Poll: Did you ever buy a new boat without test driving it first?

Riot Hammer, 007, Glide, Disco. Wavesport X. Euro Kayaks Axis.

I had to buy those per international mail order back then. There were no local dealers, so it wasn't even possible to try them out first.

I had read much about those boats though, written by people I trusted, and I never regretted one of those purchases.

Not that I want to recommend this of course... I you do have a chance to try boats before you buy, do it by all means

Bliss Stick Hucka. Read lots about it and checked out the plug when I was over in NZ. No dealer in the UK at the time so mail order from NZ was the only way at the time. Good boat no regrets. But always better to demo if you can.

Jump to the bottom bit if this gets boring...especially if you design kayaks.

Yes. Bliss-Stick RAD 195. I was in a Super EZ at the time but wanted something more aggressive. I contacted every whitewater boat company I could think of and tried everyones largest boats. The boats being built didn't fit. Perception/Dagger recommended the large Blaze, I liked the Super EZ more, and the local Dagger rep refused to believe I wouldn't fit into the kingpin 6.3. Jackson had the 2004 Super Fun, but it didn't feel that different from the Super EZ. Fluid had just come out with the Large Flirt, but wouldn't help me out if I bought the boat and it didn't fit. Bliss-Stick also came out with the RAD 195 at the time. Norm from Bliss-Stick was most helpful in answering all my questions. They didn't have the volume on the boat at the time and he had an answer for me of 69.5 gallons. I was stoked!

The week before the boat got to me Bliss-Stick put on their website that the boat was 55.5 gallons. I e-mailed Norm very quickly. He said to try the boat out and we would go from there. Now I am waiting for a boat that I think is too small. Customs Canada gets involved and the price of the boat goes up ($150.00) and they make it \"so\" easy to get my hands on the boat. I love Customs Canada!! When I get the boat it subs out, but in all other respects it's a blast. The boat develops a rip in the cock-pit rim where the backband bungy attaches. Another email to Norm and he says he can blow volume into a boat. We agree that he will replace my boat with a blown boat and I sell the original boat for $600.00 and return the money to Bliss-Stick (I somehow managed to do it with the rip sanded out). No worries, I'm getting a custom boat!

New boat gets shipped to Europe because the North American shipment melted. Bliss-Stick sends a third boat that gets held up in US Customs for an extra three weeks. Now it gets to Canada and I have to deal with Customs Canada again. Another $150.00. Did I mention I love Customs Canada. I love the boat, it is a bugger to roll and messes with my head. The relationship becomes a love/hate relationship that leaves me emotionally scared. After two months the boat cracks. E-mail Norm again. They will replace the boat, red instead of green because red is stronger. I get the blown boat welded to finish the season, but paddle the Super EZ just as much (not to mention my creek boat).

The red boat gets to me but, I had to deal with the lovely people at Customs Canada again, goodbye $150.00. I really love Customs Canada! The boat has less volume than the original blown boat, the new Creek Boat seat and new thigh braces. It doesn't cut it, e-mail Norm again. He sends new \"smaller\" thigh braces. They don't fit the boat very well because it has been blown and really don't help with the fit. Email Norm again, but he isn't willing to help me out again. Return my money? No.

I have a welded hard to roll Bliss-Stick RAD 195, my wife took over the red RAD 195 but hardly paddles it opting for her other boats more regularly (note that she didn't buy it from me and refuses to let me sell it). I then demoed a 2007 Super Fun...loved it...bought it. Traded the Super EZ for a Large Fluid Flirt.

I don't blame Norm or Bliss-Stick...they did try to help me out when no one else would.

There is more to the Bliss-Stick story but this is already way way way too long.

Boat builders need to give accurate volumes (US Gal/liters) It needs to be meaningful. They need to give max leg length and foot sizes (Jackson is the only company doing this). Let you know who they used as a model paddler for the boat (Fluid uses Hugh de Prez as there model for big boats...give the buyer the models measurements).

Demo, Demo, Demo.
Buy from a local shop if you can. Someone who has a good reputation with warrenties.

Wavesport Ace, Jackson 4Fun and now a Jackson Superstar. The Ace wrecked my feet but was a good boat and I've had no regrets with the Jacksons at all, they are fantastic boats. Did plenty of research before ordering and the fact that Jackson had an inside leg length and a foot size on the website convinced me.

Airhead. I loved it. Great boat!!!!!

I've almost never tried a boat before buying it..

Neckly Blunt, Wave Sport Big EZ (3, because 2 broke), Wave Sport ZG54, Wave Sport EZG60, Fluid Solo large, Fluid Nemesis medium, Fluid Spice medium (had tried one twice before but briefly), Fluid Solo small (had tried one once on a small crap rapid), Fluid Element medium (had tried two different prototypes).

No regrets on any of the boats I've ever bought though.

The only boat I paddled before buying was my nemesis.

I wasn't even looking for a new boat but we took 2 to Uganda and I paddled 1 for 2 days, left my turbo 52 there and bought the nemesis as soon as we got back.

I bought a riot glide, turbo52, eskimo diablo and fluid spice m without trying.

Loved the riot boats and just sold the spice.

I owned :
reflex (test in the pool)
corsica s (2 week expedition before buying)
nano (tested on gr 3 before buying
ace (set in it in the shop)
lil joe (test in tho pool)
squashtail (test in the pool)
fluid flirt (tested on gr 3)
eskimo speedo )(paddeld 1 week in norway)
neutron (bought online)

which I liked best after owning the boat
reflex
squashtail
ace
fluiid flirt
lil joe
corisca
nano


speedo and neutron )i cannot answer becuase I am keeping them.

So demo and if it helps. I do not know.

I have paddled some boats which. I have not owned more then some I have.

I think chosing a boat in kathmandu out of the stock rental boats the had for a paddling trip over there was a riskier thing to do then buing a boat here in holland.

Also it was more difficult. We here with 3 persons and gflad that we could chase 2 kayaks in between the first days and the rest of the trip.

Bought my last two boats: the Jefe and the Astro without test driving.

Bought my Jackson Fun without test driving it. I had tested a lot--A LOT--of other boats that were not quite what I was looking for. I like the customizability (is that a word?) of the Fun. So far, no regrets! Besides, they come in pink

I once bougth the coolest black, Dagger Animas, sight unseen........at that time Dagget touted it as the \"hottest new playboat\" on the market!?!?!?

I guess times have changed. Bewere of what you read. Do you really think a company will spend all that money to develope a boat and then say \"hey come buy our boat, It'll hurt you, is hard to get out of and cracks with every boof\"!! I have read many magazine gear reviews on boating and other outdoor sports and the review matches what the company ad says word for word.

I always try a boat before buying. Why not?

t

I bought all three of my Kayaks without test paddling them - Pelican \"Burst SE\" SOT, Coleman \"Renegade\" SIK, Old Town Dimension \"Vie II\" tandem SIK.

If had test paddled my Coleman 1st I probably wouldn't have bought that one. After paddling it I am not sure if I like it. The other 2 paddle like a dream they go straight when you want them to and turn when you want them to but the Coleman I.. I think either I was out of shape from the winter of no kayaking or it has issues... Dono.. it doesn't respond the way the other two do and was a major battle to keep it straight and to stop turning when I wanted it to stop. It seemed to have a mind of it's own.


Have a great day!


Guy

I live in Yellowknife and boat selection is practically non exsistant. The local sport store has a few boats but nothing for white water as there just isn't the market for it. I bought my first sea kayak straight off the shop floor and all my other boats I just sort of ran across them when I had to much time and money on my hands. The boats solved the money problem I now have lots of boats and no money. My squirt boat I'm buying through e-mail and a picture. I will get to talk to Ed this week I hope when he returns from California.

In a perfect world all the boats would be beside a perfect river that flowed all year long and we would be able to try everything. As it is where I live you roll the dice and hope for the best. Just imagine Startreck shopping, you beam to the store, beam you and the boat to the best river around and if your taking a beating in a monster hole they beam you back to the shop. Our you could take the boat and run everything in the holodeck and then make your choice. Futurehence I think, Cheers Greg

more than 70% of our readers bought a boat without testdriving it. interesting. i had somehow expected that number to be a lot lower...

still people keep recommending to test before you buy, so i guess there must be quite a number of people with bad experiences. maybe the next poll question should thus be if people bought a boat without test driving it, and regretted it....

Location, Locaton, Location. In Yellowknife we have one dealer and they do not stock white water kayaks. When they brought them to town before as requested the folks that asked for ww boats didn't buy any and so the local guy was forced to sell them somewhere else at cost. Many folks in Yellowknife ask you to bring things in so they can look at it and then they say "no thanks, not what I wanted and your stuck with it."
Would be nice to be able to try the boats but there is also nothing really close by to paddle and with out a pool in the store pool time is very expensive. Bill and Sandra the local dealers have held demo days and the turn out is usually very poor, unfortunate that the folks that ask for this stuff fail to appear as something else always comes up. Bill and Sandra will haul what they have to Frame Lake and you can have a go there. They do try and accomadate everyone but here it is not easy. Greg

Bought my Nemesis without test-driving it. Haven't regretted it up to now. All the nice things people (especially Adrian ) have said about the boat, have turned out to be true for me!

Test-drove the S Solo and decided I loved the boat but wouldn't mind a bit of additional volume and length. Bought the M Solo off the shelf - so one could say I bought it without testing it first.

You can look and try all week long and you'll never get to try them all. At one point you have to jump into the water and take your chances. worst that could happen is you don't like it , sell it and try again half the fun I'd say. Greg

cominco wrote:

You can look and try all week long and you'll never get to try them all. At one point you have to jump into the water and take your chances. worst that could happen is you don't like it , sell it and try again half the fun I'd say. Greg

For sure!

ah yes. i as well bought my last 2 boats without testing them. as a matter of fact i still havent gotten my newest one in the watter yet =( its just been too crappy out and i work WAY too much...

Oh yes! But being from Iceland that´s understandable - not that big of a market.

The first one I bought in ´97 was a Rainbow Mephisto. I demoed it first, but being a total beginner I didn´t know what to look for in a kayak, except a fair price. I paddled this boat for about three years and liked it a lot, even though it´s not the coolest boat ever produced.
Next up was Dagger Centrifuge. Bought it without demoing. Just loved it when it came to surfing. The best surfing I´ve ever done was in this boat - in 5-6 meters high waves - tubes and stuffB)
Then I bought me a Wavesport Big-EZ, which I demoed. The best overall boat I´ve had, except for the comfort. I would be lying if I said that the Big-EZ is comfortable - cause it´s not! Sold it it 2005 and bought a Rainbow Zulu instead.
Paddled the Zulu for about two years and liked it a lot. To be honest I sometimes regret that I sold it. The first time I paddled it, it felt like I had been paddling it for many years. Super stable and handled very well - at least for me.
Today I have a Prijon Cross - which I didn´t demo. It´s a whole different boat from the Zulu. It has more volume but less stability. Took me a while to get used to paddling it. But I got it in the end;)

I´ve got my eyes on a new boat because I still want more volume. But what should it be? Critical Mass? Burn? Everest? Salto? Solo? Hercules? Nomad?

I´m 178cm - and 80kg.

M Solo

Burn is cool too, I'm just a bit cynical about their QC.
Everest is HUGE.

I don't know the others.

I would rather choose The Large Solo because the Medium Solo has only 5 more liters of volume than my current ride.

That´s a whole lotta love - but not enoughB)