I have the chance this Saturday to purchase a used Surfjet or used Kaos, both at a good price.
I live in North Jersey and vacation in Virginia yearly, so sloppy East Coast surf it is.
My experience started about 15 yrs ago with a LiquidLogic 'Lil Joe on Lake Michigan and fell in love with the crashing surf. Surfing the wave as long as possible and staying upright were my primary goals. Unfortunately I had to sell that boat a while back and have since tried surfing in an inflatable kayak (fail!) and a long bargain bin lake kayak (fail!). I figure it’s time to get a real boat that will match my determined eagerness but novice skillset.
I’ve read as much as could be found about these boats online, but when it comes to choosing which would be a better fit given the skills and playground I have to work with?
The most attractive part of the Kaos is that the back support looks to be more substantial, but I’d love to base the decision on more than just that.
I was deciding between Pyrahna Surfjet and Dagger Kaos. Took Sing’s advice, went with Kaos and like it very much (except for its weight, which is about the same as the Surfjet).
Sing can do aerials on my Kaos easily; I have seen him done it. It is beginner friendly as well, if you just want to ride the wave straight (without doing many turns or aerials).
Sing’s take is that the Surfjet is more of a compromised hull design, while Kaos is more of a specialized surf design. My research online confirmed that.
I have gone against Sing’s advice for kayak surfing a few times and found myself wrong every single time (and went back to follow Sing’s tips). He speaks from his extensive hands-on experience, some of which you can only understand/appreciate after you try them yourself.
I agree the Kaos is a much better design for real surfing. This is assuming they still make the boat with fins. If it has fins and is used check the hull around where the fins fit to make sure there are no structural cracks. You might also look into entry level waveskis on craigslist, lighter and will give better performance and you can probably pick one up very cheaply. I’ve surfed the kaos many times a long time ago and always preferred my own surf toys, but of what is available now it’s probably the best you can get for a surf SOT. I used a Cobra Strike for several years and still have it for guests, I liked it better than the Kaos but that was probably because I had my technique dialed in for that boat. I don’t think Cobra Kayaks exists in the US anymore. One thing to think about is the future of surfing in the next 18 months or so. I’m pretty sure beaches and parking will be restricted off and on, with restricted parking you want something you can throw over your shoulder and carry easily a long distance, that’s why i suggested looking into waveskis.
Your reply is very helpful. With all the videos I’ve seen of the Kaos in action, there’s little to no proof that it can do much more than ride a wave. Hearing that Sing can really perform with it is great news. It sounds like a boat that will meet my needs now and the limiting factor will most likely be my novice skills rather than the boat.
The Kaos I’m looking at is fairly old and includes the fins. I’ll be sure to look for any cracks.
Great point regarding future lockdowns… if I end up having to carry it long distance perhaps a trolley might be in order.