Hey everyone. Hoping to get the word out about a new blog post on liberty Wilderness blog.
It has some sweet pics, story and review of the Future beach mariner 124. Great review for first time paddlers.
http://libertywilderness.com/2015/10/15/the-mariner-124-societal-freedom/
I disagree
The blogger has no basis for his gushing hyperbole (a kickback from the maker perhaps?).
Future Beach is pretty well known to those familiar with kayaks in general to be low end, cheaply made discount store boats with mediocre performance and zero safety features. There are better kayaks for the money than that one. While I am happy for him that he has found his personal bliss in a chunk of plastic that will support his 300 lb frame without tipping while he fishes, I would not in good conscience steer most beginner kayakers to a 10' long and 32" wide bathtub with no bulkheads.
I have always been annoyed at Future beach for thwarting the conventional standard in kayak model naming. A numeration in a model name is generally understood to refer to length in feet. So an Easky 15 is 15' long , a Pelican 120 is 12' and a Tsunami 135 is 13'6" (13.5'). To my knowledge Future Beach is the only company that does this (using the inches in length) and I can't help but think it is to deceive comparison shoppers into thinking that their models are the equivalent to other makers boats that are 2 feet longer.
I note per the manufacturers specs that these are blowmolded rather than rotomolded. This makes for a flimsy boat and Future Beach products are notorious for having their seat fittings rip out of the thin hulls.
Engrish
The grammar in “blog post” reads like the manual of every cheap electronic product made in China.
“I was driving my awesome gas sucking F-150 into the great northern Michigan.”
“Ergonomics of the kayak are supremely designed.”
My bet is this site is fully owned by Future Beach or a marketing company, in China, they hired to shrill for them.
hey guys - please be nice
While I agree that this is not a boat I would want to own for many of the reasons mentioned, responding as you guys did is not really appropriate. There are people out there who this boat would be perfectly fine for.
It deserves…
It deserves a little tongue in cheek harassment when you begin with the line
“This would was as a mini escape, but by no means was it mini.”
Also, hyperbole is hyperbole. Im sure its a fine boat for a novice, but its not the best thing ever. Even great (expensive) things are rarely the best thing ever.
Seriously…
…why should I be nice about this shameless product promotion disguised as a poorly written, make that laughably illiterate page of internet drivel? I think I need to shower my brain to wash that word-crap out.
I dont’ think English is
the native language of whoever wrote the "blog."
It's a 10-foot, 32-inch wide boat that weighs 45#. Would be a beast to paddle.
Edited to add that I went back to the site to explore a bit more. The September 19, 2015, post starts out with:
"This is why I use the Night Guardian, Bedside Gun holster by Lockdown."
Strange site.
Poor excuse for a Mariner
The name is ripping off a very good kayak model.
The best kayak money can buy for under $500 is probably a used boat.
perfectly fine?
Beg to differ that this thing would be "perfectly fine" for anyone. Even the much maligned 12' Pelican sit insides (too many variations in their model names to be more specific) are at least rotomolded and more competent and better outfitted for that price, as are some of the smaller Perception Sport line models.
The biggest distributors in the USA of Future Beach are Walmart and Costco, which should give anyone pause in terms of quality and potential dealer support, not to mention the boats being basically disposable crap that vaguely resembles a kayak.
Future Beach makes some under $200 tiny sit on tops that might be suitable for a low price kiddy kayak for a pond, but even Sun Dolphin (another Walmart type brand) makes better versions of those. Speaking of which, for less than the lumpen Future Beach Mariner one could buy a made in USA 12' x 29" Sun Dolphin Aruba SS .
Future Beach is a Chinese based company that is known to have ripped off designs from Johnson Outdoors products to gain market share with big box stores to take advantage of the kayaking craze. They don't even pay attention to their own marketing hype -- if you look at their product site they bloviate about how they use "superior rotomolding" to produce their kayaks (big deal, most kayak companies rotomold) but if you look at the specs for models only some of their grossly overpriced "higher end" models are rotomold -- the rest are listed as "blowmolded". Duh. And their roto boats are absurdly heavy and klunky. 53 pounds for a 10' boat? 70 pounds for a 14'?? Geez.
There are cheap kayaks and then there is Chinese junk (pardon the pun).
It would be unconscionable to direct anyone to buy their products when better ones (even domestically made) are readily available for at or less the cost.
Amen
Used is still the best option. Just last month I picked up a 12 year old but flawless Perception Monterey 14.5 with skeg plus a Carlisle RS Magic paddle and Stohlquist PFD for only $400. Got it for a friend but after trying it out on the water two weeks ago it will be hard to let it go.
Not a Blog Post
I agree it would be in bad taste to mock someone who was very excited about their first kayak they bought from Walmart.
But this is a very obvious fake review written to sound like a mid-Westerner by someone being paid to make this Future Beach kayak seem “supremely most awesome excellent”.
It is hard to respect shrills.
All us experienced p-net folk
know the Pamlico 140 is the mostest awesomest bestest kayak in the world.
I think I saw one of these future beach things awhile back. Kid was wearing a backpack full of beer in lieu of a PFD. About sums it up imo.
People hyping marginal product as the greatest thing should be ridiculed. Beats having someone taking this advice literally and having serious issues when it doesn't do what the "ad/blog" says...I find pieces of kayak along the banks or submerged in the rocks on some runs, and the material is always this cheap poly crap.