Vue 100

I purchased this boat from Cabela's a week ago. (8/12/17) I added a couple of fishing pole holders and several eye hooks. I put it in my pool a couple of days ago to check for stability and leaks. Primary and secondary stability exceeded my expectation. I also have a Future Beach Angler160 (13'4") and the 10' Evoke was as stable as the larger boat. I found that scupper plugs were really not necessary as the boat was mostly dry (and I weight 250 lbs.) The seat pad wasn't sufficient for me so I added a gel pad on top of the existing. (much better!) The hatches leaked slightly, so I got a strip of self stick, 3/8" weather stripping from Home Depot and relined the gaskets on top of the existing ones. That did the trick! I also carefully dabbed all the pop rivets with enough silicone to fill the center hole of the pop rivet, Today I took it out on the Hudson River and was very satisfied with the stability, comfort and decent tracking and glide. I spent about 4 hours on the boat. I checked the hull interior after I exited the boat and it was bone dry. The few quick fixes I did was well worth it. This kayak, in my opinion, is an exceptional boat for the money.

Evoke Paddlesports is a seemingly small company only located in a few states. I myself purchased one from a small garage-based store in Pennsylvania. For the value, you won't find anything that competes directly beside maybe the Pescador 12' (assuming you even want a 12-foot kayak). The Vue 100 offers adjustable footrests, a robust two-strap adjustable back-rest, a cool cargo style net to hold your gear in the back, and two fairly spacious water-resistant storage areas (a suspension-pouch comes included in each storage well).

It's seriously a great kayak. It's easy to maneuver, tracks well, and is fairly stable. I should note that anyone above 200 lbs might find the initial stability a little lacking (a friend who weighs a little over 250 lbs tried my kayak and felt uncomfortable getting in from the shallows). I personally think the initial stability is good (I weigh 180 lbs). For those of you that fish, I wouldn't recommend this kayak if you're looking for something you can stand up in. I tried to stand up in the kayak on a calm lake and fell in the water (and flipped the kayak). I don't count this as a strike against the kayak since many other kayaks are the same way. The kayak, however, is stable enough to dangle your feet off the side.

The kayak can keep up a moderate pace, but is by no means a speed demon. Longer kayaks will be faster. The seat is comfortable for about two hours, after which my bum did start to feel a little numb -- nothing a little foam or gel insert can't fix. The kayak also has bungee straps to keep your paddle by your side if you're taking a break from paddling.

A few other qualms to note about the kayak:
- it's hard to access the front storage compartment while using the kayak (the more of your weight you shift to the front, the less stable it feels)
- storage compartments are only water-resistant, not waterproof (if you flip, it leaks a little bit of water)
- adjustable foot rests are hard plastic, and can get uncomfortable after a while (they feel cheap)

Despite my qualms and minor issues with the kayak, I can't help but give it a 9/10. It's just the best value for the money that I could find. If you can find a distributor, I would highly recommend you consider the Vue 100. It's a kayak that can almost do it all and it looks good while doing it too. I picked mine up for $450. If you can find a good deal on one, get it. If you have to pay full price, I'd still highly recommend you keep it in your consideration (though Wilderness Systems for full MSRP might be better).