All around kayaks...
- Thread starter 1speedlos
- Start date
pnorvell
Adventurer
I just went from a Wilderness Systems Tarpon 140 sit-on-top to Jackson Hero. I love, love , love the WS Tarpon, but it was really big. I wanted to get more into whitewater so that's why I am selling them. You're not going to find a more stable boat than a WS Tarpon, that's if you want a sit-on-top.
Just had 2 Wilderness Systems for sale on here with all the accessories. Only one boat is left. Let me know if you're interested.
Peter
Just had 2 Wilderness Systems for sale on here with all the accessories. Only one boat is left. Let me know if you're interested.
Peter
pnorvell
Adventurer
I love it! Of course I'm brand new to whitewater kayaking, but have always enjoyed whitewater rafting. I'm looking forward to getting into it!
Peter
upcruiser
Perpetual Transient
That Prijon looks sweet. This crossover kayak question has been one i have thought about alot. Older river boats can make a decent compromise. I get ribbed on by my friends all the time for my boat but it actually works quite brilliantly. I'm running the Perception Dancer XT that I have now had for 15 years!. Its a touch under 11 feet long and definately from the old school design of whitewater boats. It will handle just about anything you can throw at it on a river and yet tours decently too. Obviously there are compromises. I can't play like a modern and much smaller river boat, and it takes some practice to paddle and keep it tracking straight. Honestly though once you get the hang of it, it works fine. Paddling with friends in sea kayaks it is only a touch slower on the water suprisingly (on long days it is alot more noticeable for sure) but I use it all the time for touring. Also storage is limited but if I pack smart I can do overnighters in it for sure. It really does it all for me. Yeah, I still want a new sea kayak but for somthing to throw on top of the rig and not worry about, and be able to use in rivers or shoreline type touring, it works! Just throwing that out there, there are some old school solutions to this question that can work, and are really, really inexpensive if you can find them. 
compactcamping
Explorer
This time of year a lot of paddle shops will have a "demo days" where the manufacturer reps bring lots of boats out for test paddling. It's a great way the get some seat time in a number of different boats.
T.Low
Expedition Leader
Thats a great point Kristian.
An old Prijon T Canyon could make a good all rounder like that. The classic all rounder is the Prijon Yukon.
The Prijons are nice because they are blow molded plastic instead of rotationally molded, so they don't need a foam center pillar. That makes packing camping gear much easier.
If you are a backpacker, I could see overnighting out of a Dancer XT, although it would definitely be tight for me. (And I caught hell for camping out of an Anas Acuta!) That makes the XT a very versitile boat alright. You can camp out of it or slalom race it.
Its very similar to my old Pyranha Master that I use for kayak polo. The guys hate me because I'm so much faster in that boat than they are in their newer boats. (But I got to admit, I have 4 other boats for rivers, including a slalom boat).
An old Prijon T Canyon could make a good all rounder like that. The classic all rounder is the Prijon Yukon.
The Prijons are nice because they are blow molded plastic instead of rotationally molded, so they don't need a foam center pillar. That makes packing camping gear much easier.
If you are a backpacker, I could see overnighting out of a Dancer XT, although it would definitely be tight for me. (And I caught hell for camping out of an Anas Acuta!) That makes the XT a very versitile boat alright. You can camp out of it or slalom race it.
Its very similar to my old Pyranha Master that I use for kayak polo. The guys hate me because I'm so much faster in that boat than they are in their newer boats. (But I got to admit, I have 4 other boats for rivers, including a slalom boat).