iCAST 2019 New Kayaks

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Neumie
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iCAST 2019 New Kayaks

Post by Neumie »

iCast is out and there's been quite a few new releases for kayaks. As much as I could find on social media here's what's coming out in the next few months.

3 Waters, Hobie, Perception, and Wilderness Systems are releasing new pedal kayaks. Old Town updated and dropped the price of the Predator PDL, which is already available for purchase. Bonafide is has four new limited edition color schemes for the SS series of kayak. Feel Free has updated the Moken 12.5. Perception and Wilderness system are offering two new budget friendly kayaks. Wilderness also has updated the Tarpon 100 and 120 (maybe the 140 & 160 too). One note on Wilderness Systems website is the Tarpon 160 and Ride 135 are no longer listed, and the Thresher is on it's way out of production as well.

Most new kayaks are going to be short and wide beamed. Good for stability, not so much for efficiency.

Anything I've left off let me know and I'll update.
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Re: iCAST 2019 New Kayaks

Post by SWFinatic »

I think you've got it covered. Wide seems to be the common theme in many of the new models for sure.

Interesting to see Perception come out with the Outlaw. Looks like a mold from Bonafides 11 foot model and is 1/3 less.
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Re: iCAST 2019 New Kayaks

Post by Neumie »

I also found Jackson redesigned the Kilroy (now called the Killroy HD) and came ou with the YuPIK. Kind of like a modern version of a Native Watercraft Magic. It has a bunch of gear trac and movable seat and that's about it.; fully customizable.
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Re: iCAST 2019 New Kayaks

Post by BowBuddy »

I like the new Tarpons


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Re: iCAST 2019 New Kayaks

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BowBuddy wrote:I like the new Tarpons
to me, they look the same as the 2009 Tarpon, which I'm not complaining - I like my T160 - but they do offer Helix drive in T130X.
Or is it now the Radar 135?
I can't be cost-effective to inventory 11 SOT models along with 19 SINK models.
They know Tarpon sells, Thresher, ATAK doesn't, etc. Wilderness has to discontinue some boat models.
It's a shame about the T160, but I have mine, and I guess it makes the used market bullish for T160.
Last edited by Ron Mc on Thu Jul 11, 2019 5:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: iCAST 2019 New Kayaks

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Ron Mc wrote:
BowBuddy wrote:I like the new Tarpons
to me, they look the same as the 2009 Tarpon, which I'm not complaining - I like my T160 - but they do offer Helix drive in T130X.
I can't be cost-effective to inventory 11 SOT models along with 19 SINK models.
They know Tarpon sells, Thresher, ATAK doesn't, etc.
It's a shame about the T160, but I have mine, and I guess it makes the used market bullish for T160.
I fish my Tarpon 100 a lot in small rivers and creeks and complain about the storage, I like that square hatch


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Re: iCAST 2019 New Kayaks

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Ron Mc wrote:
BowBuddy wrote:I like the new Tarpons
to me, they look the same as the 2009 Tarpon, which I'm not complaining - I like my T160 - but they do offer Helix drive in T130X.
Or is it now the Radar 135?
I can't be cost-effective to inventory 11 SOT models along with 19 SINK models.
They know Tarpon sells, Thresher, ATAK doesn't, etc. Wilderness has to discontinue some boat models.
It's a shame about the T160, but I have mine, and I guess it makes the used market bullish for T160.
I agree, the updates that I saw of the Tarpon 100 and 120 look mostly just cosmetic, which A-OK in my book. I doubt they'll drop the 140 and 160, they're too popular of a kayak. I bet they're getting updated as well and Wildy is clearing current inventory to make way for the redesign.

I didn't notice, but the Tarpon 130X is not on their website anymore too. Hmmm, I would have thought that one stuck around with its motor drive option.

The Thresher I think was the a good kayak at the wrong time. I also think its initial sales were bolstered by the thought it would accept the not-yet-released pedal drive from Wildy. Then word got out the pedal drive wasn't compatible and it ticked a few people off.

Wildy's pedal drive is only compatible with the Radar line up, and think that was a bad screw up. A pedal drive within the ATAK and Tarpon should have also been considered. Wildy hyped the ATAK as their ultimate angler kayak and then didn't incorporate the pedal drive. They would have sold a lot more ATAKs had they done that. It's clear with what's been released at iCast this year is Wildy is targeting the entry level market with inexpensive pedal kayaks, which is necessary.

My fear is the Ride series is going to go away permanently (being replaced by the, IMO, inferior Patrol series). Which is a shame, because the Ride series actually predates the Tarpon series by a few years (1995/96 vs 1998/99). It's one of the longest production run series of all time.
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Re: iCAST 2019 New Kayaks

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Neumie wrote:[... I doubt they'll drop the 140 and 160, they're too popular of a kayak. I bet they're getting updated as well and Wildy is clearing current inventory to make way for the redesign.
..
Thanks - looking forward to seeing this.
Yes, I think the T130X was replaced by the Radar 135 in the line - they probably decided the former was too unlike the namesake.
The T160 is the most famous touring kayak of all time - keeping it around in some form makes sense, especially updating it.
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Re: iCAST 2019 New Kayaks

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Ron Mc wrote:
Neumie wrote:[... I doubt they'll drop the 140 and 160, they're too popular of a kayak. I bet they're getting updated as well and Wildy is clearing current inventory to make way for the redesign.
..
Thanks - looking forward to seeing this.
Yes, I think the T130X was replaced by the Radar 135 in the line - they probably decided the former was too unlike the namesake.
The T160 is the most famous touring kayak of all time - keeping it around in some form makes sense, especially updating it.
I'm not sure I'd say the Radar replaced the Tarpon 130X. The 130X came out in 2106 while the Radar series was released in 2017. IMO, the Radar was a more feature rich version of the Ride. The hull of the Radar looks to be in between the Ride and ATAK series.
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Re: iCAST 2019 New Kayaks

Post by Ron Mc »

Agree with that, but they decided the two in the Radar series were the only pedal boat they needed in their line.
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Re: iCAST 2019 New Kayaks

Post by BowBuddy »

If you ever paddled the ATAK 140 that thing stayed in motion, I own a thresher and it is a nice boat and it stays in motion when paddling. But I agree that I thought it would be a pedal yak. But the thresher 140 is an underrated boat I will keep


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Re: iCAST 2019 New Kayaks

Post by Ron Mc »

I don't doubt Wilderness makes great boats across the board, but with 30 models offered, kayak sellers can't afford to stock even half, so they have to stock models that don't hang around long. Even Wilderness will lose money in distribution warehousing of slow-selling boats.
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Re: iCAST 2019 New Kayaks

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Ron Mc wrote:I don't doubt Wilderness makes great boats across the board, but with 30 models offered, kayak sellers can't afford to stock even half, so they have to stock models that don't hang around long. Even Wilderness will lose money in distribution warehousing of slow-selling boats.
Yep agreed, I bought my Thresher 140 for 800 brand new because of that


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Re: iCAST 2019 New Kayaks

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Ron Mc wrote:I don't doubt Wilderness makes great boats across the board, but with 30 models offered, kayak sellers can't afford to stock even half, so they have to stock models that don't hang around long. Even Wilderness will lose money in distribution warehousing of slow-selling boats.
That's what I don't get about Jackson (or Native for that matter). The Coosa HD, Liska, and Mayfly are dang near the exact same kayak with slightly different deck configurations. They have 16-18 different SOT fishing models, seems hard for the shops to have to carry that much variety from one manufacturer.

IMO, Wildy needs to keep the Tarpon series for those who want a great touring style SOT. The Ride series for those who want a higher weight capacity kayak. Add the new Recon pedal kayak for the now popular $2K-pedal -drive segment. Combine the features of the Radar (pedal drive, motor drive, and open internal storage from the front hatch) with the greater angler features of the ATAK to create a fishing kayak aimed for the serious tournament or weekend warrior anglers.
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Re: iCAST 2019 New Kayaks

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I haven't spent a lot of time on Wilderness kayaks but I did demo a Radar 135 pedal drive last year. The kayak handled great. The pedal drive IMO not so much. Felt like it took a lot of energy to pedal it. The drive didn't come up)down like it was supposed to. Something kept hanging up. The steering was easy and the seat was awesome. If they haven't already they're going to need to improve their pedal drive system to be a contender in that market. I know they make a great kayak. They just need a great pedal drive system to go with it.
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Re: iCAST 2019 New Kayaks

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SWFinatic wrote:I haven't spent a lot of time on Wilderness kayaks but I did demo a Radar 135 pedal drive last year. The kayak handled great. The pedal drive IMO not so much. Felt like it took a lot of energy to pedal it. The drive didn't come up)down like it was supposed to. Something kept hanging up. The steering was easy and the seat was awesome. If they haven't already they're going to need to improve their pedal drive system to be a contender in that market. I know they make a great kayak. They just need a great pedal drive system to go with it.
It looks like they did but it looks like it has problems with the prop being out of line before you can pull it up. They are behind the curve on the pedal kayak imho, but have a winner with the tarpon series. I am liking the Vibe Shearwater it looks like a lot of kayak for 1700 bucks and a pedal, paddle, and motor.


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Re: iCAST 2019 New Kayaks

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One very interesting pedal kayak which was actually released at the Paddlesports Retailer show in August last year is the Evoke PDX. It's 12' 6" long, 34" beam, 109 lbs fully rigged (kayak, seat, pedal drive), and has 475 lbs weight capacity.

The kicker is it's estimated msrp is $1200 - $1300.

It was supposed to be available this spring, but they obviously missed that deadline. They're rotomolded in Michigan (along with their other kayaks), but I'm guessing the pedal drive and seat are sourced from China to keep the costs down.

I think this kayak is perfectly setup with just the right amount of features but still very customizable. Really surprised there's not a lot more chatter about this kayak.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG7M7tx_ECI

Not a great picture below, but it's the only one I can find online.
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Re: iCAST 2019 New Kayaks

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My understanding is for $1799 you get the new 125 with the flipper style pedal drive. The Bixpy motor is extra. I think that's still a good deal. From what I can tell it looks like a very well designed kayak. My only concern is the possible hull slap. It looks like they re-designed the hull for this model and there are plenty of flat spots in the front of the kayak that can create hull slap. Time will tell on that.
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Re: iCAST 2019 New Kayaks

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SWFinatic wrote:My understanding is for $1799 you get the new 125 with the flipper style pedal drive.
$1799 for the kayak with pedal drive. $1299 for just the kayak. $599 if you want to add the pedal drive later on (save $100 if you purchase both at the same time). I have not seen a price yet for the Bixby motor.
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Re: iCAST 2019 New Kayaks

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Neumie wrote:One very interesting pedal kayak which was actually released at the Paddlesports Retailer show in August last year is the Evoke PDX. It's 12' 6" long, 34" beam, 109 lbs fully rigged (kayak, seat, pedal drive), and has 475 lbs weight capacity.

The kicker is it's estimated msrp is $1200 - $1300.

It was supposed to be available this spring, but they obviously missed that deadline. They're rotomolded in Michigan (along with their other kayaks), but I'm guessing the pedal drive and seat are sourced from China to keep the costs down.

I think this kayak is perfectly setup with just the right amount of features but still very customizable. Really surprised there's not a lot more chatter about this kayak.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG7M7tx_ECI

Not a great picture below, but it's the only one I can find online.
Looks like that's a Native Propel drive clone or their actual pedal drive.
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Re: iCAST 2019 New Kayaks

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Josh: My impression of the Wilderness Pedal Drive is: Over-Engineered, and Under-Thought. The drive is a marvel, but it's clumsy, the up-down spring is a mess, and it doesn't seem to be user-friendly, to a kayaker. The adaptation into the Radar 135 was amazing, but: Close, no cigar.
I have two dream kayaks: A Tarpon 140, (with a better pedal drive than the Radar one).
And:
A Viking Profish 400, with a great pedal drive. Ryan Ford told me that Viking isn't going pedal drive. They're going for the battery-powered rudder-mounted motor. If I wanted that, I'd build one for my Pescador 12!

The T160, and the Profish Reloads are fantastic kayaks, but I'm not big enough to reach anything from the seat!

Interesting that almost all the new stuff is wider, slower, and heavier than the old classics: The Ride, Prism, Search, and that generation of yaks. Not to mention the recliners they call seats! TexasJim
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Re: iCAST 2019 New Kayaks

Post by rockportkayak »

Viking is not going with a pedal drive because it is first and foremost a paddlers kayak. Same reason we don't have a high seat. Bixpy motor did tests with their drive on multiple kayaks and had the best results with Viking, so they talked about pairing up. As the industry goes wider beam and higher seats, Viking will continue to make an easier more efficient kayak.
The tacklepod puts everything you need well within reach in the Reload and GT. and eliminates digging in the crate behind you. I am proud of the new seat we designed for the Reload. It just further polished the ergonomics of the cockpit. Most of our detractors have never actually sat in a Viking to see that it is not designed like the competition. Having owned many different brands and models, I am happy with my choice of the Viking. So much so that I made it my business :)
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Re: iCAST 2019 New Kayaks

Post by Tombo »

Two big drawbacks to the new kayaks in my opinion. First they are heavier, second is cost. But, that is the trend. At the present I am looking to trade/purchase a used Hobie Revolution 16 built after 2015 due to the seat design.
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Re: iCAST 2019 New Kayaks

Post by SWFinatic »

Tombo there are a couple of Revo 16's listed in Craigslist in Houston that have the Vantage seat.
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Re: iCAST 2019 New Kayaks

Post by Tombo »

Thanks
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