#Swifty kayak dicks full#

I put several experienced paddler friend in this boat and they all said the same thing. I have several boats ranging from White Water to low end Pelican Trailblazer and this, without a doubt, performs the worst. You're spending your time correcting your direction as your friends pull ahead of you. Stop paddling and the boat will turn circles on you. Stop paddling and the boat will turn, so forget about drifting. It's a struggle to keep up with others, even if they're in low end Pelican boats. But my biggest complaint is that It is slow and tracks poorly. The Cons: Storage compartment is not water proof and the biggie: The seat is what is expected from a low end rec kayak. It's an attractive boat and it's agile enough(being 9.5') It's manageable to move around and transport.

It's not even shaped the same.įirst the pro's: It's well built and durable, and had a big cockpit. I was a fan of my friends older swifty, but the DLX model sold by Dicks is NOT the same Kayak. The foam in the stern worked fine.įor me, the positives greatly outweigh the negatives in the Swifty. It could use a little foam in the bow to keep it up when it's capsized. Nothing a pool noodle and some adhesive won't fix. There are no pads on the cockpit sides and the outside of my knees were a bit sore by the end of the day. It would be much better if it was on a pivoting shaft like I've seen on many others. It popped out of the slot several times on the trip. The seat back is not fixed by anything other than the adjustment strap. After 4 hours in the water, the seat still felt pretty comfortable.

#Swifty kayak dicks full#

It seemed to track well across the full range of water types we experienced. The stability seems to be good, though the Class 3 areas were a bit of a challenge (actually flipped on one). The weight is good and the molded in handles are great. It was very easy to get to and into the water. I'm very pleased with the performance of the yak, though there are a couple of areas that could be better.įirst, the good things. The river section we did ranged from still water to Class 3. Took the new Swifty out for the first time on the Chattahoochee river in NE Georgia.

I got this kayak on sale, and it's a really great buy for the price. My only complaint is with the drain plug, which is somewhat oddly positioned to one side, making it a bit tricky to completely drain the water. It does not have padded thigh rests, although I haven't really noticed the lack of them, and I've been in it, fishing and paddling, for as long as five hours at a time. The hatch compartment doesn't really keep anything dry, but when the trip is over, it's nice to be able to pop off the cover and reach inside to retrieve something like a stray bottle of sunblock. While it's rated to 300 pounds, I think a smaller kayaker would be more comfortable in it for longer paddles I'm 5-1 inch and 132 pounds and it's ideal for me. The gunwales are somewhat low, a feature shorter paddlers appreciate, and its weight - 44 pounds - makes it easy to transport. The dashboard offers a flat platform to set things like a small tackle box and a pair of pliers, and front and back rigging is a nice touch at this price point. The seat is comfortable and it's easy to reach the rod holders positioned behind the seats. It's stable and tracks well for its size. This is an excellent kayak for fishing quiet waters, and it has handled quite nicely in a bit of chop, although with some mild splashing when paddling quickly through small waves.