Last Year my wife and I got our first kayaks “I got the pungo 140 and she got the jackson tupelo” They ended getting more use than I thought they would and has become one of my favorite things to do!
Well we have two kids 12 and 15 and my daughter really wants her own kayak as she went out a few times with me and she borrowed her mothers yak,and other times we rented one. So I was at Costco today and seen a Pelican Odyssey 100x with a paddle for $299.00 Im sure its not the best in the world but I thought it felt pretty good for the money,Nice looking and felt very tough with locking front hatch.
Unless someone can really steer me away from this I think im going to buy it,but was a bit concerned why I didnt see this kayak on the pelican website or even listed here for review?
Like I said I know not to expect the world from it at that price point but at this price it would allow me to get a nice looking kayak for her to call her own to bring out on out lazy day paddles,Let me know what you think?
Given the age of the kids
go for it. You can always sell or upgrade if needed
Another strategy
You would need to determine the need for schooze points here.
Upgrade your wife’s kayak to something nice (I’ll make a biased suggestion of a Lincoln Chebeague in carbon fiber at 30lbs. Go big……… right?) With her upgrade move the Tupelo on to your daughter.
This way you are the uber hero twice over.
Perhaps that way your family will get the idea that you deserve an upgrade to something spiffy-er in the near future for Fathers Day.
Ok, enough visiting the behavioral psych. books from college I found during spring cleaning.
See you on the water,
Marshall
The River Connection, Inc.
Hyde Park, NY
www.the-river-connection.com
fb.me/theriverconnection
hmm.
You know your kids better than we do. But I have seen older kids and young teens be very frustrated with short wide rec boats like you are looking at. While littler kids tend to be delighted with any kind of boat, being in something that is going to track poorly and be harder to keep up with others in better boats (narrower/longer/ lower volume) can turn off pre-teens and teens who want to be able to go faster and be comfortable doing it.
For less than $300 you could find a better used boat on CL, maybe even an old school whitewater boat like a Pirouette or Dancer. If you prefer to buy new, I think even some of the discount store sit on tops would be a better choice for kids that age – something they can jump in and out of.
Just some things to consider.
Consider a Sit-On-Top (SOT)
For younger children, a SOT offers the flexibility of becoming a “diving platform” in the middle of the lake. It is a little bit of a generalization, but a SOT will be slower, heavier, and wider. That said, after I gave one away, my daughter asked if I would buy one for her as she saw all her friends climbing on and off at the lake.
Re-entering a Sit-Inside-kayak(SINK) mid lake requires a bit more skill.
Adrian