Got a buddy looking for relatively inexpensive kayaks. He's 6' 225# kilos, wife's 5'5 150#. They are primarily looking for stability, being novices and putterers. Any suggestions? Merci *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
"E. Sullivan" wrote: > > Got a buddy looking for relatively inexpensive kayaks. He's > 6' 225# kilos, wife's 5'5 150#. They are primarily looking > for stability, being novices and putterers. > > Any suggestions? > > Merci I have an Old Town Loon 138 and I love it. Very stable and easy to get in and out of, and plenty of capacity to carry me (210# now, was 235#!) plus gear. It was only about $500 new. I rented several low cost kayaks before purchasing mine, SOTs and cockpit models. The deciding factor for me was the huge comfy seat in the Old Town kayaks. I have a tendency to get lower back pain, and I can sit in the Old Town seat for hours without a problem. The place I bought it from (Rutabaga in Madison, Wisconsin) allows you trade in your plastic kayak and receive full purchase price credit towards a fiberglass/kevlar boat up to two years after your purchase which I thought was a pretty good offer. I decided to keep my Old Town though. I don't make transoceanic crossings with it. But it has been great for paddling in the Tippecanoe River, Sugar Creek, Chain O'Lakes, and along the Lake Michigan shoreline in Indiana, the Florida Keys, the Hillsborough, Little Manatee, Halls, Chassahowitzka, and Homosassah rivers in Florida, and the gulf coast shoreline and bayous around Tampa/St. Pete. I'm not interested in going fast or rolling. I have a good light paddle, a Werner Camano. Once when my car broke down out of town I rented a kayak and paddle while my car was being serviced. They gave me some big heavy black and yellow plastic paddle with thick straight blades. That thing must have weighed five pounds. After a few thousand strokes you can really feel that extra weight, so don't skimp on a paddle. Luckily in my pre-purchase rental days I also tried out a variety of paddles and learned that a good paddle is about the second most important purchase you can make. There's only a few more weeks of winter left here in the Great Lakes and then I'll be back out on the water. -Bob Matter in cold and rainy Hammond, Indiana *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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