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Old 05-09-2013, 07:57 AM   #8
Siebler
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Richland Oregon
Posts: 1,547
We have Demo's of the Mokens, all Malibu, Ocean Kayak, Wilderness, Native, and soon Jacksons at OEX Mission Bay. If you want to compare them before you buy come down and paddle them. You will learn more from 5 minutes in each boat than you will learn form reading everybody's recommendations. A lot of this is because everybody has their own views on how things should be done and also they have their own needs in the kayaks.

Just because a Pro Staff member (or just another kayak angler) says a boat is the best doesnt mean it is the best for you. While I love my Tarpon 160 I guarantee that 90% of the people on this board would hate it. You really have to make decisions based on your own size, stability, wants, needs, etc.

Ive been on the Wilderness Systems National Pro Staff for over 5 years but by all means there are times when people walk into the store and the boat that fits them best isnt made by Wilderness and I am not going to push the brand on them if this is the case.

The job of Pro Staffs is not just to push/promote their brand but also to promote the sport and putting somebody in the wrong boat for them is going to leave a bad taste in their mouth for the dealer, the brand, and possibly the sport as a whole. In addition this only hurts the staffer credibility.

With this said, The Cuda and the Moken are very similar. I personally find the Jackson to be more stable (however even the Moken is far more stable than what I need) but the Moken paddles better in rougher conditions. These baots are very similar though and I recommend you testing both out, thats why we have demos. When you Demo these I would also give a few other boats a shot. Which boats these are is based on your likes/dislikes of the previous models paddled. Usually we will be able to pick a boat for you within 3-4 models based on what you tell me about how the previous one felt to you.
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