Hurricane Skimmer 128 Sit On Top Kayak Review
If you are one of these people that are into speedy lightweight items you might just become a fan of the hurricane skimmer kayak line. We had one of these to test out before we got to its brothers and we can confirm they make some pretty cool kayaks.
Their main focus is on kayaks that allow you to quickly get from land into the water without too much effort. Lightweight boats that can hold their own in the water especially when it comes to speed.
In this particular case, we will be talking about the Hurricane Skimmer 128 Sit On Top Kayak. We generally are more fans of the sit on top kayaks instead of the cockpit ones.
That is generally because we use them more for chilling than we do for thrill rides! However, in this case, the sit on top has pretty interesting features that make it suitable for both rough riding and chilling.
About The Product
As we previously stated this is a sit on top kayak that is built to be lightweight and allow you to cruise easily out in the water. How does it get that done, though? First off it is 12.9 ft long. It isn’t the longest thing out there, but it has a decent size. It is not a wide boat though at 28 inches wide. If you are looking for more of a fishing platform you might at as well look elsewhere.
This boat is purposely designed in a slim manner so that it can be a lot more agile and navigate through choppy waters. Its overall weight is only 47 pounds. Perfect for people who are going to be getting in and out of the water often. Besides getting it on top of your car won’t be a problem and it won’t feel like you are trying to tow a small house. This is overall more comfortable than the sports version of this boat. It has more hatches to store your belongings so that you won’t have to worry about things like car keys and cell phones getting wet. You can adapt a couple of rod holders on the sides, but it doesn’t come standard with them.
That may be a minor bummer for the fishing enthusiast, but it does come with a pretty large storage space in the rear. Held together for bungee cords, which is great for storing bait and fish.
A Quick Summary
What We Like
The design is again great from these guys. We really liked the fact that they were able to make a very comfortable sit on top boat that essentially has the same grace and speed that their sport’s version has. Obviously, another feature that gives extra comfort is the weight. Boating is great, but we can’t deny that you may end up extremely tired after a day in the water.
The last thing you want to have to do at the end of the day is carry a 12-foot kayak weighing over 100 pounds out of the water and then have to muscle up to get it on the roof of your car. That won’t happen with this kayak. In fact, it is great for those people who do kayaking, rock climbing and kinds of extreme sports at rivers. This kayak also can be used on rivers, oceans, lakes, and basically any body of water you can think of. If you are just getting into paddling in choppier waters this is probably one of the best boats to start in!
What We Do Not Like
There are very few things not to like about this kayak, however, we were able to find a couple. One of these boats greatest assets is its lightweight high-performance capacity. In spite of that, it is a pretty decent sized boat. Saying that we believe a lot of the space this boat offers was widely under appreciated by its designers.
They could have adapted the boat with adjustable and even removable seats so that you could go from a one-seater to a two-seater if you wanted too. Without this feature, you are essentially getting a very long solo boat. Which puts it in a middle category. It is not a wide slow boat great for fishing, but it isn’t as agile as other boats better suited for just simply going fast. The lack of built-in road holders was also a bit of a turn off for us.
Yes, you can adapt them, but that eventually costs more money. This is a kayak with great unexploited potential. Whether it be better-appreciated space or some extra comfort features. We feel that the manufacturers could have done a lot more with this kayak. Instead, it is a get what you pay for kind of product. Which is not necessarily bad, but it might make you doubt buying this kayak because of the price range it currently sits in!
Where To Buy
There are not that many issues when it comes to performance with this boat. So that means not a lot of red flags to watch out for. Still be on the lookout. This is a kayak that is not shipped directly by Amazon, and the seller is charging shipment costs.
So maybe your best bet here is to try and find a distributor near you and buy it of them. If you don’t mind paying shipping costs, then that will be 60 dollars more than the retail price for it to arrive at your home.
Conclusion
Although we recently went over some negative aspects don’t forget the very positive upside this kayak offers. It still is very lightweight and durable, it is great for those people who love traveling light. Like we’ve only recently said with this kayak you get exactly what you pay for.
You won’t have to worry about cheap add-ons that won’t work. Since it really doesn’t have, any add-ons that don’t fit perfectly into the boat. If you are into solo riding and want to start hitting tougher water definitely look to this kayak as your starting point you won’t regret it.