Pelican 130 with Mirage drive?
 

I did a search, can't seem to find anything on it, but i'm sure it was discussed into oblivion in previous days.

I just became aware of the pelican 130 with their version of the Mirage drive - i guess the patent expired on Hobie. Anyway, it seems like a heck of a deal for 1500 bucks. I am seeing some concern over no reverse, but i see others saying reverse just ended up being a maintenance issue for them?

any feedback there,

and please, one more time for us neophyte ignoramuses, can you tell me how prop vrs "flapper" drives compare, speed, durability, etc? (I am seeing prop drives for 1300 bucks) .

https://www.pelicansport.com/us_en/t...ch-130-hydryve

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First off let me say that I sell Hobie Kayaks. The biggest seller of these looks to be Dicks Sporting goods. There is a reason that Hobie will not sell their kayaks in the big box stores and that is customer service, at the time of sale and after.

I understand that, just from my point of view, how much customer support is worth the 1500 dollar difference - it better be a whole lot.

I have no experience with Hobie customer support, I'm sure its great. so when someone breaks their drive 3 years into it - is it repaired or replaced for free? or will it cost me?

- I can buy 2 complete boats for the price of 1 Hobie. seems like a great way for a beginner to get into a peddle Kayak for reasonable money. But I'm sure they wont hold their value like the Hobies do!

Andy and the other guys at OEX are the absolute best. Both myself and many others on this forum can speak personally to his level of service.

"You get what you pay for" isn't a saying just mad up out of thin air, and it goes doubly for kayaks...

Well, I don't think you can compare this kayaks features to the Outback for your $1500 difference. like comparing a base model to a special edition.



Before you buy one, find out where the heck you buy replacement parts............break a chain or pulley.....or just have a little squeak you cant figure out. Anyone brings me one of these and I will happily work on them, but it will be charging a convenience fee.

If I’m not mistaken the pelians are not rotomolded either?

They are thermo formed, which is not a bad thing at all, just different. Lots of Ultra lights are thermo formed.

That's what I remember as well.

It's VERY difficult to repair the hulls on boats like this...

MirageDrive
 

Pelican's drive is what Hobie's drive was 20 years ago. Many other features like roller bearings for reduced friction and square shaped fins for increased performance are still patented. There are many things to learn when getting in to the pedal game that have to do with the amount of force exerted by a MirageDrive pedal system. It's taken Hobie over 20 years to be where they are today. Take that in to consideration when looking at these manufacturers getting in to the pedal game and consider the potential issues that could happen when you are on the water. Other things like boat design, steering and rudder, comfort, cockpit layout, etc... IMO, the quality, customer service, dealer support and years of experience that Hobie carries are worth every penny.

Hobie is local in Oceanside, California. Think about all of the innovation Hobie has brought to the kayak fishing market. Don't the people who have poured their lives in to developing this stuff only to be imitated by other companies in a rat race towards the bottom deserve our respect as kayak anglers?

To address the reverse concern - a few pull cables were snapping when the reverse was first launched because the cables where made out of plastic that was too thin and there was a lack of customer education on how/when to pull the cables. That was addressed and once users understood you need to pull the forward/reverse cable when the pedal cranks are together (both fins pointing straight down) there have been very little issues. I use reverse a lot when I fish.

Hope this helps with your decision.

don't peddle a toyota when you could be in a bmw
 

You're in socal where value is almost as important as status. how could you possibly consider a cut rate kayak with such an entry level price?


Sorry, just couldn't help that one.


Hobie's are awesome kayaks and hold the lion's share of use for fishing here in Hawaii. Part of the reason for that is that very few other peddle kayaks are carried here by dealers. As the dealers get more requests for "other than Hobie" the numbers of "other peddle" kayaks are rising.

I think you should test out the radar as well! :cheers1:

You are give up a lot for the $1500 savings, my recommendation is pick a nice used Hobie for $1300-1600. I’ve been watching a lot of YouTube videos on that kayak and I’ve concluded that it is not a worth while kayak. They had to cut a lot of corners to make that price point.

3 years = yes. 3 years +1 day = no.

https://www.hobie.com/warranty/

I went from a very used OK Prowler Big Game to an Outback to a PA14, both Hobie kayaks were purchased from Andy/OEX. I can assure you that the extra money you pay will not seem like a lot the first time you have an issue.

When your shit breaks you can either deal with a 22-year old college student that doesn't know shit about kayaks and probably won't be working there two months from now or you can deal with a someone who not only owns a very well respected kayak shop but is an avid kayak fisherman and is local.


This is America so the choice is yours, we're just here to share our experiences ;)

What if the OP dont have the $$$ for OEX??? Like someone mentioned, Get a used Hobie Outback for around the same price. Now as far as peddle drive system, last I test drove them they were not smooth as you would think your peddling a bicycle. There is a weird lag on each stroke, but maybe they fixed it. The Mirage drive is butter smooth, also keep in mind if your fishing the harbors, a tight steering yak is awesome and that can be had with changing the rudder on the outback. That Pelican probably steers ok, but I also note there are no sealed dry hatch compartments which I feel is necessary. Good luck and buy what you can afford and go fishing!