CCK vs. Kayak City

I’m in fairfield and I’m in between CCK In Oakland @ Kayak City in Citrus Heights. I’ve been to Kayak City’s Citrus Heights store twice earlier this year. But I’ve never been to any of CCK’s stores.

I am looking to purchase a Hobie (still deciding b/w 2020 Outback and the PA 360).

I’m sure several members  been to both, and probably bought their kayak(s) from either store.

If someone been to both stores and decided to pick one over the other, kindly tell me (us) why you pick one over the other.

And if you’ve only been to one of the stores please chime in as well.

Since the price is the same on big stores, I am looking for:
1. Customer Service (Honesty, etc).
A. Above and beyond stories?
2. How committed are they to the Hobie brand?
3. Any store/company sanction events that is related to Kayak Fishing?
4. Installation Service Quality?
5. Labor (Price) on after market Installation?
6. Etc.

Thanks in advance.

CCK out of Oakland would be my recommendation.  “JT” did 75% of the work on my 2018 outback kayak and I was quite impressed w/ regards to attention to detail and advice.  Jess from Redwood City CCK was beyond patient and informative when I visited their store once a week during breaks at work in 2018 to ask every question under the sun before finally deciding upon and purchasing my Hobie Outback camo edition.  They also outfitted 3 of my friends’ kayaks and none of us have had a single complaint.  I cannot speak re: the competitive other store...

Before deciding on your kayak PA or Outback... I think it comes down to height and weight.  If you’re near 6’ in height and pushing well over 200lbs... then the PA would be the better bet.  If you’re shorter in stature and 200lbs or less, the Outback will work and hopefully fit like a glove... as it does for me.  Good luck either way 👍.

JT is the best.

I brought my kayak from Kayak City because they were cheaper than CCK. I brought it online and went their to pick it up so not much customer service interaction. They do stand behind their product. I had no problem with my kayak.

CCK Oakland does all my kayak services such as fixing my fish finder,  mirage drive and other needs. I live close to CCK. JT and SU are really great at what they do. I am really impressed with their work. I have no complaints.

Honestly you can’t go wrong with either one. if the price of the kayak is the same at both place, I would lean toward CCK, simply I am frequent them more often and haven’t been to kayak city over a year.

I’ve bought kayaks from both locations and would recommend either one. Both have taken cared of warranty issues in the past. I prefer kayak city though cause I hate driving through the Bay Area. And they have parking right in front of their shop. On my recent purchase there, I didn’t know they were closing soon. I was wandering inside for a good 20 mins and they didn’t say a thing. Purchased my kayak and the owner  himself set it up and helped me load on my car. Great customer service.

Either shop works. I honestly like KAYAK CITY. Ask for Brandon he will make sure you get the service you need.

Kayak City / CCK are both great.

I want to give a mention to Headwaters Adventure Co. In Redding.

I bought my first Hobie there after researching / talking with people from each of the 3 shops. For me, at the time, price was my biggest consideration factor followed by warranty support. I got great deal from Headwaters. Bryan is excellent. They're very accomodating - I had warranty service done on my drive sometime later and arranged to pick it up / drop it off at their Lodi shop. Very easy to deal with. And Bryan is honest.

You can reach him via email: [email protected]

Thanks for the input.
I’ll definitely take everyone’s input into consideration. I’ll keep you guys posted.
Thank you again,
Ken

Additionally, The Headwaters in Lodi is great, too!

I have been to both and Headwater in Redding search for the best deal. Hobie mandates that the price be the same. With that said all three had the same price, so I supported the site closest to my hose CCK Redwood city.

Kayak City had the most choices of Kayaks
Headwater's Lodi  had the most accessories

All the Kayak shops I dealt with have all been super helpful and great customer service. Never felt pressure to buy from the retail shops

If you are not 100% sure what Kayak you are going to buy I would suggest going to Kayak City for selection.

I recently bought my first kayak from Kayak City (Citrus Heights).  They were very helpful.  They didn't have the color I wanted onsite, but the employee told me they have large warehouse with more kayaks.  They made a run to their warehouse for me and I left happy.   

CCK charges $50 for a demo (goes towards your purchase if you buy within 30 days).

Kayak City (No demos @ this time).

Headwaters: Dan is a busy man. But his email response time is so fast that I don’t  think he sleeps. Guy is driving all over Northern Cal-Oregon dealin’ them kayaks.

From what I gather on social media, Dan and his crew are probably  the hardest working skeleton crew out of the 3 companies.

I will be spending my hard-earned money at Headwaters. Financially, one of the hardest hit are usually the adventure/hobby stores, during the economic downturn. So I hope my business will help them out a little bit  until this SIP order is lifted, and we start to go back to some kind of normalcy.

Thank you again for everyone’s input, and take care of yourselves and your families. Please Checkout Headwaters...tell them I sent you 😁.

 The journey continues...
JAK’s Yak aka Ken aka Armann

 

  It was nice that nobody went negative, I think that speaks volumes about both the businesses that serve this community, and us..      -Amos

  It was nice that nobody went negative, I think that speaks volumes about both the businesses that serve this communit and us..      -Amos

That’s true. I’m sure I would have been happy with any of the 3 stores. Deciding factor for me was the extra effort that Dan does to win my business. 

Interesting that the subject is CCK vs. Kayak City and you went with Headwaters.  I too walked through this riddle a couple of years ago when I bought Vibe at Headwaters.  Of course I was on the opposite end of the spectrum as far as price goes and Headwaters won me over.  I too am a big fan of Dan and his team