cb3725
Senior Member
A couple weeks back, I impulsively sold my Old Town Guide 119. After a suitable period of mourning, I went shopping for her replacement. Replacement is the wrong term, because I was bonded with that OT, so maybe I should just call it “my next boat.” I actually considered just buying another 119, I liked it so much, but one application that I want to take advantage of, that was tough from the Guide, is paddling upstream against a medium current. I live very close to the Etowah River, and though the Guide was a work of art when travelling downstream, turning around and heading back up wasn’t as… possible. And honestly, that is the sole complaint I had with it.
After doing a bit of reading, it seemed conclusive that kayaks, with their lower profile and double bladed paddles, are the preferred method for moving against a current in deeper water. As I have always been a canoe guy more than kayak, I decided to get my feet wet with a kayak that met three specific criteria – affordable, stand-up ready, and lightweight. Initially, my consideration included the Emotion Stealth, the Pelican Boost 100, the FutureBeach 124, and the Perception Pescador 10 or 12. The one that really caught my eye, and was very well reviewed, was the Perception Pescador 12. Apparently, it’s the 2008 mold that Wilderness System used for it’s Tarpon 120, and is well-liked. It’s $650 price tag is a good bit lower than the WS Tarpon 120’s $950, but was still a stretch beyond what I wanted to pay starting out. Both the Pelican and the FutureBeach were in stock at Dick's, but neither of them convinced me to go ahead and commit, when I saw them in person. On a whim, I stopped in at Sport's Authority on Barrett, that I actually thought had gone out of business a while back but apparently not. Anyway, thanks to an early Father’s Day sale, I left with an olive Tamarack Angler.
The following Saturday, I took it out to the river for a test run. We started out with some nice smooth water with a current, right at the base of the dam, to see how it would do. I put in just above the shoals you can see below, and paddled upstream to the spot where the Corps tell you to stop – no problem! I then puttered around, getting a feel for how it handles. After maybe a half hour, I decided it was time to see how it did in a little faster water, so I let the current carry me down stream, over the shoals, and back into the flat water below.
Moment of truth… I turned it around and started paddling upstream over the faster moving shoals. It wasn’t easy paddling, but I estimate that I was able to gain upstream progress at about a walking pace. It wasn’t until the water became too shallow to get any paddle purchase that I had to step out and tow the kayak on foot. All in all, “shoal” type water is about all I plan to face in this kayak, so I am completely content with it’s upstream performance.
I mentioned above that the ability to stand was also on my need list. The Tamarack is stable enough for a smaller guy like me (5’9″, 150lb) to stand comfortably, even to the point that I could stand and fly fish while floating downstream. When I get it out to the lake, I’ll push the limit until it flips just to see, but for this run, it offered confident standing stability.
Naturally, there are a few aspects of kayak that I would wish were improved. First, the tracking is not great. It’s a 10′ boat, so this could be expected, but it definitely wags along as you paddle. Second, the drain holes at the seat will require scupper plugs, or else you’re going to be sitting in water the whole time. Lastly, the storage area is one large well, running basically the length of the boat without compartmentalization. For smaller items, it can be hard to keep track of where they are, sliding around in the large well. A couple other criticisms I found elsewhere online that I feel Lifetime must have addressed with the current generation – the carry handles seem solid now and the seat was paddled at both the butt and back areas. I found it comfortable enough, though I stood more than I sat.
Overall, I am pleased with the kayak. I feel it is an excellent value for the <$400 price point, and it suits my basic need perfectly.
After doing a bit of reading, it seemed conclusive that kayaks, with their lower profile and double bladed paddles, are the preferred method for moving against a current in deeper water. As I have always been a canoe guy more than kayak, I decided to get my feet wet with a kayak that met three specific criteria – affordable, stand-up ready, and lightweight. Initially, my consideration included the Emotion Stealth, the Pelican Boost 100, the FutureBeach 124, and the Perception Pescador 10 or 12. The one that really caught my eye, and was very well reviewed, was the Perception Pescador 12. Apparently, it’s the 2008 mold that Wilderness System used for it’s Tarpon 120, and is well-liked. It’s $650 price tag is a good bit lower than the WS Tarpon 120’s $950, but was still a stretch beyond what I wanted to pay starting out. Both the Pelican and the FutureBeach were in stock at Dick's, but neither of them convinced me to go ahead and commit, when I saw them in person. On a whim, I stopped in at Sport's Authority on Barrett, that I actually thought had gone out of business a while back but apparently not. Anyway, thanks to an early Father’s Day sale, I left with an olive Tamarack Angler.
The following Saturday, I took it out to the river for a test run. We started out with some nice smooth water with a current, right at the base of the dam, to see how it would do. I put in just above the shoals you can see below, and paddled upstream to the spot where the Corps tell you to stop – no problem! I then puttered around, getting a feel for how it handles. After maybe a half hour, I decided it was time to see how it did in a little faster water, so I let the current carry me down stream, over the shoals, and back into the flat water below.
Moment of truth… I turned it around and started paddling upstream over the faster moving shoals. It wasn’t easy paddling, but I estimate that I was able to gain upstream progress at about a walking pace. It wasn’t until the water became too shallow to get any paddle purchase that I had to step out and tow the kayak on foot. All in all, “shoal” type water is about all I plan to face in this kayak, so I am completely content with it’s upstream performance.
I mentioned above that the ability to stand was also on my need list. The Tamarack is stable enough for a smaller guy like me (5’9″, 150lb) to stand comfortably, even to the point that I could stand and fly fish while floating downstream. When I get it out to the lake, I’ll push the limit until it flips just to see, but for this run, it offered confident standing stability.
Naturally, there are a few aspects of kayak that I would wish were improved. First, the tracking is not great. It’s a 10′ boat, so this could be expected, but it definitely wags along as you paddle. Second, the drain holes at the seat will require scupper plugs, or else you’re going to be sitting in water the whole time. Lastly, the storage area is one large well, running basically the length of the boat without compartmentalization. For smaller items, it can be hard to keep track of where they are, sliding around in the large well. A couple other criticisms I found elsewhere online that I feel Lifetime must have addressed with the current generation – the carry handles seem solid now and the seat was paddled at both the butt and back areas. I found it comfortable enough, though I stood more than I sat.
Overall, I am pleased with the kayak. I feel it is an excellent value for the <$400 price point, and it suits my basic need perfectly.
