I have had my Outback for a couple of years now and have had lots of fun, covered some distance and caught a goodly amount of fish. Feels like time for a change though. I was at a NZ Kayak Fishing Forum meet in the weekend and was fishing some offshore islands, not a huge distance offshore, when the wind got up and I had to peddle back to land. It was the good old Outback slap bang all the way. I never for a moment was worried about getting back and was no where near as tired as some of the paddlers who had the same trip back! But I did wonder if the Outback was better suited for flatter more protectred waters, not for the first time.
The upshot of this was I stopped at the Hobie dealers on my way home and had a good look at the Revo and the Adventure - at this point I might add I have no interest in either the AI or the Pro Angler they are just look too big and complicated for me. The dealer only allows demos on the local lake, not the ocean just down the road and charges $100 for the privilege, refundable on purchase!
I would be interested in others experiences with these 2 yaks, I am leaning towards the Revo for the following reasons,
Easier to move around and load on my car, the handles are at the centre point of balance unlike the Outback or the Adventure
It would fit length ways in my shed, (the Adventure may be a tad long)
I imagine it has a tighter turning circle, which would suit some of the places I fish
The front hatch is accessable from the cockpit unlike the Adventure.
Looks pretty stable
They both have the side pockets, the pocket in the Outback constantly gets wet from the drive so has limited storage applications
It would seem the Adventure is the go to yak for distance and ocean going
It has 2 drink holders - don't laugh they are great places to put jig heads, lures etc once you've used em and don't want to put them back in your tackle box where they'll get everything else wet and salty.
The Adventure has a bigger rear well and more area for rigging accessories around the mast mount - like I said I have no intention of going the AI route.
Bottom line is I want a yak that can handle open ocean conditions and windy lakes. Take a look at NZ on a map, we are at the bottom of the Pacific and get a lot of wind and surf. The Outback is amazingly seaworthy and has never given me cause for concern, I guess I would like to try something new and get away from the dreaded hull slap. I am 5'10" 210lb and 59 years old. I enjoy lure fishing and aren't above soaking a bait when I am out chasing a meal, I also love exploring the coast line or some of our more remote lakes - actually NZ is a kayakers paradise. Any thoughts would be appreciated - no doubt I will probably want another kayak in a few more years