buying a kayak

Advice
#1

I’m relatively new to kayaking and trying to fugure out which one to buy. It will be used on flat lakes. I want something relatively fast for fun but one I can also fish from. I looked at the Pongo 120 and kestral 120 (roto). A saleman recommeded the Hurricane Santee 116 or 116 sport. Does anyone have an opinion on the Santees?



thanks

Nateboss

#2

Try it out
I demoes the Santees. Didn’t care for them. I found them ahrd to turn as compared with the Pungo or a LL Stingray. Your results may vary.

#3

Top choices
I was in the same boat as you “no pun intended”,i researched differant boats over a nine month period and the last two boats standing were the Pungo 120 and santee 116 sport.

I was looking for an elite rec kayak that i could fish from.

After i demoed both boats it came down to the seat in the pungo that won me over.

Here is what i found when comparing these two boats.

The hurricane is lighter at 37lbs while the pungo duralite is 40lbs.

The pungo felt faster and tracked better on open water.

The hurricane turned faster given its shorter lenght.

The hurricane uses a stiffer hull material but is less forgiving if you were to hit rocks.

Both are extremely nice recreational kayaks that can easily be fished from.

I’m no expert but did demo both and talked to a dealer that carried both for hrs.

He did mention that care should be taken when handling duralite in extreme heat mainly with car-topping but said he has sold close to 50 without issues here in VA.He also said that both boats have made for very satisfied customers and he sells alot of both.

#4

No, about Santee
but I have lots of experience in the Kestrel 120 (roto) and the Pungo 120



As much as I love the Kestrel I would have to recommend the Pungo for fishing because it is a more stable kayak.



If you want to play around the difference in speed is negligable



Paddlin’ on

Richard

#5

buying a kayak
Thanks for the insight. The saleman I’m dealing with sells them both but is not a big fan of the Pongo 120, says it’s very slow campared to the Santee. Your experience seems to differ. Just adds to the confussion.

#6

Buy It!!
Santee 116 Sport: have one…like it.

Cockpit has plenty of room for your gear. Easy to get in and out. Paddles and tracks well.