# Walmart Kayak for $250???



## BillK (Sep 5, 2012)

I had posted last year about getting some Kayaks for the family and got some helpful advise from some of you nice kayakers.  Long story short, my wife and I both lost our mothers within the last year and a lot of plans got held up. So we have a camping trip planned for Thanksgiving week at Navarre beach this year and I still don't have any kayaks.  Anniversary is coming up and I'm thinking about getting some kayaks. Originally I was thinking we wanted two tandem kayaks for us and our two girls who are 9 and soon to be 12. While in Walmart today saw a WaterQuest Aruba 10' for $249 and it got me to thinking....do i really want/need tandems?  Another question I had was what advantages does sit-on verses sit-in have?  The Walmart kayak's were sit-in.  I really know nothing about kayaking but while camping at High Falls state park a few months back we rented a couple of the tandems and everybody liked it but I did notice one thing and that was with me at 200 lbs and my daughter at 100 lbs i was getting some water on my rear-end while we were paddling around.  Any advice would be appreciated.  Sorry for the long post.


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## gregg dudley (Sep 5, 2012)

Those Walmart yaks are tempting for the price, but they don't look like they will track very well.  I am sure they are fun for recreational use in the backyard pond/lake, but I think they would work you pretty hard on the river.

Just my impression.


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## killswitch (Sep 5, 2012)

Neighbor bought 2 last year for his girls and they seem to do fine with them.  He said they are fine for the kids, but he wants no part of them.  He tried one of them last year down on the river and it was lots more work than his 14 footer. So for kids to 12 or 13 years, they should be ok.


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## sgtgacop (Sep 6, 2012)

The old saying you get what you pay for is true with Kayaks.  I researched reviews on several different brands before I bought.  If you are planning on doing some long paddling you will want one that racks well at least 12ft or longer.  If you want to fish  of course I would suggest sit-on-top.  It will allow you to cast easier and maneuver around  inside it easier.  Sit-on-top is also easier to get in and out of.


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## BillK (Sep 6, 2012)

Just got off the phone with Mike over at Terrapin Creek Outdoors in Piedmont Al and he was very helpful.  He has several tandem kayaks I could look at, one being the Wilderness Systems Tarpon 130T for $699 which is a SOT kayak.  Since I really don't plan on fishing out of them he recommended an Old Town Twin Heron which is a SIK for $595 that is a new kayak for 2012.  Then I had to go and ask if he thought my 11 and 9 y/o girls could handle their own kayak and he said they could no problem.  He quoted me an 8' Perception SOT for $329 for the girls and 11' Old Town Twister for $399 for me and the wife. Decisions decisions.  I guess I need to ride out there.  He said they had 3 to 4 hundred yaks to choose from.  This might be more money than I had planned on but I had rather buy the right one first.


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## sgtgacop (Sep 6, 2012)

BillK said:


> Just got off the phone with Mike over at Terrapin Creek Outdoors in Piedmont Al and he was very helpful.  He has several tandem kayaks I could look at, one being the Wilderness Systems Tarpon 130T for $699 which is a SOT kayak.  Since I really don't plan on fishing out of them he recommended an Old Town Twin Heron which is a SIK for $595 that is a new kayak for 2012.  Then I had to go and ask if he thought my 11 and 9 y/o girls could handle their own kayak and he said they could no problem.  He quoted me an 8' Perception SOT for $329 for the girls and 11' Old Town Twister for $399 for me and the wife. Decisions decisions.  I guess I need to ride out there.  He said they had 3 to 4 hundred yaks to choose from.  This might be more money than I hadplanned on but I had rather buy the right one first.



Sounds like a good idea to check them out.  All the ones he mention to you are I would say mid range in price and have a good reputation. You want go wrong with any one of them.  My opinion and you know what they say about them.


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## fishndoc (Sep 6, 2012)

You also might want to check out Cedar Creek Outdoor center up in Cave Springs - http://kayaker2.com/
They are one of the few dealers that will advertise discounted prices on top brand kayaks, and I'm told that if you go there in person, you can get an even better deal than they advertise.

They also have a large rental fleet that they usually start selling around this time of year.


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## ted_BSR (Sep 6, 2012)

You gotta try them to see if you like them. SOT or Decked Boat is really a personal choice. You can fish out of either. Take your girls with you and see what they like too. I would reccomend SOT for ocean going, and Decked Boat (Sitin) for rivers. Make sure everyone wears their PFD in any situation or boat! Have fun!!!!


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## 56willysnut (Sep 7, 2012)

Academy sports outdoors carries the Perception line of kayaks, the pesacador 12 is made from the old mold of the wilderness systems tarpon 120, it's a fast straight tracking sot kayak that is reasonably priced at $499. thats what I would recommend for ya.


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## panfried0419 (Sep 9, 2012)

Go to Academy. Please don't by that Wal mart yak..for your safety at least


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## crackerdave (Sep 21, 2012)

Go ahead and spend the money on good ones. Get -or make- a trailer for four kayaks.You will not regret it!

By the way - there's a reason tandems are called "divorce boats."


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## BillK (Sep 24, 2012)

I've got a trip planned for this coming up weekend to kayak down Terrapin Creek. We will all be in separate kayaks so maybe we can get some ideas of what we want.  Friend of mine said we could borrow his two for the Navarre Beach trip.  I will probably have to build some sort of rack for the truck since they are 12' long but this will help out when we do pull the trigger.  Thanks for all the advise guys, I knew ya'll could talk me out of buying the Wally World stuff.


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## WOODIE13 (Sep 28, 2012)

I got my wife one, it does fine, real stable on the lake, but we have not tried it on the river, but it tracks real nice.


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## Stump Knocker (Oct 14, 2012)

56willysnut said:


> Academy sports outdoors carries the Perception line of kayaks, the pesacador 12 is made from the old mold of the wilderness systems tarpon 120, it's a fast straight tracking sot kayak that is reasonably priced at $499. thats what I would recommend for ya.



my first yak was the Pesacador 12 very good yak for the money and when I was sure this was I wanted to do I upgraded to the Tarpon 120 but still say the Pesacador is the best yak in that price range


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