First kayak
 

Hello this is my first post. I have been searching all over the Internet about this and I am still lost. So I am looking to buy my first kayak. I like the predator 13, the Jackson cuda 14 those have been my favorites so far. But I see bad stuff on both. I see everyone uses something different. And I see people love the hobies. But not looking to spend that much. So what would you guys recommend? This will also be only ocean once I am comfortable on it. Thanks for any help

Check out OEX! They can steer you in the right direction.

Problem with that is I am not close. I am on the central coast. North of Santa Barbara. I might buy from them but just want to know what I want first

It's worth it to make the haul and demo some.

I get that but just want a direction even before I demo. There are tons of kayaks out there and right now I feel clueless

I have a wilderness systems tarpon 14 and I love it. comes with slidetrax makes mounting things easy. I really recommend going and spending an afternoon with the guys at oex. They are really cool and nice guys. Plus, they normally have a nice selection of yaks and a lot of knowledge.

You've got to go to OEX. Also keep an eye open for their parking lot sale. You can really pick-up a nice yak at a very reasonable price.

Research the Malibu kayaks. I have the Stealth 12 and love it for fishing.

Considering your making a big commitment and have a lot of questions it seems to me that taking the time to make a fun road trip to OEX would be the wisest thing to do. One stop shop, selection,knowledge and a great crew to give you the honest advice and answers your looking for! Go down the night before and make a day of it, you'll be happy you did!
:D

2x, 3x, 4x!!!

Waiting for that end of season sale to pick up a new hobie!

Ditto on what's already been posted above. Take the trip down, spend a day and take a test paddle, or peddle and make an informed decision. OEX is the one stop you need.

Are you a bigger guy?
You want something fast or something stable?
Do you have any length, storage or hauling / loading restrictions?
Whats your budget?
Fishing only yak?

All great questions and even more reasons to drive down to OEX:D

When you are demoing kayaks, make sure you ask how they will do in the open ocean and with surf launches. A mile off the coast is different than paddling around one of the bays.

I agree, at some point he should visit OEX...and if he's going to buy new hopefully he ends up buying from OEX. Right now though I think he's looking for a little more than "Go to OEX." from us.....haha
I'm just hoping to give the guy some direction like he's requested. We have all been here before.

X2
Malibu is a good starting point. If you cant afford a new hobie pick up a used one in the off season. Its not really that expensive once you factor in the cost of a seat, and paddle.

Do you have your really nice stealth available?
He could learn a lot from talking directly those who went threw this not that long ago. :cheers1:

I love my cuda 14. Recently I had the chance to look closely at the predator 13 and even paddle next to one on the water. This was in NorCal out of Trinidad, about 20 miles north of eureka Ca. We had some big swells and nasty seas. In those conditions I would say the cuda handled much better than the predator. I've owned a steal the 14 and an X factor. I would take the cuda any day over those two kayaks. Check out norcalkayakanglers.org there's lots of stuff going on up here. There's a tournament coming up on the central coast. Next weekend is the Albion open (south end of humbolt county) 114 registered contestants as of today. It's going to be a great time

Haha...I'm thinking about putting it up for sale again since it hasn't been used.:cheers1:

I am 5'9 160ish. I want a stable rough water kayak. Cause the water here is much rougher then down south. And it will just be a fishing kayak. I did call and talk to the guys at oex. And they recommended the trident series. So now I am stuck between the 13 or the 11