Evoke is a bit of a mystery to me… I have seen some of their rec boats sold under a few other names… Sun Dolphin, Field & Stream, Equinox, Future Beach. Clearly under the same umbrella or something?
Anyway, now that I have a sea kayak, I’m looking for a decent 10-12’ rec boat for the creeks. I came across this Evoke Algonquin 120 on the Tractor Supply (of all places?) website. It honestly looks like a really, really solid value for the price. At first glance it just seems like a Pungo knock off, but it has a few features the Pungo does not come stock with. Dual dry hatches, rod holders, tracks for mounting, paddle keeper. But like the Pungo, it has a nice removable dashboard, nice deck lines, multiple bottle holders and ample storage.
Now the kicker… this boat is ONLY available via the Tractor Supply website (not even in store!) and if you’re in Canada apparently some Canadian Tire stores have them. But why? Why would they limit themselves like this? And why Tractor Supply and Canadian Tire!? It makes no sense to me. At least have it at a Dick’s, Dunhams, Bass Pro Shops, or even Walmart for crying out loud… but only available to order from Tractor Supply with a huge bulk shipping fee… I don’t understand.
I know it’s not a GREAT boat, but I want this boat as beater/spare/creek runner and I can’t see it in person or even order it without paying $150-200 for shipping, or crossing the Canadian border and paying duty fees lol
That kayak looks like a knock off model of the Wilderness Systems 120 Pungo. Compare to the tan picture. Weight, max capacity and width are essentially identical. The pungo has a multi-chine hull (a shallow V keel, then the middle chine is about half way between the keel and the true chine the turns to finish at the wides section (the gunnels). The multi-chine makes for a very stable hull design, but it will pound in waves and take on some water with the ipen cockpit. A console (probably optional, and not sure if the Pungo come with the console or if its an option, because the Pungo is about twice the price. The Pungo can be relatively fast for a rec boat. I own two 140 Duralite models and I only switched uo to Tsunamis to use in open water.
Stores stock and sell what they can sell. The Pungo.is a very respectable protected water boat. The early models (2010) had one bulkhead behind the seat, but I believe they added a bulkhead in the front on some models.
There are other dealers that sell Evoke, some with free shipping like Eastern Sports. I’d try contacting them and see if you could get the model you want brought in with their next order or drop shipped from the factory. Evoke Paddlesports is a relatively new company located in Michigan.
It’s odd that they do not have any contact information other than a web form and their Dealer Locator does not work, but you could try 800-733-2727.
What’s interesting is that I live in Michigan, and I contacted them directly. I got an email a few days later saying “Right now the only place these are available is on the Tractor Supply website, but I’ll look into it and see if we can manage to get one to you in Michigan without shipping costs”. I looked them up and see there is indeed an office in Michigan. Why not just invite me up to come take a look at one lol. Maybe the location strictly does the business side and the actual assembly happens elsewhere, maybe shipped in straight from china and held in a DC warehouse somewhere else, who knows. But at less than half the cost of a Pungo 120 but appearing to be nearly identical with some extra features, I’d definitely consider it as part of my fleet if it becomes easier to find one.
It’s remarkable similarities to the Pungo 120 is what caught my attention. It has all the bells and whistles I’d really like in a smaller rec boat for creek & narrow river floats. Hopefully it becomes easier to find one of these or maybe I’ll just bite the bullet and order one if I can find free shipping or as you said work with them or a retailer to get one drop shipped or something.
It’s strange when a kayak is only available at specific stores like that. Tractor Supply is an odd choice, but maybe they got a good deal on a bulk order or something. If you’re just looking for a beater boat, it might be worth checking out used kayaks in your area. You might find something similar for a good price without the crazy shipping fees.
Yeah I thought TS was a strange choice too, and even stranger that they don’t have a physical inventory in stores. I’ve been looking used, but in my area it’s either Sundolphin, Pelican, or overpriced/ lacking features I want. There is a used rental fleet of Pungos about a 2 hour drive from me, I might budge for one of those. When I say beater I mean really just something I don’t have to worry about scraping rocks, trees and beaver dams with haha. But I refuse to settle for something without the features I’m looking for, gotta love what you have!
I’m partial to the Pungo as a beater and that Evoke if it is similar. I just like the 125 Tsunami better because its 3 inches narrower, 9 inches longer, can handle open water, is just as stable, does everything the Pungo can do, but it isn’t as good as the 145 Tsunami, which is faster and will go anywhere I’ve taken the 125. Then there’s the 175 Tsunami. That’s a beater, but its also a handful to control and it’s just as stable as the 120 Pungo, only heavier.
I have the Jackson Journey for open water, so I can’t keep adding inches to my creeks and river boat haha. Gotta keep it strictly 9.5’-12’ max. I would happily grab a 12’ Tsunami if one popped up near me, but there are only 125 and 145 around me. Fingers crossed I hear back from Evoke though, otherwise I may make the trek to grab one of the Pungos… I really like the whole dashboard bit, nice for a Bluetooth speaker and my water bottle on relaxing river floats.
I transitioned to the Tsunsmi a year after the consol came out, which is a nice feature. You mentioned the 120 Tsunami. Discontinued for a while now but that would be a nice boat at 12 feet by 25.5 inches wide, if you could find one, but I’m too big for that. My grand daughter has a 120 Tsunami SP that is 21 inches wide. It’s a nice little boat that can handle open water, but the max capacity is only 180 lbs.
I have heard (but I don’t really know) that retailers typically double the wholesale cost of things to cover their costs and profit margin. Maybe the Evoke is able to undercut the Pungo by so much by avoiding traditional retail, and TSC can avoid having to price it out traditionally by keeping the product out of their stores (meaning they don’t have to apply the overhead of their brick and mortar stores and marketing costs and shipping to their stores if they keep them completely out of their stores). They are probably just taking the orders and drop shipping the boats from Evoke’s location directly to the consumers, and they are probably just taking a small set fee on each one.
It pains me to see that they are doing such a blatant knock off of Pungo’s innovations.
