Buy used. Take your time and you will find a good deal. If you buy for the right price, you’ll be able to sell for the same value or even higher when you understand better what you like about paddling and decide to get a new boat. As you said, the season is almost over, so no need to rush.
As for suggestions, for flat water rec boats it is hard to go wrong with a Pungo or Loon 120. They are versatile and pretty popular. But when buying used, if you see something interesting for a good price, don’t sweat too much and get it.
You got a PFD. Just use what you have and make sure it is working before you actually need it.
Reserve some money for a good paddle. You don’t need to go full carbon, but a crappy paddle will ruin your experience. Something on the $100-150 range tends to be a good compromise. Keep in mind that paddles are much harder to trade than used kayaks. Quite often people will offer used kayaks with a free paddle.
If you buy a hard shell, you need to think about how to transport it. Foam blocks are a cheap alternative, just learn how to tie ropes/straps properly.
The last item that can get expensive is cold water clothing. It’s hard to capsize a rec boat in flat water, but it can happen. Cold water is very dangerous (several threads on the topic, just do a quick search).
As a beginner you’re not likely to appreciate what a really good sea kayak is capable of and it might even be more than you are ready to deal with without quite a bit of instruction and a whole bunch of experience. The average paddler might never reach the point where you are comfortable to venture out in conditions that would be daunting to the point of almost terror.
With the right boat (boats) and a few decades of experience, at some point I was able to settle in and know that no matter what the conditions are, I’ll either have sufficient judgement to know when to call it a day, or if things go sideways very quickly, the boat and I will deal with it. For me that was when paddling became most satisfying and actually relaxing.
I guess my point is to get the best boat and paddle you can afford and don’t be surprised if you someday find yourself with more boats and gear than you ever thought you would acquire…
I have been paddling for 50 years and ran a kayak store 20 years ago. My Tastes and experience, capabilities still change a lot. My best advise is rent and try a lot of boats. Spending half your money on rentals and look at boats near water tobuy /try first. I just bought a prijon sized too small for me that I handle perfectly. Handsu on the only proof
Hi! I am one of those ‘fleet’ type people who can’t stop at just one!
My advice is to first decide the easiest way to get to the water. We load two 10 ft kayaks in the back of a dedicated SUV and drive 15 mins to the lake, three times per week. Every other week we move the kayaks and clean the car. If it were more work, we wouldn’t go. If we get rain in southern California, I’ll have to clean out the garage so the car doesn’t get wet.
Once you know how you will transport the kayak, that will give you limits on length and weight as well. Next, what might you want to do with the kayak? Take along a pet? Photography? Read a book? Consider the storage space you would like to have.
A comfortable seat is important, but some models allow you to upgrade with after market seats, pads, or foam.
A kayak that allows you to comfortably keep pace with your companion paddler is nice. If one of you is struggling to keep up with the other, it isn’t as much fun.
My wife and I had the benefit of using several good kayaks (Wilderness Systems) and some cheaper kayaks (Perception) and ended up paying more for better (Eddyline) kayaks - our experience is limited to “sit-inside” “recreational/light touring” boats.
Either Eddyline or Delta are price comparative and are the lighter thermaform plastic as opposed to the heavy rotomold plastic. I got a 14’ at 45 lbs which is very stable and very maneuverable for a casual paddler like myself, but paid $$ for it.
A lot depends on your budget comfort - if you need to spend less, spending less will be fine. If you just need to not waste your money and want to do it right the first time, I highly recommend Eddyline or Wilderness Systems. We are both VERY happy with our $/decision.
Bear in mind that transporting your kayaks can be $$ and storing them could be a cost factor as well, but not of the same insane magnitude as the car racks can be.
For transportation, I’m expecting to buy an use a roof rack system. I have OEM cross rails on my SUV so they’re not super wide, and I can’t adjust how far apart they are, but they seem to work okay with the limited use so far.
I recently travelled with my friend’s 12’ Pelican kayak in J racks on my roof, and a rented Old Town Vapor 10 strapped directly to the cross rails beside it. It worked okay, but I really noticed it a lot for the hour and a half drive home when we encountered some crosswinds on the highway.
It’s always nice to save money, and I certainly don’t have an unlimited budget, but given that it looks like I probably won’t be able to purchase until Spring I have some time to save up a bit so I’m hoping to be able to have a budget somewhere around $1000-1500 CAD. I’d prefer to find a used kayak for more like half that cost, but I’m not holding my breath.
I’m fairly certain I can arrange things to store them in my basement or garage, so I’m not too concerned about that. (It’s normal to offer kayaks on the floor as seating when you have friends over to watch a movie or something, right? )
Weight is definitely something I’ve been thinking a lot about. The lighter weight of a thermoform (Eddyline or Delta) is really, tempting for sure. Being in Canada, Delta’s seem a bit more common around here, but I’m watching the used listing platforms every day to see if I happen to randomly get lucky with something.
Oh, and I have a dog that I wish I could consider bringing in a kayak with me, but she absolutely HATES being anywhere near water, so I really don’t see that happening.
I don’t know if I’m opening a can of worms here, but I often hear descriptions mention that big open cockpits mean you might also be able to have a child in the kayak with you. Is that actually considered safe? (Assuming both adult and child are wearing properly fit lifejackets/PFDs of course.)
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