perception swifty deluxe 9.5 kayak review

I live in PA but have helped several relatives in Michigan locate and buy used kayaks in your state. Some outfitters have trade ins or customer used boats or demos and previous season rentals for sale at less cost. If budget is what is restricting your selection, look for a used boat. Unfortunately, it looks like Dick’s has dumped the Conduit 13 and has nothing comparable in stock now. Minimum length I would take in the Great Lakes is 14 feet and maximum width would be 25'. It’s designed to be a fishing kayak for ponds and shallow rivers.

And that gaping oversized cockpit will not support a sprayskirt in open water conditions. I used to kayak in Lake Michigan and I remember several instances where people in short wide rec boats like this got pulled out quite a ways from shore by currents and wind and became exhausted trying to get back to the beach, eventually having to be assisted by shore patrols or the Coast Guard.

They don’t even mention if it has any bulkheads (I’m guessing stern only, if that), it is too short and far too wide to take out safely in wind and waves. That kayak is definitely not appropriate for the Great Lakes. Within that price and size range, you might be better served by looking at the Perception Sport Conduit 13, which is one of the cheapest new kayaks you can buy that has both bulkheads and reasonable proportions for effective distance paddling for small to medium-sized paddlers.

If you would tell us what kind of versatility you are hoping for,and perhaps get some more data on the boat you are considering (like width and features) we could give you more advice as to whether it is an appropriate boat for you. This limits the usage to protected and moderate waters and necessitates adding an inflatable flotation bag in the bow end to protect against it sinking, nose up, if you capsize. What you are looking at may be a “house brand” labeled version of the Expression 11.5, a sit inside boat that, like the regular Swifty and all their other 11.5 foot and under boats, has only a stern bulkhead and is quite wide in proportion to width. Since that model does not appear on the Perception product site I am guessing it may be one of the models that they market through their Perception SPORT division, which produces mostly lower end recreational style kayaks for the Big Box stores, often with oddball names that are exclusive to the store chain.

Perception swifty deluxe 9.5 kayak review