We bought the Take 2 last year, mainly for casual paddling with our children. We really like it. Easy to paddle and steer. Very stable, too. One thing I'll add about using with only one seat, is that the seat can straddle both sets of tracks to allow more flexibility in seat location.
Many were upset that Jackson took away the Big Tuna but personally I think it was a great thing. The Big Tuna was $1899 and would have surpassed $2k in addition to already sagging sales of the Big Tuna. The Take Two is more of an open platform and is more customizable. $1599 is also a great price point.
I agree. This was some of my earlier work. It is very similar to the Bite design. Very decent primary stability with a good secondary. It paddles well enough but can be a bit of a battleship for one person
I am not sure if you check comments from this long ago, but how would you rate vs a Nucanoe set up as a tandem? This kayak seems to check boxes, but if I wanted more versatility for me and my wife what options exist today? Thank You
Man I used to be a big fan of jackson kayak until they started killing off all the favorite models. That includes the cuda series, og kilroy and kraken series. They are focusing too much on bigger is better. Most of the new lineup is over 35 inches wide, paddle like slugs and give you a hernia loading and unloading. The cuda 12 and the regular kilroy were my favorite and actually fun to paddle and fish out of.
They brought back the killroy. They usually remove a model once it stops selling though. I have relayed the exact thought that they need a lighter fishing kayak. Similar to the original Coosa. Hopefully we will see that soon
i hear ya on the weight, but man to say they paddle like slugs just doesn't sit with me. these rigs, although heavy out of the water, paddle very well! i paddled the take 2, almost 80 miles on 2 trips loaded to the gills with gear and was able to keep up with everyone i paddled with. the X is a heavy boat, but there is absolutely nothing sluggish about that boat on the water at all. they did a limited run of the kilroy last year and probably will others as the need is there. i liked the cruise 12 better than the cuda 12 and the cuda HD better than any of those but it was just a more comfortable rig for standing to me. the problem is, features.... most folks want tons of features and they all add weight... then standability and it adds weight and decreases speed.... it is just too hard to please every paddler.
@@ChrisFunktheFeralOne well put. I've never been in a Jackson that I thought didn't paddle well. It's always a trade off with kayaks and there is no perfect kayak. Jackson has always done a good job of giving stability without sacrificing handling.
