Anyone familiar with or have any opinions about the LL Bean Calypso? I have a female friend interested in getting into kayaking, and this looks like a good fit for her (it’s lime green, only weighs 36 lbs, and she’s only 5’ tall).
I’m just curious about the quality. It looks nice from the picture. I noticed it seems narrower than other kayaks of the same length (around 12’), and for a plastic kayak, 36 lbs seems VERY light.
http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=1&catalogId=1&categoryId=45928&feat=45929XS
Acadia?
Looks a lot like the Perception Acadia. I’m not sure. I know that the Calypso was made just for LL Bean, so they may have taken the Acadia and put the LL Bean name on it. Anyone else out there that may agree? Good Luck!
cool kayak
Don’t buy it
– Last Updated: Apr-25-06 8:48 AM EST –
My wife just bought one of these, and it's going back to Bean. It sounded perfect for her in the catalog and on the LLBean website, made for a smaller paddler, etc.
First problem, it was advertised as having adjustable thigh braces, but in fact it has none at all. May or may not be a big deal for some people, but it was misrepresented.
Second problem, it does not track well at all. The thing is just all over the place. I tried paddling it, too, and had the same problem, so it's not just my wife. She can paddle my Carolina straight as an arrow.
On the plus side, it does seem pretty stable, even for me at 5'11" and >200lb. However there are probably many better choices for a smaller paddler. My wife may go with the smaller Carolina, or similiar boat.
I can't tell you if it's a re-branded Acadia, but it does seem to be made by Perception. In addition to the LLBean logos, it has the Perception logo on the seat and hatch cover, etc.