Help! I am deciding between those two. I currently own a 17 feet touring yak but I want a kayak with more space for camping and hiking gear. I don’t want to sacrifice too much speed as I often kayak in open water such as cove and harbor. I think 14 feet will still cover a lot distance. I want to kayak more in river and I want a kayak can manuever in class 1 or 2 and stay stable. I have read product reviews on this web but cannot narrow down. I don’t fish and scube dive. Please share your experience with me to help me decide.
Thanks,
Libo in Connecticut
Pungo 140 for a week
I camped in the Allagash Wildnerness Waterway with my Pungo 140 last summer for a week (6 nights). Everything fit. On the last day of August it was 37 degrees–of course I had all my Maine camping fleece and my goretex, as well as a down bag, a thermarest pad, a two man tent, a tarp, a backpacking stove with cook gear, a water purifier, a spare paddle, a half skirt as well as a cockpit cover and a full skirt. Lots of clothing, including clean shirts and undies for each day, rain pants, extra long pants, shorts, LL Bean mud shoes, etc. It all fit inside, with nothing on deck. Hence I recommend the Pungo. Don’t know if your alternative could hold it all.
With The Pronounced Keel
on both those boats and the lack of rocker, neither are going to turn very well on moving water, especially a class II.
Maybe something like this?:
http://www.riotkayaks.com/kayaks/control/voyager.asp
Rockered to give maneuverability. Rudder down for windy days or the need for tracking. Seems to me, you should be able to pack a week’s worth of gear, unless you bring sink and kitchen stove.
sing
will try all three at demo first
– Last Updated: Jan-12-05 8:43 PM EST –
Thank you all for the insights. The Allagash Wilderness Waterway sounds like a great place to paddle and camp. I have read it a lot about it. It's on my list of place to paddle. Voyager by Riot Kayak is a beatifully designed boat. I like the hull design. The max capacity is only 300lb. It is considerably less than the 450lb the Pamlico or Pungo 140 offer. however, I will try a demo if local dealer have it available this summer.
Pungo vs Pamlico
I’ve paddled both of these boats on flat water (Chesapeake Bay with good weather) and found that the Pungo 140 has a more comfortable seat for long hauls. It also tracks better and I was suprised at its speed and handling. Still I’m not so sure that I’d recommend it for extended Class II rapids, especially loaded up for a multi-day trip. The Pamlico has a little looser hull, which may help in river travel, but unless most of your paddling in this boat is going to be on faster rivers, I would go with the Pungo.
Of course, the best bet is to demo them and see what you like better, which it sounds like you are going to do. Have fun and let us know what boat you end up with.
Xchef
here’s my take
having owned a pungo 140 and tried a pam 140 and currently own a pam 145T.
The pamlico 140 - a flatter hull better suited for rivers, similiar to a OT loon 138 or perception america in a lot of ways. I really didn’t care for the “tracking channels” because that area always gets the most abuse and the channels don’t help matters. Speedwise the pam 140 is going to be a little slower in most conditions say .5 - .75 mph. The pungo wins in glide as well. The one area that the pungo doesn’t shine is really shallow rivers say around 1’ which it really kind of sucks - IMHO. The pam has little to no rocker and the pungo has a little. Maybe I can steer you into the pam 145 - yep its a little more expensive, weighs a little more, but its the most versitile of the 3. It has about the same speed as the pungo, good river capabilities, more storage room and capacity, and the ability to take another small passenger - the only downside is that it lacks bulkheads and hatches.
Be careful when you view capacity ratings - each manufacturer will be different for the same type of boat. Some list it by maximum and others by the efficient maximum. If I remember right the Voyager listed in a previous message is about 13.5’ and 27" wide - now you can’t tell me that gaining .5’ in length and pretty much nill in width is going to get you 100 lbs more capacity.
BTW - I’ve put well over 300 lbs in all of the WS boats mentioned and they handled it fine.
dude, why are you talking to yourself??
your responding to your own post.
your sense of speed is very off
.5 is much slower than the Pam140 can travel. Id say maybe 3-5 MPH on the Pamlico 140.
You’re an idiot…
YOU responded to a 3 year old post!!!
“Old_User” is the name given to a “no longer registered” poster… The posters were different… They weren’t responding to “their own post”.
Nice job.