Best sit-on-top kayak on the market?? | Hurricane Osprey 120 Review

Ken whing here once again with another in-depth unbiased gear review and in this video I am testing and reviewing well it's the type of kayak that I have a LoveHate relationship with this is the hurricane Osprey [Music] 120 now when I say I have a LoveHate relationship I'm not talking about this boat in particular I'm talking about sit on top Kyle let's start with the things I love about sit on top I love the fact that they're so open and comfortable you can sit cross-legged you can stand up in a lot of them you can move around no problem you can even sit sideways with your legs over the side if you want they're also very stable kayaks sit on top kayaks typically prioritize stability over performance the other nice thing about sit on Toops is they're great for fishing they're great for photography videography they're great for anything where you want to do something besides just paddle because they're so stable and such big open platforms to work from now what do I hate about sit on top kayaks well really there's only a couple of things and it all stems from the fact that sit on top kayaks are heavy there's a lot more plastic in them you compare a one length of sit on top kayak with the same length of sit inside kayak made the same way uh and the sit inside K is going to be probably 15 to 20% lighter there's just less plastic in them and usually less accessories as well on top of that sit on top kakes are a pain to carry and to move around in general because they don't have a cockpit Rim where you can you can't just throw it on your shoulder like you can with a sit inside kayak you have to carry it like a suitcase from the grab handles the handles in the middle or you need two people one on each end or you have to drag the boat to the shore heavy hard to get around that's the main reason I don't like well actually sorry there's a third thing I don't love about sit on top kayaks they prioritize stability over performance I'm a guy who likes a kayak that performs well that's fast and so typically speaking sit on top kayaks well they don't do it for me but hurricane thinks that they're going to change my mind with the Osprey 120 and so that's what I'm here to find out so I'm going to get this thing on the water give it a good test pass but first let me tell you a bit more about it the Osprey 120 retails for $1,500 it's 12 ft 2 in long 31 1/2 in wide it weighs 47 lb or 21 kilos with the seat and it has a capacity of 325 lb or 147 kilos it has a relaxed Hull design to optimize performance and stability it has a k9 bow pad a gear track foot braces four molded grab handles two on the side and two in each end their gasketed H pod for storing small things a rear tank well with bungees and a removable elevated frame seat well enough talking about this boat it's time to test it and so let's hit the water [Music] [Applause] [Music] well not exactly a blue sky day in fact I haven't seen one little bit of blue sky today but still a perfect day to test the hurricane Osprey 120 and here is what I can tell you about it and we're going to start with portability like I always do it's a 12T kayak and it weighs under 50 lb and that right away makes it quite portable kayak the fact that it's a sit on top kayak and under 50 lb it's 47 lb with the seat you take off the seat and it's only 43 lb that's really nice my pet peeve with sitting on top kayak is you have to expect they're going to be pigs to move around and they're typically at least 20 lbs heavier than this boat in fact um you know many of The Kayaks other 12T sit on top kayaks are 20 lb or much more than 20 lbs heavier than this kayak weight savings is big for me these days I I'm sick of lugging around a really big and heavy boat and so I love um the portability of this at 47 pounds that being said uh carrying it solo is still tricky you can't throw it on your shoulder like you can to sit inside and carrying it suitcase style even at 47 lb you can't go that far for me it would be like 100 meter 100 yard Max and then I'd be like you know what I I'm just going to get some help or I'm going to get a kayak cart and so if you do get this kayak and you're paddling solo just do yourself if you have to carry at any distance get a kayak card that being said said still the weight savings really was a Hu is a huge bonus with this thing now let's talk performance you know what let's talk performance and stability together because they say they designed this kak to offer a great compromise of performance and stability and the two don't go hand inand the more stable a kayak is the wider it is and so the less speed the less performance it has uh the narrower kayak is the faster it'll go but the less stability it has this one is 31 1/2 in wide which isn't a super wide kayak but it's pretty darn wide the fact that it is is wide but not crazy wide combined with the fact that a thermor kayak is rigid it feels it's stiff and and smooth and it it just feels like it has got great it does have great glide through the water um and the hull design of this thing the Keels on this boat really engaged when I stopped paddling it still tracked very well it didn't spin out it does paddle very well for a 12T um sit on top kayak is it a speed machine absolutely not but not bad at all you know definitely better than I was expecting for a 12T sit on top kayak stability wise you know it's compromised it isn't the most stable sit on top kayak out there but it is really stable I mean honestly unless you're getting the kayak to to be like so stable that you could have a party on it uh and you don't care how it paddles then this is stable enough or if you're getting the kayak you're an angler and you love to stand up and fish not that you can't do that in this but it's not going there are more stable kayaks out there but they don't paddle as well so I believe they nailed it when it comes to a compromise of stability and performance um they it does both quite well now Comfort uh this thing has this elevated frame seat love it I love frame seats not all frame seats are that super comfortable this one is a very comfortable um seat so top marks for that the other thing I liked about this seat is that it offers good lower back support when you cinch it down for paddling uh but then you can just kick it off and relax and go into full Lazy Boy mode one of the big problems with a lot of frame seats is they're really only designed for chilling out they're comfortable for chilling out but they don't add any support when you're paddling this one does both quite well so I I really like the you know top marks for Comfort there one thing I will mention uh Comfort wise for you know dep this boat would only be comfortable for someone up to my size I'm 6'2 maybe someone 6' yeah 6' 3 if you're 6' 3 uh you'd be fine in this boat any longer than that any taller than that and you're going to be too big for this boat I've got the foot pegs all the way at the end I'm Max pretty much maxing out the cockpit area of this boat I've got a 34 in inseam as well if that helps anybody yeah all in all great comfort with this boat durability of it well it's thered like any thermoformed kayak it's designed to be used not abused if you're the kind of person that is going to be paddling an area that's going to be involved bouncing along a lot of rock or you want to drag your boat around or taking on some pretty Epic Adventures this is probably not the boat for you you probably want to go with a road to molded boat but if you take care of it then it's plastic you know so it will take it'll scratch on rocks it'll bang off things but um you just can't expect it to take too much now let's talk features this uh this boat has a few features not a lot of features like a lot of sit on toop designed for fishing have tons of features that most of them unless you're a hardcore angler you would never even use but this one very practical features the K9 uh deck pad or bow pad up front is actually a pretty neat thing I used to have a dog that I would go tick paddling with all the time I'd go fishing with them i' just go paddling with them and it was great to have a a kayak that had a spot for them that pad is great not because it just makes it more comfortable for them but it actually gives them some grip so they're not just sliding around and you know uh scratching on the the plastic that's a good feature I don't think there's enough space for a really big dog but um but uh yeah I like that feature I like the gear track that's right here in front of of the cockpit area it's close enough I've got the GoPro mounted here right now that it's so easy to reach the GoPro and uh turn it on turn it off do whatever I need to do make adjustments great for rod holders this is the place you'd want to basically Mount anything because it's within easy reach for the GoPro it's not the best shot because it's a little a little too close but I could add some extending extension arms and stuff like that and make it work fact that it's this close though and it's very reachable is a great thing but at the same time this is a big one because I'm focusing on how close it is if it's any closer and and a lot of boats do this they they have these mounts that are so close that when you're paddling and if you mount something there it just gets in the way and you're hitting your paddle against it's annoy just an annoyance they're not it's not a functional gear track this very much is a functional spot for the gear trck so like that now the H pod um it's a nice feature to have a little hatch there to throw sunscreen and snacks things like that in one little pet peeve is I've got an iPhone Max and when it's in here it fits just perfect and so it's actually a pain in the butt to get it out would have been nice if it just a little bit bigger but it's it's got a gasket which means it's waterproof I wouldn't expect it to be 100% waterproof if if this was covered with water but it's definitely splash splash prooof it's going to keep things quite dry in there unless you really soak things now value this boat costs $500 and that's not cheap uh it's about $200 $250 more than a comp terriable um sit on top kayak that's Roto molded difference is of of course the weight you mean you're basically paying a $200 $250 premium to drop 20% or more of the weight of the kayak drop 20 plus pounds you know it might not be worth it for everybody but that that's a big deal to a lot of people it could be a Difference Maker you also get a boat that is stiffer smoother it's got better glide through the water better performing you are getting something for that premium that you pay and for a lot of people it more than justifies it I mean to get that smoothness the only other way to get that weight savings and smoothness is to go to a composite kayak carbon cavalari or fiberglass but you're paying you're paying significantly more than the premium you're paying for the therm formed kayak so who is this kayak for well it's for anyone who wants a sit on on top kayak and is willing to pay a little premium for a lighter sit on top kayak and one that actually performs a little bit better than most Rotom molded sit on top kayaks it's not a big premium um but it's a premium that you're paying for this but the weight savings you get is real with this thing and it can be a a real Difference Maker for a lot of people this is a kayak that's designed primarily for Flat Water it can handle some rough water it can handle current uh but not real Rapids I wouldn't take it into real ocean surf to play in the surf zone um although it can handle it it's that's not what it's designed for this is would be a great platform for someone who likes to paddle but also likes to fish someone who really wants to do more kayak fishing because this could be a kayak fishing machine it's stable enough uh and you can trick it out you can accessorize it very easily if you want to this really is a very versatile kayak and I think that's all I have to say about it I'm a big fan of this kayak I think a lot of people will will really benefit from a lightweight sit on top kayak if you have experience in this kayak then please leave a comment down below share your thoughts with everybody who's watching and trying to figure out is this the right kayak for them if you like this video give it a thumbs up subscribe to paddle TV if you have haven't already and um otherwise stay tuned cuz I got a lot more of these gear reviews coming along with paddling tips and lots of paddling adventures in fact I got a doozy coming up this week stay tuned for that one [Music]

Channel: PaddleTV

Views: 14,075

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Id: gHpjwy7QZEI

Length: 14min 53sec (893 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 03 2024