Posting here because I could not find anything at all on this Kayak. It’s not even listed as a kayak that perception has sold on their site. But It’s up on the rack at my local Dick’s, on sale for $500…
I know Perception kayaks are generally considered good quality for the price, but I am wondering about this one as it does not appear to be a model that they even acknowledge exists. Does anyone know anything about this Kayak? Should I steer clear? Our other consideration was the 11’ model that dicks sells… the name eludes me… I was kinda looking forward to the nicer tracking on the 13’ kayak though, seeing as we plan on taking them up to cape cod and out in some open/windy conditions.
I guess I’ll throw in our other consideration as it was a very cheap alternative, which is the field&stream 13’ kayak also sold at dicks. Build quality doesn’t seem quite up to par with the Perception yaks but $350 for a 13’ kayak is hard not to look at.
Conduit 13
This is what I bought a few weeks ago. Haven't had it out yet. Going to try to go Thursday and a few times next week if the weather cooperates.
I did a lot of comparing with all the measurements side by side with others and it's very close to some highly recommended more expensive kayaks. The hard part is most manufacturers go from 12' to 14' so you have to kinda fill in the blanks when comparing.
Build quality is great IMO. You don't find any info because it is only manufactured for that store chain. It also has all the mounting points molded in already for a rudder system if you didn't notice. So there is definitely room for additions if that's what you want.
I see that you want to go out in open water too and this has sealed bulkheads and good floatation if you happen to get overturned.
For the money you can't beat it. And at $500 it's a steal cause it's $800 retail. I got mine for $600 shipped.
You say them…
Are you looking for 2 boats, one for you and one for a significant other?
Only comment is that if the other is a much smaller person than you, the boat that seems reasonably narrow and tracks well for you may not paddle as nicely or behave the same for the other. The price is quite good, but then if you want to match a size of boat for a small person you can look around for a used boat too.
If you were only talking about quiet lakes and streams this would matter less. But if your initial goals are windy situations off Cape Cod, this kind of thing does matter. The inlets alone can be pretty bouncy if you leave the sheltered bays.
So does learning on water rescues etc - if you want to take the time on Cape Cod to learn basics I’d suggest that you contact Goose Hummock kayaking. Good people, and better to get wet in a planned fashion than be a newspaper story.
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Perception Sport is the “brand” that sells at retail chains (mostly at Dick’s, but I have seen them at Academy as well). They are still made at Confluence (the parent company) and sometimes use older models from Perception or one of their other brands. For instance, my Perception Sport Rhythm 11 used to be a Dagger kayak in a previous life.
I’ve been seeing the Conduit 13 as well at the local Dick’s, it’s more of a hybrid touring/recreational kayak with a roomier cockpit and wider hull than found on most true touring kayaks but also has greater storage capability along with sealed bulkheads on each end.
For the price, it’s kind of hard to argue against it unless you are a truly devoted paddler. Which judging by this question in the first place I’d assume you are more recreational oriented. Happy paddling!
Dagger Catalyst
Check the specs - looks like a rebadged Dagger Catalyst 13.
http://www.dagger.com/product/index/product_homepage/discontinued_models/catalyst/catalyst_13_0
Good find
That looks to be exactly the same. Good looking out.
Thanks
Yeah it looks to be exactly the same as the dagger catalyst… Thanks…
I ended up ordering two of these - turns out they left a $499 sale tag up on one of the yaks from earlier in the year, while the ones up front had $799 tags on them. The sales rep agreed to part with the one for $499 and my GF’s for $599… Seemed fair enough to me.
Funny that you speak of Goose Hummock’s - my Grandparents live virtually across Orleans town cove from them, and that’s the area we have kayaked in, in the past. Money is a definite issue for us, hence why I’ve been so stingy about finding a good semi-touring kayak under $600… But we’ll definitely take your advice and look into lessons there.
We’ll post an amateur’s perspective review (well, mostly amateur - I had previously been paddling around the bay in a 13’ Tampico myself, but my GF is a complete amateur) once we’ve had ample opportunity to try them out (can’t wait!).
More on Goose Hummock
They have a tradition of having a huge sale each fall, with really discounted prices on their used or demo kayaks. It’s in September. Get the date and be there. By season’s end you may be ready and able to part with cash for different boats, especially for GF. There are boats available now in the transition length group, like the Tsunami 135, that are sized and designed to make paddling a pleasure rather than a struggle to get comfortable for a 5’4" or shorter woman.
Conduit
Jst bought one of these and also own the rhythm 11 that might be the other boat you are looking for. Seems the conduit is comparable to the Dagger Catalyst and the Rhythm 11 is comparabe to the Dagger Element. Go to Paddling.net and they have reviews on both boats.
Conduit 13…
I sold my Rhythm 11 today, and plan on going to Dick’s tomorrow to pick up a Conduit 13. The Rhythm 11 was a fine boat, but I wanted something to handle the open waters of the bay and finger lakes here in NY state. Something with more storage and straighter tracking, and the possibility of adding a rudder was on top of the list, as well.
The Rhythm 11 WAS in fact a Dagger Element 11.2 (I had contacted confluence 2 years ago, they told me that is what it was), and I do believe the Conduit is a Catalyst 13.0, which gets rather good reviews.
I would love to be able to afford a nicer boat, but I personally can’t dedicate 1000 to a kayak. If I could, I would build a Pygmy boats Arctic Tern, and have a nicer looking boat in the end.
Got one today…
It was rainy this morning but the second the radar cleared, i left to go pick up a nice yellow/red Conduit 13 at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Victor, NY. They had one brand new in the plastic out back so the guy got me that one! I looked it over quick and of course all was in place. Looking it over more at home, this is a NICE kayak for $600. Not going to beat that price at the “kayak store” around here.
Hopefully I will have a chance to get it out soon. When I do I will write a review in the review section under Perception. The hull looks nice, multiple hard chines should help tracking, turning and stability. Ready for a Rudder kit as well, all the spots and holes for rudder mounting even have little shapes molded on them for centering a drill. I can see a Rudder in my future IF tracking is not what I expect. If it tracks well, however, I don’t see a need for one.
I say anyone thinking of it, go look at the Conduit 13. Whole lotta boat for the money…
Touring Kayak
I had a Rhythm 11 before purchasing the Conduit 13, and I will honestly say the Conduit is a far superior kayak. It tracks straighter, glides easier, paddles easier, and is a better kayak on open water. I use it mostly on a fairly open bay, which gets rough at times.
RE: Perception Conduit Touring Kayak
I had a Rhythm 11 before purchasing the Conduit 13, and I will honestly say the Conduit is a far superior kayak. It tracks straighter, glides easier, paddles easier, and is a better kayak on open water. I use it mostly on a fairly open bay, which gets rough at times.
Conduit 13 Kayak
The Conduit 13 kayak is not made by Perception, it is made by Perception Sport, as are all “Perception kayaks” sold at Dick’s. They are both connected, but are different companies.
The Conduit 13 seems very good from reveiws, and many people have actually traded in their Rythm 11 (The other kayak, I think) for this, because the 11 didn’t track very well. This info was only gotten from reveiws, but I read a lot of them from different sites.
Perception Conduit
The Sport models are listed on Perception’s website. Click on products at the top of Perception’s home page and on the page that comes up you’ll see a category for Perception Sport models along the left side of the page.