Good morning,
Seeking a little free advice. I have spent many hours in a canoe, and a few in a kayak, mostly SOTs. I am in the market to purchase a new rec kayak for use in Arizona. Some lake paddling and some mild rivers, class 2/3 at most. I am a big guy, 6’ and 260 lbs. The 260lbs. is one reason I need to get off my butt and do something! I am considering the following kayaks. Any thoughts or advice is much appreciated. I am open to other suggestions as well. Thanks.
Wilderness: Aspire 105
Dagger: Axis 12
Necky: Rip 12
kind of short
Forget the Aspire. Too short for you and the cockpit is WAY too large for a spray skirt so that, and the hull design, make it unsuitable for Class 2 and 3. Same with the Rip, which despite it’s sporty name, is also a mild waters boat with an oversized cockpit.
Of the 3 only the Axis is designed for moderate whitewater. I have a friend about your size who, on my suggestion, traded up his shortie rec kayak for an Axis 12 three years ago and absolutely loves it, both for flatwater paddling and his professional photography and for running up to Class 3 whitewater for fun.
new kayak
Willow,
Thanks for the reply. I was leaning toward the Dagger in fact. I would be running mild white water at most, so your suggestions make sense. The reviews for most of the kayak’s on this and all review sights rarely get into the size of the paddler. Surprisingly, we have several active paddling groups here in AZ and I want a boat to have fun with first and foremost.
Mike
new kayak
I would like to add another kayak to the list of potential new boats. Any thoughts on the: LL Stinger XP?
Mike
dont know it
– Last Updated: Jul-04-15 8:45 PM EST –
Not familiar with the Stinger but it appears to be a larger version of the Remix, which consistently gets good reviews for similar usage as the Axis. .