Venture Kayak reviews???????

Does anyone have a Venture EASKY 15? I don’t see any reviews from this manufacturer. Rutabaga in Madison sells them.



www.venturekayaks.com

have the 13
Will not help you much, but I have the 13. My comments on performance will not help you since this is a slower rec kayak that I use exclusively for wildlife photography. But what I would like to share is that even if the longer 15 is categorized as a rec or light touring boat, I am impressed with the features of this series that places well ahead of other boats in this category. Kayaksport hatch covers that seem pretty waterproff on mine! Perimeter deck lines. Thigh braces. A decent seat but too high a backband. Plastic that seems fairly solid for edging. It seems the parent company P & H is offering a decent product in the price range but the question might be, perhaps spend a bit more and get a plastic Tempest, Zephyr, ro Chatham 16 that one can go further with skills.

Easky 15 & 17
Two friends own one of each. They really like them as stable, userfriendly allrounders for flatwater.



One takes his rockbashing in rivers and on daytrips in big lakes. The other takes her 15 on daytrips - small lakes and estuaries for birding and fishing. No feedback on multiple day journeys but they are high volume enough w. big enough hatches so why not…



I see you like to fish and these kayaks can be fishing platforms cuz they are so stable. Not the quickest or most agile, but very dependable and easygoing.



Since they are very beginner friendly (an observation not an indictment) you might, w. your overall paddling experience, outgrow an Easky sooner than you think. Depends where you want to go w. your kayaking skills.



It may be with P&H putting new emphasis on their own plastic boats (the Scorpio series, w. Corelite - foam sandwiched by plastic) that the Venture Easky line is getting a bit dated. The high back seat needs to go IMO and the stern lines are downright skimpy. You can of do this yourself - diff backband, more bungees. The boats do have full perimeter decklines, just to be clear.



I am not a fan of foam bulkheads and these have 'em.

You will find diff. opinions on that. Any boat you consider apply real pressure to the bulkheads. If they flex a bit OK, if they flex a LOT & move off the seam, run away fast. I have seen a $3300 all fiberglass seakayak do this in less than it first six months on the water, so not picking on the Easky in particular or plastic bulkheaded boats in general.



You could try paddling the plastic Tempests, P&H Capellas and the new Corelite P&H Scorpios just for fun & contrast. See what you think. Used versions of the T’s and C’s are often widely available at bargain prices. The Scorpios are very new intros and not likely to show up as used.



Easkys are a proven design and, as my friend Celia would say, a good and honest boat (I like that phrase)



Prices on used ones in good to very good condition are going for $500-$650 here in Michigan.



Hope this helps.






stability of easky
Friendlyfire is right with most of her points here, but i want to add that while the Easky 15 is a pretty stable boat as sea kayaks go it is not very stable compared to most day touring boats out there. Everyone that demos say - easkys, tsunamis, carolinas, and visions, finds the easky to be the least stable but the most efficient. That said, i think the easky 15 is a unique kayak. Not too many boats have attributes like it. Its hard chines will carve turns better than most day touring boats, and it has nice speed. I’d say the plastic is a touch thinner and lighter than the average, but the shape of the hull compensates for this and the only place one really notices the flex is on the deck, especially when putting on hatch covers and scrambling about when doing rescues.

fair comments
since jesse has paddled the 15 those are fair comments, esp. carving turns and doing rescues. I don’t have any seat time in either boat.



As far as stability or “tippiness” that’s pretty subjective. Sense of balance does vary so much individually.



The dude who owns the 17 is ~ 6feet 200 lbs. and not overly athletic or anything. He rides well in the 17 so i took that to mean it was stable. And the woman who uses the 15 is an average size woman at ~5’5" and 140 lbs, and she uses it for fishing and birding, which for her would mean stability.



also outfitters use the Easkys quite a bit which usually means they are pretty stable.



The proof is for the OP to demo himself and decide on stability since it’s a hard call for another person to make.

Plenty of reviews
http://www.paddling.net/Reviews/showReviews.html?prod=1008



Most of the Venture boats came from either P&H’s line (Easky’s) or Pyranha’s (Orca’s).



While they are stable, I would not describe the fifteen or thirteen as slow or unexciting. In the hands of an experienced paddler, these boats have lots of performance. I would disagree that you would be handicapping your growth potential in an Easky 15. I’m seriously considering picking up an Easky 15LV as a rock garden boat to augment my glass fleet.



The newest iteration of the seat is a lot better than older models. The seat pan is real comfortable and the flip-top back band isn’t that tall. However, for erformance, I would probably replace it in my boat with a hung back brace, which should be easy to do.