What Kayak Brand should MBK add to their retail?

I am looking to possibly carry a new kayak fishing brand. We will continue to sell Wilderness, Old Town, Ocean Kayak, and Perception. Just was curious what you guys and gals have been using and what I should look into as a possibility. I know some brands are better for freshwater and have taken a demo out of a few of these brands. Just want to know what the salty dogs here think?

Not a salty dog here, just an old guy, so, something lightweight. But seems the business is going in the opposite direction.

The obvious answer is Hobie. But I would be stoked to see Jackson kayaks in stock too. And I really like those Crescent brand kayaks (made in the USA too!) due to their high quality, low price point, and general lighter weights.

Us folks over at Native have a pretty large line of fishing kayaks now.  We have lightweight thermoforms made by Hurricane and also have the lightest and most popular 10' pedal kayak around with the Slayer Propel 10.  The new Slayer Max 12.5 is really exciting and was designed for both open water and freshwater.  We've got plenty of good paddle yaks too. With Mike Mowrey as our distributor things have really picked up and there is strong dealer service.   I'm sure we can get a demo of the Max out there in Late October for you guys.

Us folks over at Native have a pretty large line of fishing kayaks now.  We have lightweight thermoforms made by Hurricane and also have the lightest and most popular 10' pedal kayak around with the Slayer Propel 10.  The new Slayer Max 12.5 is really exciting and was designed for both open water and freshwater.  We've got plenty of good paddle yaks too. With Mike Mowrey as our distributor things have really picked up and there is strong dealer service.   I'm sure we can get a demo of the Max out there in Late October for you guys.

I second that, not that it really matters to me clear the hell up here! Love my two propels.

Address the three main issues for the kayakers.  One is speed (mostly for anglers/advance users), 2nd is weight (this one I would guess would be for general crowd), and lastly, pricing (this one is a difficult issue for sure). 

My vote is for Hobie and Eddyline/Hurricane.
If you are looking to add to revenue, I would also like to suggest rentable storage onsite.  You can also do rent-to-own, but the collections would be a nightmare.  Or leases.

Address the three main issues for the kayakers.  One is speed (mostly for anglers/advance users), 2nd is weight (this one I would guess would be for general crowd), and lastly, pricing (this one is a difficult issue for sure). 

My vote is for Hobie and Eddyline/Hurricane.
If you are looking to add to revenue, I would also like to suggest rentable storage onsite.  You can also do rent-to-own, but the collections would be a nightmare.  Or leases.

We have always done rentable storage here at MBK $40 per month. Of course if we have space which we usually do especially in Moss. Hobie already has a dealer in our area so we would not be able to carry their product. I think the price thing is the biggest issue right now as we mostly have higher end brands.

Hobie seems to be the obvious choice if your goal is to sell a lot of boats.

Nothing wrong with the other suggestions (carry those, too!) but they seem to cater to a certain niche market rather than the masses who want a Hobie.

Then again, I havenÂ’t heard a lot of wonderful feedback about the latest version of the Outback... So...

Edit: My bad. I didn’t see you mentioned the other Hobie dealer in the area... Tapatalk only lets me see some posts and not others...

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You need to be careful surf launching any pedal type kayaks during demos.  The drives can get damaged easy or get impregnated with sand.

I was a little skeptical but recently bought a Pelican Catch 130 HD.  After tuning the drive (I made a Youtube video about that) I've come to love the thing.  Weight is good for the size of the kayak, features are good for the money and the drive issues seem to be related to assembly/adjustment -- something you could easily address as a dealer.  Although the MSRP remains at $1499.00 I got mine on sale at West Marine for $1199.  The Hobie Mirage drive knock-off pedals just like a Hobie, and it's a capable and versatile fishing platform.

I second the Pelican HD catch, great value and comfortable although I've only had it out to Tomales it did get pretty nasty out there when the wind picked up.  Love all the deck space, downside for some might be lack of hatch storage but I never used it much in my other kayaks anyway.    BTW thanks for the video, big help!

I love eddylines and stealth because they’re awesome , they are so out of my budget for now...

Bring in Viking! Nobody has them around here and they are awesome. I just purchased a Profish reloaded last weekend and I already want to buy a pro-fish 400 or GT but cant find a dealer anywhere!

I love eddylines and stealth because they’re awesome , they are so out of my budget for now...

I think these two would be nice if no Hobies.

Us folks over at Native have a pretty large line of fishing kayaks now.  We have lightweight thermoforms made by Hurricane and also have the lightest and most popular 10' pedal kayak around with the Slayer Propel 10.  The new Slayer Max 12.5 is really exciting and was designed for both open water and freshwater.  We've got plenty of good paddle yaks too. With Mike Mowrey as our distributor things have really picked up and there is strong dealer service.   I'm sure we can get a demo of the Max out there in Late October for you guys.

Mike mowry is a good guy!

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