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PostPosted: Sat Jan 27, 2018 11:01 am 
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After much online and youtube research and a couple trips to my local dealer/swimming pool demos I finally decided to purchase a Hobie Compass last night with turbo fins. I have owned a Revolution 11 and 13 in the past and currently own two Hobie Quest kayaks. The simplicity, open cockpit for standing and cost compared to Revo/Outback greatly influenced my purchase. I do wish it was available in other colors. I chose the seagrass but would prefer more options. Every other Hobie model is available in more colors why only two on the Compass?

I've been paddling consistently at least once a week for over 40 years now. I have owned or paddled nearly every type and style of watercraft made. I prefer sit on tops but still like to paddle sea kayaks and canoes occasionally with friends. I have recently also demoed a Native Slayer propel and the Ocean Kayak Malibu PDL. Both of the propeller kayaks just felt way too heavy and not nearly as efficient as the Hobies. I am an avid road and mountain cyclist averaging at least 100 miles per week so my cardio and legs are likely much stronger than average. The Hobie drive just feels so much easier to maintain speed vs the other drive styles.

I took the Compass out in Tampa Bay this morning for about 8 miles of sea trials. I started with flat calm weather and ended up with 20mpg gusts and big swells. The Compass did fine.

The Compass with turbo fins managed 3mph via gps easily with comfortable minimal effort short strokes. My wife in a Quest 11 kept up fine paddling at this pace. Very short strokes seem to be more efficient. Longer full strokes just bang into the hull anyways on the Compass. I was able to reach 7mph via gps on a short fast sprint but that's not easily maintained or realistic for any significant distance. The Compass tracks well, turns well and is extremely stable and easy to stand in. The kayak feels heavier in hand than it's stated weight and looks much larger in real life. The seat is very good. The seat was rock sold and didn't budge when peddling. I feel the steering control to be easier to use (less effort) and more ergonomic than the other Hobie lever design. Turns are tighter when leaning into a turn with no loss of stability. Primary and secondary stability are impressive. The rudder deploys easiest with a quick sideways pop of the handle vs trying to go slow. The rough texture on the standing area and everywhere inside the cockpit/tankwell area make seadeck/nonslip stick on mats not necessary IMO. I tried a couple times to tuck up the rudder and fins to see how it paddles and it was better than I expected: it wasn't super fast but tracked straight and drifted straight. My old Revo's spun around butt end first when just paddling w/o rudder.


Overall I'm very happy with the kayak and look forward to many more adventures.

I'm still not sure how to attach pictures on this forum. Any help would be appreciated.


Last edited by hygieneboy on Thu Feb 01, 2018 5:10 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Sat Jan 27, 2018 9:32 pm 
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Joined: Sat Apr 26, 2014 6:01 am
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Location: Orlando!
hygieneboy wrote:
The Compass is so stable it's easy to sit down and scoot forward in front of the circle hatch and pee into the drivewell hole on the down low without other people around you even knowing what you are doing. This is a great stealth feature no one will bring up but me ;) You're welcome.


I'm still not sure how to attach pictures on this forum. Any help would be appreciated.


We call that "the urinal."

Tinypic.com


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PostPosted: Sun Jan 28, 2018 2:37 pm 
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Posts: 951
Location: Lake Park, GA
Thanks for the review. Based on it, I would say you are happy with your purchase. Will agree that the paddle holder and the seat are not perfect, but I came up with solutions that work great for me in those 2 areas. Love the Sea Grass color personally. Fished out of the Compass yesterday in the Gulf and caught 2 reds and 84 trout. Had a blast! It's a lot easier to paddle across skinny water in creek mouths than my PA14. :wink:

Tight lines!

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SeaDek Fishing Team
Unfair Lures Pro Staff
Ziptailz Ambassador

2015 Pro Angler 14 - Papaya
2018 Compass - Sea Grass


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PostPosted: Mon Jan 29, 2018 3:14 am 
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Joined: Mon Sep 18, 2017 5:34 am
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Location: Melbourne
Nice review, but I am not sure why you need to go into detail regarding your urination habits and lack of bladder control. :lol:


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PostPosted: Mon Jan 29, 2018 5:07 am 
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Fantastic kayak overall!!!


Last edited by hygieneboy on Thu Feb 01, 2018 5:09 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 29, 2018 9:10 am 
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Joined: Mon Dec 30, 2013 10:46 am
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Location: Laguna Madre, TX
Good review. I also recently picked up a compass. Are you using the ST turbos the compass comes with? Or the bigger Turbo fins? The only upgrades I'm considering are the bigger Turbo fins and rectangle hatch.

I have owned a PA14 and Outback. I love the lighter weight of the compass for moving it around and the ability to easily fish sideways and drift. I also appreciate the speed I've gained and notice I get to my fishing areas a little quicker than I did in the Outback. I take minimal gear when in the kayak and the compass is perfectly suited for this.


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PostPosted: Mon Jan 29, 2018 6:02 pm 
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I went for the turbo fins w/o trying the Standard fins. I have the St's as backup in case I do major damage. I don't feel the cadence with the turbo's to be too slow or hard to push although I do have very strong legs from frequent cycling most of my life.


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PostPosted: Tue Jan 30, 2018 4:11 am 
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Location: Melbourne
hygieneboy wrote:
Old guys like me are gonna have to pee sometimes especially when spending a few hours on the water. Short of jumping into the water to go when you are not totally alone in the wilderness, the drivewell is a good incognito option. I like to kayak in less crowded areas but I always see people in the distance and I don't need any public indecency charges.



haha I get that, its just got more to do with your ageing bladder than a review of the compass, so as much as you like to share its really over sharing and not necessary. I get we all have to pee but you state that the peddling makes you pee more, well thats your issue not a fault of this particular model of kayak that we are gonna have the same old man issue, and yes I am 49 so not young myself.


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PostPosted: Tue Jan 30, 2018 6:18 am 
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Fast, stable, comfortable kayak, what more could you ask for?


Last edited by hygieneboy on Thu Feb 01, 2018 5:11 am, edited 3 times in total.

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PostPosted: Tue Jan 30, 2018 7:16 am 
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Posts: 951
Location: Lake Park, GA
hygieneboy wrote:
I disagree. It has everything to do with "MY" review of the Compass. I can go on a 6 hour bike ride without ever feeling the need to pee. I can paddle a regular kayak for 4-5 hours straight without feeling the need to pee. I can go to work all day long without using the restroom. The slightly reclined position and pedal motion of the Compass makes me feel like peeing. The good stability of the Compass is a factor for me to just scoot forward and go for it rather than going back to shore or jumping in the water to go. My words are not graphic or vulgar, this is reality.


Is this your first Hobie Mirage Drive kayak? If so that might be the issue as the stepper motion for peddling the kayak would be the same on a Mirage Sport, Revo, Outback or Pro Angler. Tight lines! :wink:

_________________
Steve Stubbs
USAF (retired)

SeaDek Fishing Team
Unfair Lures Pro Staff
Ziptailz Ambassador

2015 Pro Angler 14 - Papaya
2018 Compass - Sea Grass


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PostPosted: Mon Feb 12, 2018 3:19 pm 
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Thanks for your review, it was a help to me. I went and took a test paddle in both the Compass and the Revo 13. I fell in love with the Revo, but after consideration of my weight, size, and age I opted for the Compass, and worked a deal for the 180 drive as an upgrade. If it were 10 years ago I would have picked the Revo, it is faster and handles better, but I am in my 70's and built like Sponge Bob Squarepants, so the Compass was my choice, mostly due to the incredible stability. I spent over six hours on the Compass yesterday and have no issues. The seat was nice, no wobble at all. Revo seat is better, but Compass seat works just fine and was quite comfortable for me. Compass is not fast but it is fast enough, and at some point I plan to add the Turbo Fins. Was able to get it up onto top of my fairly tall SUV ( 2006 Mountaineer) by myself, but not without some effort. I will work on my technique for getting the boat up there but at least I know it can be done without killing myself ! This is my first pedal kayak, it is a dream to pedal into a stiff wind, my legs are a lot stronger than my arms at my age. The biggest single selling point for me was the stability, while I have not tried fishing standing up in it yet, I have no doubt that I will easily be able to do that. I also found it easy to flip onto my knees to get things out of the front storage area and to get forward to unlatch the drive when coming ashore.. I do plan to add the rectangular storage box and move the 8 inch round hatch up onto the bow storage area, and will add a few grab handles just to make things easier although I was able to handle it with the molded in handles OK. For those of you who are more concerned with stability than with speed, this could be your boat !


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PostPosted: Thu Feb 22, 2018 11:05 pm 
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I consider myself in pretty good shape in late 40s but I did not feel I could get the compass on top of my car at the end of long day on water....in my dayjob I sit at desks all day. And wife really saw me slamming the kayak on top of the nice new SUV we got.... ;-)
So, got that Rhino Racks T-Loader which allows me to safely push on top.... and also installed some handles... there is really nowhere to grip well.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006V ... UTF8&psc=1

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 08, 2018 11:59 am 
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HI Everyone

I am considering either the Outback or Compass. Which one to you believe is more stable? I know they are both 34" wide but the OutBack seems wider due to the way its tapered. Therefore,does this fact coupled with the longer length and added weight make it more stable?


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PostPosted: Fri Oct 19, 2018 6:29 am 
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Gary J Domain wrote:
HI Everyone

I am considering either the Outback or Compass. Which one to you believe is more stable? I know they are both 34" wide but the OutBack seems wider due to the way its tapered. Therefore,does this fact coupled with the longer length and added weight make it more stable?



If you're buying new, my comments won't be relevant to the new 2019 Outback, which looks INCREDIBLE! If you're buying used this may help. We have both boats ('18 Compass and '13 Outback) and with ours I would say no, the Outback is not more stable. it's wider at the bow, but the Compass has a hull design at the rear more like the PAs which lends to stability. I also feel the advantages gained by the more slender attack of the bow on the Compass is an advantage in maneuvering. Lets face it, my unsteady butt isn't standing in either boat. They are both fantastic in their own ways. On stability, my feeling is my Compass may have a slight advantage because of the aft hull design. For me the Compass with a few modifications was the better option, but my wife loves her Outback. I'd say if stability is crucial to your needs and if its within your budget and you don't mind the additional weight, consider a PA. Otherwise, you'd probably be happy with either the Compass or the Outback. As an additional side note, I like the Compass as a clean slate for customization. Lots of cool things you can do to a Compass with regard to storage compartment configuration that I liked. Not a fan of the large bow compartment on my wife's Outback. Hope that helps a bit in your decision. Again, the new '19 Outback looks absolutely fantastic! and if it had been available last year I'd have likely opted for it. Either way you go, I'm betting you'll love your Hobie. We do!

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PostPosted: Sat Nov 03, 2018 3:48 pm 
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Sorry for the late response, I missed the post. I appreciate you taking the time to respond. Your info was helpful and I think I will go for the Compass.

Many thanks and regards

Gary


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