Let's be honest, once you try your first kayak, you're gonna want one of every kind! I got my first kayak a week ago, the lifetime tahoma, the cheap one from Walmart. I took it to the local lake and I was immediately hooked! I LOVE my kayak! But, as soon as I got home, I was looking on FB marketplace for a sit inside and a canoe to I can take my large dog with me! It was an immediate addiction, I've been listening to Paddle TV while at work, daydreaming of the kayaks I want and now I can drive past a puddle without thinking, "can I kayak there?!" This channel has been super helpful in teaching me all the kayak things!!! Thanks Paddle TV!!
Great video. As a tall big guy, I was concerned about getting a sit-in but you guys help me make up my mind, especially since I'm really not into fishing
Love my sit on top kyak ,I have the old town 120, plenty of storage. Take it back country camping all the time, just had to invest in a good wet bag for my gear.
I'm surprised you didn't mention loading a kayak in the bed of a pickup with the tailgate up. We have a 10 foot kayak and putting it in on an angle raises the boat up and out of the way. That way you can load paddles, fire wood, etc. No red flag needed and you don't have to worry about somebody backing up and hitting the boat.
I did a 13 mile paddle with a VERY tall (like, 5'20") friend yesterday... he was on a SOT made by the same manufacturer as my boat. Both boats are significant steps up from big-box store selections. When I really hit my stride (not racing, but "covering distance" efficiently), I could hear his hull behind me making a huge wake, and he was huffing and puffing. He's probably more fit than I am overall, but his boat was holding him back. His boat just became a wave generator above a certain speed. When we got back to the ramp, I asked if he wanted to try my boat with the footpegs maxed out... he'd told me before that he "knew" that he wouldn't fit, so he'd never tried it. Entry was, well... interesting. His femurs are far longer than the cockpit was designed for. There's just no question about that. But, once he got folded into the boat, he was quite comfortable. His exit from the boat was similarly awkward, but managed without incident. But he was still (understandably) worried about what would happen if he ended up wrong-side up while paddling. I tried to imagine a wet-exit from that boat if I was as long as he is, and I really don't know the answer. He might just fold up and fall out, but, maybe not! My (slightly tongue-in-cheek) solution was that he just learn to roll, but, short of that, what's an extremely tall person to do if he/she wants to use a real performance kayak?
You've answered the question for me.. Rather, it's something i have been considering for a while. That is.. Upgrade to a sit-in for better performance and usability, for overnight camping trips.
Most important question. Will you use it exclusively for summer, or all year? Can't put a skirt on a sit on! That's why I went with a sit in. I love cool weather paddling!
Very good point ! I’m a fair weather kayaker but I’m thinking about changing that . So many beautiful pictures of winter kayak ventures sure looks tempting :)
Thank you for this video. I am in the UK and we bought a narrowboat to go on the canals a year ago. There are always people kayaking on the canals and I want to get one. I tried it at a local lake today and loved it. As a complete novice who favours stability over performance I can see that a sit on top would best for me. Thank you.
Over in GB we get less SOT with the additional higher seat and more are like the Perception Scooter or Gemini for the 2 seater where you do still sit low and they are what the choice is normally between. I think in the US a lot of SOT are designed for angling use so higher freeboard, wider and harder to get back on. Sit in side is blurred as you showed towards the end as some have such an open cockpit you cant roll. To me its hard calling a kayak a sit inside if you can't actually brace your knees to edge and fit a spray deck that you can roll with. So there is a very grey area between the two. Again it may not apply in your area, but you didn't mention protection from the elements. I can paddle a sit inside in shorts on days where a sit on top would need warmer/waterproof trousers. The main thing is to have fun with what you get.
I use both. Sometimes I just want a quick, warm weather paddle on small water and use SOT which, in my case, is smaller and lighter. For big or cold water or long trips I take my Tsunami 145.
I rent out kayaks and canoes and SUPs at a lake near my home and we offer both types of kayaks. If the person is fishing or really doesn’t want to risk getting wet, I set them up with a sit-on top while everyone else usually goes for the sit-ins.
Both... Just bought a sit on top for this coming winter (more stability, easier to get on if I take a swim) for easy paddles on a river. I'll take out the sit inside in Spring for long distance kayaking on a large lake.
Great video! Thanks for the info. My boyfriend goes fishing and just bought a sit on top kayak. I want to get a kayak too, but want one more for performance as I won’t really be fishing. I am leaning toward the sit inside and will get lessons too.😊
Both my mom and I are wanting to get a kayak, I was originally thinking getting a sit on top for me and a sit in for her. Now I know I should get the sit in type, and she'll enjoy the sit on type best. Thanks for the video.
I’m 73. I’m hooked on kayaking I’ve rented. I have ordered and am waiting for an Origami Paddler. Wish you could do a review of them. Fold up and keep in car or van. I live in a second floor apt. So only option. Not looking for speed just slowly wandering on still waters. 😃
I borrowed a friends sit inside kayak and fell in love with kayak fishing. I noticed most fishermen used sit on top kayaks though. When it was time to buy my own i finally talked the wife into it. I chose the pelican premium icon 100xp angler. Going from the sit inside kayak to this one has been a huge change. This one feels like one wrong move and im going in the lake. Super unstable. It also dosent track nearly as straight as the sit inside one. Obviously i cant return it. Im looking to sell it though now possibly as it just dosent feel nearly as good. Any advice on this subject. Obviously a high end kayak would give a better experience. Im just upset my first kayak purchase has gone like this. William Oliver
@@bart2u sold it on Craigslist and bought a pelican very similar to the loaner I had before. Sit inside is the way to go if your going inexpensive. Center if gravity is lower and has way more stability. As well as tracks straight and is quick through the water. Pelican maxim 100x angler is what i have now and for 350 I absolutely love it
First thing I consider is on one knee problems .Sat in and on both Knee problems I had a hard time getting out of the sit in all most had to roll it on it`s side to get out . Sit on no problem getting off of it So that made my decision for me to get a sit on top lots of leg room and easy to get off of it
I use both I have used both SI and SOT for rec and WW, I run a club of kayakers, I will say the SOT is better for rescue of paddler and kayaks, and my dog loves the SOT.
@@happydogg312 Patrick is 60lbs, my service Dog, when I pull out the kayak, SI or SO, he jumps in, and just takes in the adventure, I have ordered an Cronin Ugly Duck for our WW adventures.
Any thoughts to doing a video on surf skis? I often see sit on top kayaks in paddle tv but never see skis. In my case i dont like sit-on due to the weight and own several sea kayaks and added a surf ski. Thanks! Great video as usual
Good point. I would love to have an excuse to paddle a surf ski more often! I'm too far from the surf... except for the river surf, and a whitewater kayak makes more sense here. Hopefully I'll get a chance to some surf ski videos this season...
I have different views on sit on top will slower than sit in such as stellar s14, which looks like a Surfski but more stable with storage for touring, the only I complain is I can’t find tandem version with similar design : speed / comfort / stability
Sit on top is best for older folks, getting in and out is harder than getting on and off. I have had 4 kayaks over the years, 2 sit in and 2 sit on, now have a skipjack90, may go to a 10 ft but for now 9ft. Is good enough.
Good comparison. Can you compare a hobie mirage drive kayak with a sit in kayak of equivalent value and do a comparison of those two kayaks? The mirage drive changes the performance equation because they can be faster than a light sit in kayak. You get the comfort, stability plus the mirage drive can be faster.
I'm on hulls #6 & #7. Choices for different purposes. #2 was for cave exploration and floats today inside one. #4 had 8 meter marine kite pull. #5 did sea touring between nations. I only fish for guns with a magnet on #6. Had a purpose yet ?
With market preference being what it is, performance composite touring kayaks may be gone in a few years. Not enough people want to do the multi-day 50 mile tour anymore to keep the segment alive. Everyone just wants to fish or spend a single day on the water.
I agree that serious touring and WW are both extremely niche now that fishing and recreation kayaking has exploded but I think that enough of the people introduced into paddling via recreation or fishing will get hooked enough to want to up their game and take on more challenging conditions which requires better equipment.
@@joshinfwtx4506 Hopefully you're right. WW fits the current one day preference. Touring does not. At least Canada cherishes its canoe heritage. Canoes have been slipping for decades in the US. The really sad part about fishing kayaks is how many people use a motor.
My very first paddling experience was a canoe at summer camp. 30 years later I was reintroduce via an emotion spitfire 8. That little sot got my hooked, 2 short years later I have a 12.5 sit in for year round paddling and am in process of learning WW.
Not really the case here in Norway. Fishing and sit on tops are a rear sight. It's mostly sea-kayaks, surfskis. Granted many of the surfskis are more of a open top sea-kayak.
@@2testtest2 That's comforting to know. Another popular product from the past has all but disappeared. Folding boats like Klepper used to be seen quite often on trains in Germany and became popular in the US from the 1950s to the 1970s. Those boats could last for 30-50 years. Now it's mostly plastic boats and those start breaking down much sooner.
I carry my SOT on my shoulder lol. It's not small either it's an ocean kayak p13. I don't disagree though, for some it's not an option. I'm cutting my teeth on a SOT but want to upgrade to a sit in maybe in a year or so.
Why can't you guys compare the feel free sit inside kayak to something like an RTM disco or a RTM midway sot kayaks, as they are very similar to a true sea kayak, rather than the native which is nothing like a sea kayak, it's more like a barge? Thanks..
You can go camping with a sit-on-top, although it's not ideal. Some sit-on-tops provide hatches to store your gear inside the kayak. This is a great option, because otherwise, all your gear needs to be stored on top of the kayak, which makes the kayak a little top heavy.
What kind of paddling do you want to do? Flatwater? Rough water? fishing? A great flatwater sit-inside kayak for larger paddlers, which carries good speed is the Wilderness Systems Pungo 125. It's nice and fast, but also stable. The downside is that it can't handle rough water, but that may not matter to you. Hope that helps?
I'm hung up on which one to get. I have always had sit on top Jackson kayaks and Hobie. I found a used but hardly used Jackson kayak Kraken 15.5 and I used to fish a lot but now not so much but I have always wanted to get a touring kayak and I have been looking at the wilderness systems Tempest 170. They say the Kraken at 15.5 feet has great glide and good speed for a sit on top but probably not as good as the Tempest 170. Wondering if anyone has experience with either of these yaks? Also I am 6'6" tall and 36" inseam and size 13 shoes.
Do a knee or thigh brace video for sit on tops. They might be the answer to someone's decision regarding inside or on-top. Good channel. Thanks . Try rolling a sit- on kayak with knee braces for our entertainment value. OK?
Not at all. That would be like saying that if you want to drive, you need to buy a luxury sports car. There are lots of options for fishing kayaks from highly economical, to very expensive. Of course, the more you spend, the more specialized the kayak will be.
What’s the best for photography from a kayak? I have a sit in and go out once a week or so for wildlife and nature photography. I am considering a sit on top for better stability, tracking, and potentially adding a tripod/camera mount
Sounds like a fishing sit on top with a peddle drive would be great for what you want to do. They're very stable have lots of places to attach gear and the peddles would free your hands up for taking photos.
I've done a ton of filming from kayaks. Here's my feeling... A sit-on-top is a great platform for filming because it's stable. I've done most of my filming from sit-on-tops and have liked it. Pedal kayaks are great too, because the keep your hands free, although I usually still have a paddle in my lap to fine tune my kayak's position for shots (not easy to do with pedals). That being said, I feel that my gear is a bit more protected when I'm in a super stable sit-inside kayak. I used to love filming out of the Wilderness Systems Commander, which was a kayak/canoe hybrid. Now, I think the Bonafide EX123 might be my favourite filming boat for flatwater conditions. That being said, it's hard to go wrong with either. The biggest things you want are stability, and something that isn't too short or 'turny', as the wind will spin you in circles as you try to get your shot.
@@PaddleTV I have watched your review of the ex123 three times lol. I currently have an old town vapor . While paddle I enjoy it, but the minute I stop paddling the boat goes sideways making to difficult to get the shot I originally had in mind
Yup. I'm a no-feather guy now. I don't feel strongly that it's the 'best' way to go. I just like it best. I do feel that for most people, there's no need to have more than 30 degrees of feather.
I wanted a kayak that did everything well, so last year started doing my homework and ended up buying the Stellar S14s. While not perfect for everything, I absolutely love it! If you like the idea of sit-on-top but want more performance I would argue to look at the S14s.
Well, this shows the difference between a classic "sea kayak" and a "fishing kayak". My sit on top Nelo 510 plastic surfski has better performance than, I would guess, all sea kayaks on the market: safer, more speed, bailer etc. Just want to add the surfski since not mentioned here. Otherwise, thanks for a great overview!
I remember at a youth camp to qualify to use a canoe you had be able to swap the canoe get it up right, climb back in and get it to shore. Not a bad practice with a new to you kayak.
100% agree! For people who don't do that, and don't determine whether or not they CAN do it, they need to stick close enough to shore so that they can swim to safety in the case of a capsize.
I'm a spearfisherman. I have to be able to anchor, gear up, get in, and get out of the water with gear. Only SOT allows this flexibility. For overnight camping and longer range trips, I have a Cobra Tourer... the best touring SOT in the world.
None of this is really applicable to high performance kayaks that you would use for fitness or racing they come in both SOT and SIT. Look at down wind racing or any ocean racing kayak it is a lot more to do with length, width and hull shapes than where you sit.
I'm ready to buy a kayak but have been wanting one for 6+ years. I like to camp and possibly go kayaking on the lake or rivers going through Kansas or Missouri. My dilemma has typically been one or two kayaks or tandem sit on top or sit inside. Want to kayak with son who is 11 but had the same dilemma with older son who is now 20. We went on scout trip and just used rental kayaks and canoes. I like the option to take a cooler store plenty of water , Gatorade, food etc. I have a Toyota 4runner but need a way to haul 2 kayaks. It would mostly be just me needing to move it myself but I've seen wheel sets that can be used for hauling sit on top kayaks to the water. I'm 6'3" and 220 and want something safe for my son and me. And mostly level 1 water maybe occasionally level 2 but 99.9% slow moving water. Aka scout trip with very leisurely ride down the river stopping to swim eat fish whatever. I've looked at then12 foot sit inside kayak wilderness systems Punto 1w that's in your other recent video. I've also looked at vanhunks or vibe sit on top kayaks. Almost wonder if I need one of each. Or ? Any recommendations on brands or where to shop at? I hate the cheapo pelicans I see at big box stores. Of course some can get into rudders pedal power etc. Suggestions for car carriers on roof to haul that can fold down but also hold enough weight for 2 kayaks. GuessING 150 lbs for 2 kayaks plus or minus based on type.
Any recommendations for a kayak to be used on lake, river (fairly calm), AND ocean? for ocean it will mainly be used in a bay/channel, so the waves don't get too big. i will be using it mainly for fishing and pulling crab nets. I'm thinking something with space, but not too wide and slow. Thanks.
I was going to get a sink but then opted for a sot so I can snorkel from it aswell. Going to do day paddles around the UK coast. Got an RTM midway which is a very fast and highly capable kayak.
I'm picking up four 10' sit-on (7 nephews & nieces) and a 16' single ocean sit-in kayaks tomorrow. My only thought is how to mod it into a tri/pent-maran hydrofoil with the 16' as the core even though I don't know how to swim. LOL.
