Kayak Cart

I own a 2012 Hobie Outback and am looking at carts. I was wondering if the standard (80045001) would do the trick or should I pay the extra $50 and get the HD (80046001). Thanks in advance....

It depends on your distance and terrain.

Stock is fine for yanking the yak across a parking lot or ramp.

Putins around us have us draggin' the boat a half mile on bumpy service roads, graded camp trails, small cobbles and wet sand etc. The HD works fine and seems dern durable. (I added tennis balls to the stops after reading of needing to be nice to scupper holes. Seemed prudent, even with Hobie's reinforcing the newer holes.)

You'll find a lot of comments on the "sand" wheels. Since it's not my common terrain I didn't go there. And, they seemed less durable.

Consider whether you go with inflated or solid rubber tires. Seems solid are lower maintenance. Sand tires that inflate may beg a pop. Plastic wheels may be a crack.

We went with HD to get 'buy it once' durablity, a solid tire that was wide enough for a variety of draggin'.

Give the hold-in pins on the top of the pole a tap with a hammer to be sure they're seated into the caps. After about 15 uses one of ours got loose.

The reverseable 'take 'em with ya' feature of the wheels is great in case you beach further from your ride than planned, and/or want to get wheeled right out of the water.

Some folks like the non-Hobie fold-up wheels and stow 'em in the front hatch.

Thanks for the info, you gave me a few things to think about that I had not considered. I am leaning toward the HD unit.......Thanks again

Thorough and great answer. As a new Hobie owner, I concur 110% with the answer posted, and own the recommended cart set up.

I have an old Hobie standard cart that has been in use for about 6 years. It has been amazingly durable. Everything on it is original including the tread on the tires. It has toted everything including PAs and TAs (I have extended the legs to clear all the scuppers). It works well on every surface except soft sand.


Being light weight and relatively small, it always rides with the boat. the low flotation wheels allow the cart to float, but it's still easy to reach under the boat with the cart to insert and withdraw it in the water (it is more difficult to do that with high flotation wheels).

I have no qualms about using this cart with any of the boats. If I had to replace it tomorrow, the current standard cart would be my first choice. If there was frequent long hauling or substantial rough terrain, the heavy duty cart might be advantageous. With soft sand, the Trax cart is the best way to go without straining.