By the way, DO NOT presume that “parts costs will be minor”. I bought replacement parts for Feathercraft and Pakboat folders and they were NOT cheap. And this is even when they were available. Small companies with limited production don’t tend to be able to keep a stock of parts. At least Feathercraft made their own at their facility in Vancouver so I could get them when needed.
But Trak can’t even get their production runs of boats themselves out of the manufacturing pipeline, which is offshore. Do you really think they would have parts when you needed them? Don’t count on it. SMH.
I really don’t want to get into a warranty issue here, maybe I should not have posted that I bought the boat. The boat is $3k, what is the most some little part will cost, a few hundred ? big deal, so its not under warranty. In the end, its just a boat, if the quality of a Trak is as high as people say it is then nothing will happen and it will not ever need warranty work. And I bet that Trak would cover it anyway, it really was not and is not an issue for me and I don’t understand why for anyone else. The boat at Costco was $600 LESS than from Trak, that will buy a lot of parts that I should never need. But in the end, its a boat, a hole in the water you pour money into, nothing more, nothing less. So no, the warranty issue does not bother me at all, if there is any issue with the boat when I get it, I return it using Costco’s money back guarantee, after that its safe to assume any issue that pops up will be my fault, like crashing it on rocks or like that, and that should not be covered by any warranty from any manufacturer. As you say also, if Trak can’t control their production runs and may not have parts then even a warranty will be useless. And I didn’t buy it at Costco because of the price (although that is nice) I bought it at Costco because they claimed 5-7 days delivery, there is no way in heck I would ever wait more than a few weeks for anything I purchase and even a few weeks is doubtful for me. I would NEVER EVER consider anything like the waiting period some people are waiting for a Trak, too many other boats out there to enjoy, a few days to a few weeks ? maybe, a whole month ? probably ? 2 or more months ? nope, never. There is always something else out there equal or better that is available now.
As to whether or not I will ever get the boat, well, I still have not heard from Costco about any shipping times so that does not bode well and I do doubt they have one in stock, so I will get my money back and find another boat of some kind. Even talked with my wife about getting a different car so I can carry a proper kayak again. And yes, they have pulled the listing, maybe they only had one in stock.
If you’re going to make a claim like this you should be able to back it up. As someone who has done a lot more research, you’re very wrong.
What is it with this Costco listing that keeps popping up then disappearing? Why are the comments about it coming from new users to this forum? My Spidey sense is tingling.
A large part of the massive backup of orders and delays in delivery may be the fact that hey only have 20 employees in their Manila production facility.in the Philippines.Once they realized that they could not possibly deliver orders within a reasonable amount of time they should have taken no more than a small refundable deposit to be put on a waiting list. The time for a refund should have had a much longer redemption period than 90 days. This backlog started well before the pandemic.
It’s inexplicable tin this day and age that they do not have an online system that can give people with orders an up to date delivery estimate, even if it has to be revised frequently. What are the people in the Alberta office doing other than dodging angry emails and phone calls.
The Costco issue is curious. It may be that they had a tentative deal with Costco which would have given them an instant nationwide distributor network. It is possible that Costco, upon learning of the ongoing order fulfillment problems that Trak was suffering from, decided to pull the plug. Large corporations are very sensitive when it comes to suppliers that cannot fulfill orders and anger their customers.
I stand by my comment there is always something better OR equal out there. The Trak does seem to the best at the compromise between a proper boat and a takedown but if you have the money (I don’t) there is always something better or equal out there.
Its just a boat, maybe a very very good one, maybe the best but just a boat. If I had my choice, I would not have a breakdown boat, I would have a real boat, but I chose poorly on my car decision and don’t want to drill holes in the roof for a rack so I have to have a takedown boat, or get a different car/truck, that talk is happening with my wife. I am sorry, I am not brand loyal or sentimental, with very few exceptions everything I own is a tool for my pleasure and when its used up, it gets discarded and I look for another and its hardly ever the same brand.
As to Costco, if it works and they send me a boat, great…if not then I get my money back and look for another boat. I had no idea it was a recurring “thing” when I saw it and I bought it, that is all. No reason for any Spidey sense, its that simple.
Think I am done here…I will reply when/if I hear from Costco and that is all, so probably best if I leave you guys alone.
Yes, quite stubbornly and ignorantly standing by. While at the same time unable to back up your claims. Saying it’s true doesn’t make it true, even if some recent public figures have made this popular.
And just to be clear, and those here who have been around much longer than you already know, I’ve never made claims that the Trak 2 is the best overall. I’ll take a hard shell boat over any foldable or inflatable, any day. I still own two great hard boats. But similar to you, I have to make compromises. My claim is that the Trak is the best compromise currently available (or rather “not”, as the case may be). Failure to deliver doesn’t change that.
Hey mikeyr, what car do you have that you can’t add a rack to? I’m sure there are models out there where it isn’t possible to ad a Thule or Yakima system, but I’ve never personally dealt with one. Thanks.
Sparky, ignorance is bliss so I am very happy… and I don’t need to offer evidence to my claims as we are all different. You say Chevy is best, I say Ford is. You say Glock is best, I say HK is, we are all different and there is always something better out there, it all depends on if you can afford it. Anyway, I said I was done until I heard back from Costco…and I really am…Enjoy yourself, I wont read it.
To the other poster, my car is a Honda S2000 ( a convertible ) wife and I have talked about getting a factory hardtop for it and drilling holes for a roof rack, but I drive top down year around. And I still prefer 2 wheels (motorcycle) for my basic transportation.
So personally, I agree with mikeyr’s thought process. If it shines it shines. If it rains get the money back and move on. Seems to me that he has some options. Maybe buy a new car and open up some more?
Well besides the Costco development, I now see that Trak is offering to throw in a free Level Six drysuit or dry top (depending on the package you choose) if you pay full price up front. I wonder what that means for Level Six…do they get the money right away and ship the drysuit? Is the customer then left with a drysuit but no boat? That’s a pricey suit!
Give Trak credit: they are marketers the likes of which we have not seen in the sea kayaking world.
I think Oru is far beyond them in actual “marketing”. They were able to not only flood the market with actual boats after their initial kickstarter, but managed to get massive free publicity as well as strategically covering the market, in fact far behind the usual circle of already established paddlers.
IMHO, Trak is trying to fill the niche that Feathercraft occupied for years but without the direct control of their production that FC had. I used to fret that FC did not have better marketing – despite the years that they devotedly placed modest ads in the circulating outdoor sports mags, they remained virtually invisible to the mainstream and were mostly word-of-mouth products that were probably brought to the attention of new buyers more by previous owners than any attempt by FC itself to foster wider awareness of the products. Perhaps that was intentional, in order to control sales volume so it would not strain production.
But they (Feathercraft) also undercut dealers by selling direct which probably resulted in fewer outlets wanting to sell them. People are far more likely to buy a boat, especially one that costs several grand, that they can see in person so I imagine that hurt their volume – I was fortunate in 2002 to live near one of the few FC outfitters that actually had the Kahuna I wanted in stock.
I have fretted for years about Pakboat’s awkward home-made websites and advertising. I never spotted a single ad by them, or Feathercraft for that matter, that illustrated one of their folders side by side with its packed version or that showed the frame structure and assembly – something that would seem like a no-brainer when you are trying to distinguish the uniqueness of your product vis-a-vis dozens of other hardshell boats in a periodical aimed at outdoor sports folks.
Oru, whose products, while clever, are neither as sturdy or functional as Feathercraft or Pakboat (or Folbot or Klepper, etc.) did a great job of catching the eyes of people who did not know that a collapsible and super light kayak even existed.
One problem with the business model of getting all your funding to build a production and distribution stream from what are essentially “donations” with an indeterminate delivery date, is that if you had started with conventional business loans you would have pressure on you to generate actual product to secure the loan within a reasonable period of time or it could be called in. I don’t sense that Trak has anything lighting a fire under their asses to get right with their customers. And as they continue to drain the big reserves they started with and now face even more outside forces that disable their ability to control production to satisfy built up commitments with no chance of new income from fresh buyers until that backlog is resolved, I would not put a bet on their prospects for survival.
I would hope that Trak has a lot of money on hand with their business model of getting full payment for boats that are not manufactured and delivered yet. Otherwise they need to keep taking orders in a type of Ponzi scheme to keep operating. That could be endangered if word spreads more widely about their poor customer communication and exceedingly long delivery delays.
As sad as all this is …It is a kickstarter plan that sourced materials worldwide and it ran into a Pandemic and some government fighting over trade. Be glad they are still trying. I think they will make it since they haven’t folded yet and many decks seem to have been stacked against any start up during a situation like this. {labor problems in all the countries because of gov shutdowns to quell the virus affect material deliveries etc}
I doubt that TRAK needs to take in more money in order to fill the orders they have taken so far…they need the materials to arrive and get a virus free labor group to fill the orders.
The fact that they are still advertising show that they mean to keep going. But there is still a pandemic and gov squabbles over trade and tariffs.
My fingers are crossed and hoping I am correct. The world needs a kayak like this to be produced.
I apologize for ruffling your feathers. I have been watching the progression of this company for many years. From it’s inception, where it’s price was extremity prohibitive to it’s management changing hands and the price coming more in line with what one could afford.
I had a lender for awhile …long before the seeker model. I have watched the kayak improve and if my finances would have allowed. I too would be watching the road for FED EX or UPS.
I do however believe that not only the pandemic but also, the Hurricane or the present political squabbling over trade and tariffs {which started a few years ago} are all playing into this . Since I am not in the know from the management , I will refrain from posting again on this subject.
Again…I apologize for my part in your anxiety over this. Because I was looking for a legitimate reason for such back log of shipments.
