Are demo kayaks ones that didn't quite meet Hobie standards?

I've read that dealers get a discount on the Hobie demo units and some come stamped with the word demo. I also read that some may have minor defects like overheating during manufacturing that causes discoloration.

The salesman I spoke to today said that he has about 3 or 4 2018 outbacks and compass kayaks. He said they are year end closeouts, but he would have to sell them as demo. Do you think this is due to Hobie price protection or are the kayaks really just demo's that were not used. He said they were still in the plastic.

He is offering 20 percent off the 2018 models. A 2018 outback would be $2040 and a compass would be $1550. I like the compass, but I would want to upgrade the drive for the reverse feature. He said that would be another $200. I also looked at the 2019 outback. It seemed to have some nice upgrades. What are your thoughts?

To my knowledge there are 2 types of demos:

Manufacturing blems good enough to sell that are then branded “DEMO” at the factory, and those that passed qc but are actual demo yaks at the dealer.

I had a “DEMO” branded tandem island that the best I could tell the mold was not properly aligned at the drivewell creating a wonky seam. Never had an issue with it except the mast would jump in the base during a tack which may have been unrelated.

I would jump on that 2018 Outback before I spent another $1000 on the 2019 Outback. Especially since it is a dryer ride and easier to load and unload.

In 2016 I bought a Revo at a 20% discount because it had the older style mirage drive instead of the MD180. Your dealer is probably just trying to move its old stock of Outbacks. Save yourself some money and buy it quick before someone else does...lol.

The odd thing is that they still have some 2016 Pro Angler 12's that they are trying to get rid of. I was surprised they still had a 2016 model. I forgot the price he quoted on it. I want to say it was around 2500.

Do you guys think dealers will drop it below 20 percent off? I'm not sure if they will drop it more when it actually turns 2019 in a few days.

I would think that Demo boats are 100% in terms of quality and performance but are sold to dealers at a discount with the idea that they can then use the boat to provide "demo" rides to potential customers. At year's end, the dealer can sell the boat as a used-demo and hopefully recover the initial purchase price, something he could not do if he were to use a standard priced boat and then have to sell it as a used boat. This sort of thing isn't limited to the kayak industry. Without "demo" products sold to dealers at less than normal price, most dealers would not be able to provide potential customers with on-the-water promotional demo rides.

I have a 2017 Demo TI. Best I can tell is the seam on the outside is not great and there were some superficial scuffs. Works fineas far as I can tell and they come with the same warranty as a new boat. I haven't researched enough to see if the DEMO stamp hurts their resale value on the used market.

Thanks for all the replies. It's encouraging that it doesn't seem to cause any back problems. I am going to schedule a demo with my local dealer to see which kayak works best for me.