Articles
Buying a kayak with confidence
- Category: Fishing Kayaks
- Published on Friday, 13 August 2010 18:47
- Written by Josh
Perhaps the most commonly asked question on just about any kayak fishing related forum goes something like this: Should I buy X or Y kayak?
Little wonder the question is so commonly asked. Kayaks - good kayaks I mean - aren't cheap, and first time buyers are typically unsure which style and model will best suit their needs. So a fairly obvious way to get a clue, one would think, would be to go forth into one of the many kayak fishing sites out there and ask the guys who are using them. For sure, doing so can often help one refine the decision making process, sometimes even provide enough information and inspiration to make the final decision an easy one. But not always. Sometimes it can do exactly the opposite.
Just as often such questions are met with a myriad of replies - many of them contradictory - and the final result sometimes resembles an opinion salad. This can easily have the effect of confusing the issue further. Part of the problem here is that users get very attached to their own kayaks. And why not... these little yaks provide so much personal enjoyment that it's difficult to not want to recommend it to the next person, often with eyes wide shut on the real needs of the person they are recommending to. Those with black and white vision will typically develop such devotion to their style of yak that as far as they are concerned, that's what everyone else should be using to. If you're looking around for a kayak to best suit your needs, these sorts of people are probably the ones you can safely listen to the least, unless you're pretty good at reading between the lines.
Surfing forums is, however, very handy to look for trends of opinion as well as to correlate the varying perceived pros and cons to compare and relate to your own usage scenario. As a research tool forums are an excellent means of reading about other users experiences and opinions, especially if multiple information sources (ie: different websites) are used.
However, believe it or not the best place to get the best information may very well be your nearest kayak dealer. And if not them, perhaps the next nearest. As much as placing faith in a salesperson's opinion has as much potential to get you into strife as any uneducated or overexcited forum dweller, the chances are pretty good that the salesman knows more than just about everyone who participated in the threads from which you sought information put together. It all boils down to how much experience the salesperson has - whether or not they knows the range of kayaks you are interested in intimately, and whether or not that person knows much about the areas and endeavour you plan to pursue. And there are plenty of kayak dealers with plenty of experience that you can depend on. There's not many used car salesmen in a kayak salesman body out there. Especially not selling specialized kayaks. Good salespeople measure their customers up (in a good way) and qualify their requirements by listening to their needs. If it ever feels like the salesperson is doing that to you, you're probably in good hands.
Shoddy and or inexperienced types exist in every industry though, so it helps to find out if the salesperson you're speaking to does indeed qualify as an expert. Do they really know their stuff, or are they the water sports equivalent to a Subway 'Sandwich Artist'? There's lots of ways to find out. One way it to ask questions. Simple direct questions, such as 'which do you use, why, and where do you use it?' And if you have done some research through websites and forums you might also find yourself asking questions such as 'Why would I buy this one, when my forum buddies tell me to buy that one?' Try to determine if their level of knowledge is on a similar level to that which you solicited online. Ultimately, the most important question you can ask is 'can I take a demo ride?'
The truth is, most reputable kayak dealers really are to be trusted. Why? Because not only are the guys selling to you very likely experienced users themselves, it's also highly likely that they have the history of experience from all their previous customers to fall back on as well. This is especially true if the dealer has been around for a while. And they've been around a while for a reason - repeat business. That's always a good measuring stick. If lots of people are recommending a particular dealer online, there's likely a very good reason for it.
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