Solid kayaks (i've got 2 of them about 20 years old), always been kept outside leaning against the house or fence, never covered. Bought viking reload 2 years ago and have not used Espri since, but could be good for a quick mission or somewhere the reload is harder to get on the water. Easy to carry above your head or roof load on a vehicle.
How do you find the Espri paddles compared to the GT? I have the GT but find it just takes too much effort to paddle. The 400 would be an obvious upgrade but I am getting to the age where transporting the Yak is a major consideration so am interested in an Espri due to the lighter weight. I don't go offshore or carry a lot of gear.
Hi Mal, the Espri is a lot easier to paddle that the GT, which is a bit of a barge but transforms with a Bixpy. A disadvantage of the Espri is the rope around the outside is your handle for carrying it by yourself, it’s not very comfortable. To me the 400 ticks a lot of boxes being lightweight, fast and fishing friendly. The GT really needs a chillpod to lift the nose, all setup for fishing mine weights in at 43kg, my 400 is 38.
I make rear well covers for the 400, 10mm Eva foam inner to keep the fish in mint condition. Check out my recent 3 Species vid, there’s one on the prize yak 👍 You can contact me through lauriepottinger@icloud.com
