Has anyone bought, paddled, or otherwise know anything of the Victory America 11 kayak? I think Dick’s is the only place that ever carried them, and they are “supposedly” discontinuing them. I’m paddler of simple needs, and when I see this one for the price they’re offering this week, I’m pretty tempted.
My needs are really this: I want a kayak to fish out of, have paddled for less than a year, and I’m 6’3, 200lbs. I mostly float and paddle down a slow moving river, but occassionally have to speed up my trip and paddle a little harder. I don’t want an expensive kayak, because I’ll bang the heck out of it getting it up and down from a car rooftop, and I tend to be pretty tough on it in the water as well.
do you mean the Perception America 11??
I dont know why they rename them
heres a link:
http://kayaker.com/new/products/boat.asp?type=discontinued&ID=111
do they still make the america 13.5?
My first boat and still a fav. for back water paddles and mild creek running. Shallow draft, very nimble (the flip side is…slow on open flat water)and a great boat to fish out of or take photos from.
With the large cockpit I’d suggest a mini skirt (it’s worked wonders on spray and sunburn for me)
That said: you might want to check your local paddling clubs and the swap sheet.
At least one guy locally (wny) bought one last summer, discovered is wasn’t what he wanted and has it up for sale…cheap.
that’s the wal-mart name for it
The brand name is Victory not Perception
It looks awfully similar, and I can’t tell any differences, but I’m not sure the seat and all of the features are the same. Victory seems to be a brand only sold by Dick’s Sporting Goods. I got a Blast by Victory last summer just to see if I would like kayaking (and loved it, despite that fact the fact that it’s way to small for me). It was only $199, and I knew I’d need something bigger, but I also knew that my wife and sons are all small enough to be very comfortable in it. Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had any experience with the one carrying the Victory name, as they may not be identical to the Perception.
AKA Sierra
When Perception first came out with the design it was called the “Sierra”. I’ve fished out of one for 4 years and its a great all-around fishing rig. It was later renamed the “America 11” and was finally discontinued. My understanding is the old molds were taken out of storage and several boats were produced for Dick’s under the Victory name. I assumed the molds might be a little worn/sloppy, but a fishing buddy of mine bought one recently and it looks pretty good although I haven’t paddled it and compared it to my Sierra.
In my opinion its a great stream fishing rig, turns pretty quick for accessing eddies, handles waves well and a pretty stable platform. I’ve fished from mine on smallmouth streams in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio, as well as the Elkhorn in KY, Doah and James in VA, and Greenbrier and New in WV. At 6’-1" and 250# the yak handles my bulk and all my fishing gear just fine.