I tried doing a search for Pelican International kayaks on these forums but came up flat. I found them in the buyer’s guide but what I’m looking for are opionons on the Pursuit DLX or the Pursuit Fade, both by Pelican, if anyone owns one or has paddled one. Thanks!
I work for a Pelican dealer…
and to be honest with you, I’ve not seen a quality Pelican boat yet. I’m not familiar with the models you mentioned, but the company’s policy regarding hanging boats from the ceiling…Pelicans are not allowed to be hung. Period.
They do make the least expensive boats I’ve seen, though. I guess it depends on what you’re looking for (and whether you want to purchase a boat that requires you to assemble it when you get it home).
Pelican Info
We hadn’t planned on buying one of these…a friend had sent us a link about the Pursuit DLX and wondered if we’d done any research on them and I told him I hadn’t even heard of Pelican until his email! Then, when I couldn’t find anything on them (opinion-wise) using the Search method I REALLY got to wondering.
Thanks for the info!
pelican info
My store carries a couple boats from them…one of them called the BassRaider (we have some fun nicknames for it) that is this rectangular thing that fits inside the bed of a full-size pickup (that’s one of their marketing claims, even).
We also carry a 15.5’ pelican canoe and the pelican wave kayak. The canoe weighs 86lbs, I think. The kayak requires you to install the plastic skeg, and it has actual seams around the perimeter of the hull near the waterline. We’ve had them for a couple months now, and nobody has bought one…even though they’re only $200, people want some semblance of quality.
Their Ram-X material isn’t very good, either. I don’t know any details, but I’ve seen what happens to it…dents are pretty much permanent. A large number of the pelican canoes we receive are defective or damaged and we have to send them back.
update from Pelican Int’l
I sent an email to them asking about their boats being assembled or not and this is the response rec’d this morning:
Good morning.
Some products such as canoes may come unassembled if it is requested by a consumer. Boats/kayaks come assembled.
Regards,
Linda Chartrand
Customer Service Coordinator
outright lie
The Pelican Wave kayak requires you to assemble the skeg. It comes attached to the boat by a big white zip-tie. I can take a picture of a few in the store if you want.