Manufacturing kayaks in highly visible colors

When I'm kayaking, for safety I want my kayak to be highly visible. I prefer colors such as papaya orange and sea grass,which are more visible at a distance and against shorelines and other cluttered backgrounds. However, Hobie is currently offering the Pro Angler 360 models only in camouflage colors, which are less visible. In the future, I hope that Hobie will offer all of its kayaks in highly visible colors, with camouflage colors being only one of the options available.

I totally agree! One of the biggest gripes the Coast Guard has about kayakers is their visibility. I just bought a Revo 13 (bright red) but I was noticing the higher end fishing kayaks are all in the duller colors. No way I would want to be out in the ocean in one of those colors. The last thing you want to do is blend in.

Good point on the colored vests. Kayakers need to wear bright colors. The kayaks are low in the water and not well seen, regardless of color. We have added reflective elements to rails and seats. We offer flags as well. The colors of the kayaks themselves are market-driven. You need to do what is right and protect yourselves.

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

I consider a 6' tall safety flag on the back of my kayak to be required equipment, this seems more important to visibility than kayak color, especially in ocean/tidewater/fog-mist-rain conditions here in the Pacific Northwest.

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2019 Outback360 'Fish Retriever'
2016 i11s 'Go Cougs!'
2012 Oasis and 2012 PA12 (moved on but not forgotten...)

I couple of weeks ago I was kayak fishing, and I saw a bright red-orange object off a point a mile and a half away. It looked like an oversized traffic cone floating on the water. Eventually I got over there, and it turned out to be a friend who is a kayak angler, but who was fishing that day in an aluminum motorboat while wearing a red Kokatat Goretex drysuit. I could barely see the boat from a mile and a half away, but the drysuit was extremely visible.