Strike

I have been an avid whitewater kayaker since 1975 and a surf kayaker since the mid-80's. I am 6'3" tall and weigh about 197 lb. I was using a iMAKO composite surf kayak until I had a knee replacement and could no longer slide into the boat because I could not fully extend my leg. I reluctantly sold the boat and purchased a Cobra Strike. I love the boat in smaller to mid-size waves. The only downside is lower hull speed compared to my iMAKO, so it takes more effort to paddle out through waves and the take off point is closer to shore. One big advantage of the kayak in my advancing years is that a bombproof roll is no longer required, you just float away, right the boat, and climb back on. I use it without a fin and have no trouble paddling in a straight line or carving a longer radius turn by putting it on edge. I have also been taking up paddling a standup paddleboard and surfing small waves. But it's difficult going from being an expert kayaker to a beginner SUP surfer, so I keep going back to using my Strike, much to my paddleboard friends' disgust.

I have been using a Strike for several years. Still working on getting the full performance from it, but that takes a long time. This boat is great at paddling out, and will get you through almost any wave. It is fast enough to catch most waves, and sticks like glue to wave faces. Braces rock solid. Very maneuverable. The wedge-shaped sides make it a bit squirrely performing some moves at first but you get used to that. It is really only a problem in flat water, not on the waves.

I outfitted mine with thigh straps, a back brace and a foam block in front for a foot rest. The movable foot brace was not solid in bigger surf, and I didn't like the foot straps. With my setup I am very locked in.

Yes, the plastic pad-eyes do break, but I would rather break an occasional pad-eye than tear a hole in the hull. Easy to replace, right on the beach.

I was so concerned when they stopped offering this kayak in the USA, that I went out and purchased a second one as a spare. That's how much I like it. I did also try the Kaos (not bad) and the Perception 5-O (totally sucked). I love this kayak. Without the foot brace problem I would give it a 9 or 10.

This is an addenda to the previous review shown below...

Rolling- I'm getting close to 60, and as much as I hate to admit it I’m not as flexible or as strong as I used to be. While I can roll a whitewater kayak with excellent consistency, some of the bigger boats aren't following my orders they way they used to.

I took the Strike to one of our local pool rolling sessions to try it out. To be blunt, I couldn't roll it. The chine is just too much of a hurdle for me to get round. I gave the boat to a couple of extremely athletic 20-somethings to see what they could do with it, and the results were mixed. George, who is skinny and about six-four, could not roll it. However, his buddy, Rush, who is about five-nine and 155 lbs, was able to roll it. I'm about five-eleven and 185.

The bottom line-- some excellent paddlers might be able to roll this boat, but it's not easy. Smaller paddlers might have an easier time of it, but I don't really have a big enough data set to support that conclusion.

Attachments-- The buckles on the manufacturer-supplied thigh straps dig into my shins. The brass clips on the back brace and thigh straps clog up easily with sand and grit. Spray them with WD-40 before and after paddling. I don't recommend heavier lube, as that tends to attract more grit. The WD-40 has more of a tendency to penetrate into the nooks and crannies and flush stuff out.
I agree with the person who said that the fittings seem to leak a lot.

I got the storage hatch in the rear of the boat, just in case I had to loan out all my other boats for a flatwater paddle. It has a nifty lock/closure system, but it needs to be sprayed with silicon lube on a regular basis, or the stress on the handle during opening might be too much for it to handle.

The skegs do great things for the boat, but in a lot of conditions I prefer to leave them off, especially if the waves are small and I have to shimmy through shallow water to get out into the waves.

Performance--
Note that this boat LOVES to come back into shore. Of there's even the tiniest bit of bite in the little dregs of a wave rolling in towards shore, this boat will ride it. Yes, there are better performing surf kayaks out there for tricks (all of them glass/epoxy), but the Strike can surf the grodiest little wavelet you can catch.

I used to use a bodyboard. But hung it up. I only use the Strike. Took it to Central America in January!

I have had my Cobra Strike for two years and loving it. Very maneuverable. I was out in 10 to 12 foot waves from Hurricane Bill this weekend. It was near impossible to get out past the break, but it was worth it; awesome rides. The kayak catches waves great! I rocketed down the face of the wave cut right or left and up or down the wave again . Just AWESOME!! The surfers were surprised at how it maneuvered it is. I would recommend this to anyone who likes to ride surf.

I had a Frenzy before - it was fun, but all you did was come straight in, now I feel like part of the wave and I am surfing it in. The day ended when a wave closed out on me and snapped my Carbon Fiber paddle, but the kayak did not flip I made it in.

This has to be the most miserable boat I have ever paddled in the surf. I typically paddle a dedicated surf kayak but I ended up taking a class that used these boats to unwittingly accompany a friend. I couldn't have been more unhappy.

First of all, I'm 5'5", 120lbs. Despite claims that this boat works well for almost all sizes of paddlers, there is no doubt that I was too small for it. For me, this boat was like paddling a bathtub. This boat is SLOW SLOW SLOW, it doesn't track well, and it doesn't edge well. After catching a wave, the boat still required continual paddling just to ensure that I wouldn't go off the wave. This boat definitely doesn't track or control well. It has a vicious tendency to turn parallel to the wave -- far worse than most longer sea kayaks I've taken into the surf zone.

After using this boat, my legs ended up covered in black and blue bruises. The reason: the thigh straps for this boat were just not good and that boat is a lot of volume for someone my size. I like to throw a boat around in the surf to do top turns and cutbacks. This boat would have none of that. Being so massive and unresponsive, it was very difficult to get it to turn.

After using this boat, I find it near impossible to believe Cobra's claims that this boat is good for both beginners and experts. If you're looking for a good boat for an occasional recreational paddle and not to become a serious kayaker, then certainly I would recommend this boat. If you're interested in anything else, do not use this boat.

I am hooked on surfing my strike, I have experimented with no seat, no foot straps,etc. I have settled with a back support which just flattens down if I have to lay back on a big wave, thigh straps and paddle leash. I took the foot straps off and used the 2 holes up front in the middle where the foot strap attached, and have a saddle anchor there for the curly paddle leash, this keeps me pretty well attached centrally without too much interference. Sometimes I get numb feet,only draw back . I get cranky if I dont get out enouh lol. Great boat!

The Strike is maybe my 6th or 7th sit-on-top; heck maybe 10th, and it sits among a few sea kayaks in my garage. It's the most single-use, dedicated sit-on-top I've ever owned. It's for surfing. And I've had more fun with it than I have ever had with any sit-on-top. I traded for a Wilderness Systems Kaos, another surf-oriented sit-on-top, a few years ago, and using it didn’t turn me on to surfing with plastic at all. I borrowed a friend’s Strike a couple months ago to surf with a friend who wanted to try my waveski, and I went right out and bought one.

I have some trouble with my neck which resulted in several fused vertebrae, and I'm not planning on chasing my skills up to big surf. I stick to stuff below 4' and look instead for longer, outside, rides. But I love this boat. I think this is Cobra's best design ever; in fact I hear it was designed by a waveski designer. Other boats come and go in my garage, but I don't think I'll ever get rid of this one. It is balanced, strong, and so much fun. The hard rails hold faces really well, it does cut backs acceptably although not nearly as well as the waveski, it bounces out when I slide down over the top - which is a lot of fun, and it rises over the whitewater to exit pretty well with either a back or forward stroke.

If you’re interested in surfing with plastic, get this one.

I'm a novice so I don't bring much life experience to this review. Took a surf kayak clinic through San Diego's Aqua Adventures - quite a rush. Did a fair amount of internet research and talked to a couple of people before selecting my Cobra Strike. I bought it from San Diego Sailing Center - somewhat at a bargain because the logo had a blemish. Because I wanted to be able to physically handle the kayak by myself (I'm a smaller person), it was important to me to pick a kayak that was relatively short (9'7") and relatively light (35 lbs) - plus one that was sufficiently stable and turnable for a beginner like me. I've taken the kayak out now about 5 times in the last month - Mostly at La Jolla Shores in San Diego County - where the surf is small. It's been great and everything I wanted in an ocean surf kayak. I've also taken it out on flat water (stuffed the drain holes with 99cent toy balls (drug store children's toys with smiley faces). It kind of scuttles like a crab in flat water - but since I'm out there for exercise and not to race or keep up with anybody else - this suits me too.

Very stable, fast and easy turning board. Good first surf model, but limited to smaller (6ft.or less) Hawaii surf.

Use the Strike strictly as a surf kayak. Wave ride at San Onofre State Park in North San Diego County, CA. Graduated from a Wilderness Systems Riot. Boat handles well in most surf conditions. Have surfed in waves too small for board surfers and conditions that border on large...6'+...which is a fairly big day for So. Cal. Until it gets large, I go without the fins. Once it gets say over 5', time to drop in a fin to keep the boat from spinning out of the face of the wave. Without the fin, I'm able to crank some fairly serious turns. The boat drains very well when the cockpit is filled with H2O. I use thigh straps and a backrest on smaller days but ditch the backrest on big days...it definitely gets in the way when reentering after going verticle. I rigged a handle that fits the front eyelet (new models come with one) to grab if I'm out of the boat and I need to hold on through the white water. Trying to grab the thigh brace will darn near rip your arm off when the white water hits the kayak. One big negative is that the boat takes on a fair amount of water through the fixtures. As time goes on, the fixtures become quite loose and thus leak even more. Also, the plastic hardware will break leaving the thigh or back rest flapping. I have replaced three and now have gone over to chrome. The seat area can be enhanced by adding a butt pad. All in all, this has been a very fun boat.