View Single Post
Old 11-24-2007, 08:37 AM   #4
Adam
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 27
Outback Review

I paddled an ocean kayak for 14 years and last year switched to a hobie outback. I love the outback. I think I fish more effectively because I can power with my legs while still dealing with my rods and tackle. It is nice to be able to troll while holding a fishing pole. Also, I am faster and can go further without getting tired. I cover much longer distances and am less aprehensive about running further offshore. The outback is also very comfortable, the only downfall is I can't stow my rods in the hull which was nice on my ocean kayak because I frequently go through heavy surf. Also, the outback is nearly impossible to ride down the face of a wave (at least for me). The outback is wide and sort of a "tank", but due to the peddle power it still gets me around pretty well. Paddling the outback is okay, but you definitely would not want to do it all the time. Paddling is more handy for fine movements around docks / rocks and fine tuning through surf.

With all that said, there is something very rewarding about paddling which I miss. I would like to also have a paddling kayak which I would probably use half the time. The peddling is quite a different experience that doesn't retain all the sort of ?primitive" / "purist" qualities of paddling out and catching your fish.
Adam is offline   Reply With Quote