Pelican Kayaks

Whether you're an average kayaker who likes to go out on weekends for a jaunt around the country lake or down a slow river, or a person who needs a kayak to take out on a fishing trip you'll want to look into the Pelican line of kayaks.

Kayaking is a sport that's only grown in popularity over recent years, and it's hard to find an outdoor lover who doesn't want one of their own because it pays over time rather than continually renting them.

Pelican kayaks are good basic vessels that can be purchased for an affordable price and they'll make your recreational hours lots more enjoyable. Pelican makes two kinds of kayaks.

There are sit-on-top and sit-in lines. Each kind has models for touring, for recreation, and for sport. The sport models are often used for fishing, as fishing models have a fishing platform, more room for storage, and wide, stable hulls.

Recreational models are designed for easy use by families, and touring models are great for an easy trip of a couple of days. All have built-in flotation and are extremely safe.

You probably wouldn't want to take the touring kayaks out for long treks on rough waters, though, because they weren't built for that. These are basic models for average use, but they are enjoyable and reliable.

Look for the sit-in series of Pursuit, Sports 94, and Getaway. Look for the sit-in series of either Zest, Viper, Apex, and Castaway. Each has its own particular strengths and features.

In reviewing these kayaks, we have to say that some people do say that the tracking on the Pelican kayaks is not up to par. After all, you're supposed to be able to stop paddling and have your boat stay relatively stable.

However, these have been known to veer, often abruptly once paddling is paused. You can fix this by taking a couple of hours to install and learn how to use a pull-up skeg, however. There may also be drainage problems once in a while around the seats of the boat.

This isn't a big issue, but it's being reported in the service of a fair review. Other than that, your Pelican kayak is a great buy. They are tough enough for some intense use by skilled boaters, yet at the same time your children can get in (wearing their life jackets, of course) and begin paddling around quiet waters almost immediately.

The hull material the kayaks are made of is called Ram-X and Ram-XCeltm. The former is the basic material that's very sturdy and should last for a good long time given normal usage.

The latter is a more advanced level of material that has three-ply construction. This makes it even more sturdy with good memory retention and rigidity. It's not as light as some others, but it's certainly seaworthy.

There are sleeker and faster models of kayaks that you can find in stores or online, such as the Perception or Wildnerness lines, but they are more expensive, too, and probably not what you need if you're just going to go out once in a while for a solo journey or with friends and family.

Unless you're an avid user, you don't need high performance. You need something that will serve you in your leisure hours for years to come.

Used Kayak