My Never Ending Saga: Finding a BTB Yak - Conclusion

[5-20]

I wasn't sure it'd ever happen, but settling on a yak proved to be easier than I thought it would or could ever be! Made another trip to OEX this morning and paddled five yaks:

Stealth 14
Tarpon 140
Cuda 14
Ride 135
XFactor

I had never paddled any of these yaks prior to today, except for a Stealth 12. I really wasn't sure what to expect. I'd only owned one yak prior to this, a Heritage Redfish 12 and while it was a solid yak, it never really grew on me the way I thought it would.

For those of you who are curious, my findings:

I liked the Stealth 14, but something seemed to be missing. The bait tank between the legs is definitely a cool feature, but I wanted a little more layout wise.

I paddled the T140 less than an hundred feet and turned back. It was simply way too tippy for me, secondary stability or not. It's really not one of those "stand up in" yaks at all, and I didn't even try -- it was the only yak I didn't stand up in.

The Cuda 14 was pretty cool, but not as awe inspiring as it is on the floor. On the water, it kind of felt like just another yak. I am saying that from a big water perspective, thinking about what's gonna be the best for the ocean. It was cool, but just that. On the other hand, if I wanted a yak for bass fishing, the cuda 14 would probably have been at the top of my list, easily. That elevated seat is way cool and would make fishing certain lures so much easier, but I just didn't feel like I would need it as much around the kelp. Also, the stability was decent, but the Stealth 14 felt tons better in that regard.

Then at CJ's urging, I tried the Ride 135 and I really liked it. It felt fast, stability was pretty good. The sliding seat was cool, but I wasn't sure how much I'd really need to use that feature. Again, something seemed to be missing.

I finally got to the XFactor. And I pretty much knew immediately that was the yak I wanted. I liked everything about it, tracking, stability, storage, the livewell up front, even if it's not as big as the one in the stealth, I can always add another one in the back. The yak, despite its bad rap for being "slow" didn't feel that way to me at all. It doesn't feel as fast as a couple of other models I tried, but once I got going, it felt "fast enough". It wasn't that hard to paddle, really. Liked having that storage compartment between my legs and being able to easily scoot forward and sit on that when dipping bait out of the livewell. Liked the location of where the fishfinder would go, right in the middle of the yak, between both compartments.

So I now have a XFactor on order and I'll hopefully have it asap. I wanted the arctic camo color which is a super cool looking color, but it would've taken me longer to get the yak in so I went in with the killer whale belly color (stone).

CJ, thanks for taking the time to run me through everything!!! Looking forward to seeing you again when I pick that thing up! And yeah, if I hadn't settled on the XFactor, I really think I would've gone with the Ride 135 as my next choice.

Y'all, holla at me anytime you need someone to get out on the water with. I'll be fishing a bunch throughout the whole summer!!!

Thanks, everyone, for all of the input in all of those threads I've made over the last few weeks -- really very helpful!

Finally....... I am so ready to hammer some giant yellowtails and wsb!!!!!!

[alanw]

I'm a little biased towards the Malibu line but either the Stealth or X-Factor are a good choice. Stable and lots of storage with a built in bait tank to boot. You trade speed for stability but it's worth it to me. When the wind blows it may feel like a tank but I'd rather be comfortable in the swells than get somewhere a little faster. Have fun rigging it up.

[FlyFishinYakr]

Congrats on your new ride! I've heard nothing but good things about the "X".
I think you'll find a lot of them out there.
WELCOME TO THE ADDICTION!
FFY

[wiredantz]

Xfactor was really good to me, I still have mine. Its a good yak.

[45user]

Congrats on the new ride!!!
45

[FISH11]

Congratulations on your new Kayak. I think you made a great choice. I have an earlier version of the X Factor and I love it. The X13 I also own does paddle faster but is not anywhere as stable. As I found out recently in the open ocean, when the wind is causing washing machine conditions it will roll on you when your not paying attention to the whitcaps from multiple directions. My X Factor never makes me feel than way, even in much worse conditions. I envy the built in bait tank in the new one because it lowers the center of gravity even more and leaves even more deck space for those big fish. Enjoy your new Toy. Tight Lines