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New 2015' Vantage seats
http://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=53506		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  obchris [ Thu Dec 11, 2014 4:39 pm ]
Post subject:  New 2015' Vantage seats
Will Hobie ever offer a retrofit kit, or something else to install the new 4 way adjustable vantage CT seats on the older Adventure Island models ? As I have a 2010'.
Author:  mmiller [ Thu Dec 11, 2014 4:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New 2015' Vantage seats
Not possible.

The 2015 hulls had to be modified to lower the floors and make a "square" shape into the hull to receive the seats. This places the new seat bottom at/near the level of the original seat for similar initial stability.

Trying to put the new CT Seat in an older hull would be like trying to get a square peg in a round hole. It would sit on top and be very unstable.
Author:  pops [ Mon Jan 19, 2015 7:50 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New 2015' Vantage seats
that's awesome. thanks for selling me my TI 1 week before the new boat was announced.

Not very cool.
Author:  Thinwater skinner [ Tue Jan 20, 2015 12:32 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New 2015' Vantage seats
pops wrote:
that's awesome. thanks for selling me my TI 1 week before the new boat was announced.

Not very cool.


You should have gotten a much better price on the old style then the newer one?
Author:  Jbernier [ Tue Jan 20, 2015 1:01 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New 2015' Vantage seats
pops wrote:
that's awesome. thanks for selling me my TI 1 week before the new boat was announced.

Not very cool.


All new model info gets release at the annual Outdoor Retailer show in late Aug. (official Retail publish on Sept 1st for all new model info) We only just started shipping new style 2015 this month (Jan 2015!) - there was a 4 month period where only left-over 2014 TI's (at $600 less MSRP) were being sold. Hobie Cat Co doesn't sell product direct, only dealers make the sale to the retail customer. They would only have known a new redesigned model was being introduced at the same time we announced it to the public.

There is no great solution to making a change to a given model without some people having maybe just purchased the previous generation. It is not our intent to upset anyone - but the time for changing the seat came all at once (not just AI or TI models) - but all of out Mirage Drive models.

I'm sure that your 2014 TI will be a great boat, and we hope that you can enjoy it fully this season and beyond. The only change to the new 2015 TI is in the seating area, the shape of the bows, and the GT drives.
Author:  charles.k.terry [ Sun Feb 01, 2015 7:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New 2015' Vantage seats
So Hobie fixed something customers have complained about for years with a great new design. Hobie doesn't have the business sense to sell a modification for the older outbacks to make customers more comfortable? Hobie customers would tell other potential Hobie customers how great Hobie is. Instead they are willing for their Hobie customers to tell potential customers that the boats are great but Hobie is all about selling new boats, and not supporting older customers. WOW!!! Ah have you heard about social media? Do you think the customers with sore backs and wet butts are gonna say nothing?
Wait until it warms up and people start using their boats. Not gonna be happy customers! I wonder if Jackson or Wilderness systems would do that? :evil:
Author:  Tom Kirkman [ Mon Feb 02, 2015 8:24 am ]
Post subject:  Re: New 2015' Vantage seats
As far as I'm aware, none of the latest seats in the WS or Jackson boats will fit their older boats, nor do they offer retrofit kits. The cost of offering such kits against the number of people who would purchase them isn't likely to come out in the wash.

To use the new Hobie seats in any of the older Mirage Drive kayaks would require that the seat tub be lowered. That's kinda tough to do no matter what "kit" you might come up with. Not to mention, the older seats aren't in any way defective or substandard. They were state of the art when they were developed and offered.

So Hobie has one of two options - 1. Never upgrade or improve current models. 2 - Keep developing newer and perhaps better boats.
Author:  Lazyfish1 [ Mon Feb 02, 2015 4:45 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New 2015' Vantage seats
Wow never heard such a whiny rant about a great product that was released all cause your envious about the new seat. Ever complain about the new car model and how you can't add a feature onto your older car?? I don't think so, so stop with bashing a great company.

Did you not understand or read anything about the modifications made to the boat to make the seat possible? Yes hobie has issues but they have been more than great in resolving them. And the threat of social media?? Pretty sure the positives will far outweigh some of the none sense, never happy complainers.

And don't worry I don't work for hobie and have had my share of issues but there is a reason I still own a hobie.

charles.k.terry wrote:
So Hobie fixed something customers have complained about for years with a great new design. Hobie doesn't have the business sense to sell a modification for the older outbacks to make customers more comfortable? Hobie customers would tell other potential Hobie customers how great Hobie is. Instead they are willing for their Hobie customers to tell potential customers that the boats are great but Hobie is all about selling new boats, and not supporting older customers. WOW!!! Ah have you heard about social media? Do you think the customers with sore backs and wet butts are gonna say nothing?
Wait until it warms up and people start using their boats. Not gonna be happy customers! I wonder if Jackson or Wilderness systems would do that? :evil:
Author:  Seagull [ Tue Feb 03, 2015 4:39 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New 2015' Vantage seats
Yea your butt gets wet. But what do you expect?? You are in a kayak that has maybe 4 inches of freeboard.

If you want a dry butt I suggest buying a 26 foot World Cat. Or you can sit on a type V throwable PFD. your butt will still get wet though because 4 inches of freeboard.
Author:  Tom Kirkman [ Tue Feb 03, 2015 4:44 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New 2015' Vantage seats
Guess what - your butt is going to get wet in the new 2015 Island too, and not because you're sitting in a tub of water. That's just the nature of these beasts. They're sailing kayaks and unless you sail in very calm waters with very little wind, you're going to get wet regardless. Real wet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFKxn4bBJdg
Author:  staktup [ Tue Feb 03, 2015 10:42 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New 2015' Vantage seats
I tried unsuccessfully retrofitting an Air Pro low seat http://www.stripersonline.com/t/949576/ws-ride-air-pro-low-seat-retrofit-to-2013-revo

and a Jackson Silver Elite seat for my pre-2015 revos and sport. The Hobie seats are plain uncomfortable but I have not tried the i-comfort air cushion. I wonder how the Feelfree Kingfisher might be...

http://youtu.be/K6jG0q1vdOk
Author:  Jcanracer [ Wed Feb 04, 2015 11:39 am ]
Post subject:  Re: New 2015' Vantage seats
staktup wrote:
I tried unsuccessfully retrofitting an Air Pro low seat http://www.stripersonline.com/t/949576/ws-ride-air-pro-low-seat-retrofit-to-2013-revo

and a Jackson Silver Elite seat for my pre-2015 revos and sport. The Hobie seats are plain uncomfortable but I have not tried the i-comfort air cushion. I wonder how the Feelfree Kingfisher might be...

http://youtu.be/K6jG0q1vdOk


I like the look of the Kingfisher's padding!
Author:  mmiller [ Wed Feb 04, 2015 1:01 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New 2015' Vantage seats
Looks like... That is a lower backrest than the Mirage seats. Basic paddle style with a thicker bottom that raises you up and reduces back support.
Author:  staktup [ Sun Feb 08, 2015 4:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New 2015' Vantage seats
A well-known retailer stated that the Kingfisher is NG for the pre-15 Revos, and thst the Skwoosh Extreme seat may work the best to augment the Hobie seats (yellow, not black unless you got a lot of junk in the trunk). This was recommended over the i-Comfort air seat.

The quest continues...
Author:  imerc11 [ Mon Feb 09, 2015 11:20 am ]
Post subject:  Re: New 2015' Vantage seats
This is My 2011 Hobie Outback with Jackson seat upgrade....you might just like it. http://youtu.be/d5MkESC55lQ?list=UUuRAL ... ri4H5a85cg
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