning to accomplish.  It's an excellent blend of weight, speed, stability, and cargo space.  It quietly slices through the water with minimal bow splash, making it an excellent choice for when stealth is needed on freshwater.  It paddles alright.  I've had at least one Revo 13 in my fleet since 2012, and it's been my work horse fishing kayak for everything from the ocean to lakes to deep rivers.  I can't speak highly enough about them.

With all that being said, if you have the chance, I recommend demoing the Hobie Outback as well.  The Outback expands a bit on the stability and cargo space categories, with a relatively minor weight increase.  It provides a ton more deck space than the Revo and makes rigging/modding a lot easier.  The concave design of the front hatch allows you to stack things on there, like a big halibut.  Downsides to the Outback include the bow splash (it's a lot louder than the Revo) and it's a little more cumbersome to paddle compared to the Revo.

Test them both if you have the opportunity.  For an all-around fish catching machine that's equally proficient stalking spring-water trout as it is for trolling ocean salmon, the Revo 13 is a great choice.  If you prefer to bring more gear with you to cover all the bases, want the option to stand up in your kayak, and/or aim to haul in BIG fish back to the launch, the Outback could be a good fit.