Gemini

Loving the Gemini tandem to get out with the wife and dog. We’ve paddled and owned many other brands, they are all similar, but the Feelfree has some nice upgrades. The “wheel in the keel” is awesome, anyone can easily wheel this 12.6”, 70 lb yak over grass or pavement. Ten scuppers and 10 flushmount seat attachment points. The latter being a little tricky clipping in and out of. The seats are more than adequate and have real brass clips and tie down bungees in the back.Without any scupper plugs, the three of us stayed bone dry because of the huge weight capacity. The two press on hatch covers take some effort to attach properly, they are tethered and an internal net keeps the contents in place. I’ve paddled it from the rear and front seat, and it moves quite well for a 32.5 wide tandem. Most tandems require long paddles, but our 230 cm worked fine.

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This was my first kayak purchase ever. I chose it for its features and weight capacity I felt sure would meet our needs. I have taken it out on a calm lake with my daughter and we did great, other than having paddles a bit too short for comfort given the width of the boat. I have to recommend 250-260 length paddles so you don't scrape your knuckles and just splash and slap at the water. I did not have scupper plugs in and although my daughter weighs significantly less than me more water came into the front of the boat than the back, which was unpleasant for her. After that trip I purchased the square throwable pfds that we have added on top of the factory seats to keep rear ends out of water. I might as well add here that the factory seats are surprisingly comfortable with great back support and easy to adjust. Before picking up the kayak I thought I would probably buy an upgraded seat but I am actually perfectly happy with those provided.

All that said, I think it is a great little boat for me and my daughter especially once I get longer paddles and scupper plugs. The downside of the boat came today when my father and I decided to take a tour of a nearby large pond with lots of marshy areas, beaver lodges and fun places to explore. We both got seated in the boat, my father in front, and though we are both full size adults, we were still over 100 pounds under the weight capacity. There was no trouble with the boat floating but it was super sensitive and tippy feeling to the point my father was not comfortable leaving shore, and he is an experienced boater, mainly in canoes, which also require balance. I admit, it really did feel like it would be easy to capsize when the two of us were in it and it surprised me. Needless to say, he got out of the kayak to fish from shore and I paddled around a bit solo. That extreme tippiness was gone with only me in the back of the kayak. Soooo, if you are looking for a boat for two large adults, around 200 lbeach, my only warning is it turns this boat into a supersensitive balancing act. Would it be different with scupper plugs in place? Very possibly and I will try with this variation. I do love it for kayaking me and my daughter or me myself. I look forward to trying it solo with the seat in the middle position and see how that goes.

I love this kayak. My husband and I recently purchased this kayak and love how easy it is to load into the truck. The wheel makes moving the kayak so easy that he can do it all by himself. This kayak is very easy to handle even for novice kayakers like us.

I've purchased the Gemini sport2011 with wheel built in to keel excellent feature. I've fitted two flush mounted rod holders in rear and scotty mount towards the bow paddled in winter months so far off the devon coast England its been great. sat in middle with deluxe seat comfy easy to paddle all rod holders easy to reach hatches and inside hull is bone dry. excellent value for not a lot of money

Last week I traveled to Paradise Island on Samal Island in the Philippines. They had Feelfree Gemini kayaks for rent so I decided to try one out. They had two different Geminis to try, one Gemini only had a small hatch in the front and the other had a hatch in the seat area front and rear plus an open storage in the back. Other than that I noticed no difference in the size or shape of the hulls. The one I tried is the latter with the two hatches and open rear storage.

With my fiancee on the front and no paddle I gave the kayak a spin. The kayak paddled decently quick with two people and only one paddle. The kayak was dry and VERY stable with her turning around and moving in the front but the kayak is too wide for my liking and the paddle blades will strike the sides if you're a high angle paddler. Turning was great on this kayak and seemed better than my Necky Dolphin and Perception Prism but still kept a straight course while moving from point A to B. The tupperware type hatch covers didn't stay on very well but they sat high enough that it really didn't matter. The seat was comfortable but it didn't have a seat back. I paddle without one on my other SOT kayaks anyways.

Just for reference I'm 6' tall and 235lbs and my fiancee is 5'3' 106lbs. We both fit the kayak OK and had no problems fitting the footwells properly.

The good: it is a rental kayak and seemed to hold up well, even the lifeguard got up and walked around on it and it appeared pretty stable watching him.
The bad: A little too wide at the top and the hatches didn't fit well and are too small
The ugly: The designers could have added a little more style and functionality rather than making it look like a molten blob of plastic, A pretty ugly kayak but that's just my opinion...

I have had a Feelfree Gemini for about a month and used it about 8 times on the sea in smooth to 1 foot wave conditions with family (wife and baby) or alone fishing. I am very pleased with my purchase despite the fact that it cost about 1100 USD imported to Japan.

It is attractive, stable, fairly quick considering its girth and weight, pretty comfortable, and unsinkable. It is not too heavy at 26kg. I put it on the roof of my car on my own.

Could be better:
The seats aren't great. They are low and just a piece of nylon held between lanyards anchored at four points. I would like something a bit higher and stiffer. A company in the UK is selling "Universal Deluxe Backrest with Seat Pad" (GBP 45 ~ USD 100) and "Apex Deluxe Seat" (GBP 70 ~USD 150) and I may purchase one or the other.

The boat is not that long. I am 176cm (about 5'9") and I use the furthest foot stop. I like to row with fairly straight legs and my knees are only slightly bent when using the furthest foot stop from the rear seat. Which brings me to...
The thigh straps are interesting, but I have not worked out how to use them. In order to put the straps around my thighs to get a good grip I need to sit with my knees raised, whereas I would rather keep my legs straight. With legs straight it is difficult to get much purchase/feeling of security using the straps without tightening the straps to the point where they give me cramp (I guess that is to be expected when doing exercise with straps on your inner thigh). I bought the thigh straps as a option from the company, so the metal (dog lead-like) clips of my thigh straps are welded shut so I can not remove them. I would recommend purchasing the thigh straps separately so you can remove them if you don't use them. Fish hooks can get stuck in them. But I think that I will come to like them one day, especially in surf.

The self bailing system (basically holes in the bottom of the boat) seems keep my wife's butt wet. She is lighter than me (42Kg to my 72kg) but for some reason the water seems to come in more at the front perhaps when we hit waves. The after-part seats, or sitting on a life jacket both mentioned above, would cure this problem.

The front handle is great - I drag mine across sand. But it could use a side handle. I would like a hole or something for a fishing rod too but I can just about use the drink holder between my thighs.

All in all I am very pleased.

We have a Feelfree Gemini. After using it a few times, we discovered that it always had water on the inside. We discovered that the drain plug was not sealed well enough to keep the water out. We removed the screw and little nut and bolt (which holds a little plastic strip w/ the yak's serial # on it), siliconed it inside and out. Now, no leaks and we can put things inside w/out a waterproof bag at times.

Wow! What a great find. I bought this tandem SOT sight-unseen, and I'm thrilled I made the decision I did. Even solo without the skeg, it paddles, tracks and turns as well as my smaller Ocean Kayak Scrambler. And it's MUCH less "tippy" as proven by my 35 lb dog who, despite attempts to make him a good boat dog, shifts his weight too much for my Scrambler. On the Gemini he's comfortable; he can sit, turnaround, lay down, etc., without ever making me nervous that we'll return to the dock WET. I love this kayak! I've used it in the Puerto Salina harbor and into the swells of the cold Pacific. I'm a novice kayaker, but I think even the experienced among you will share my fondness for the Gemini. The only things lacking on this well-planned kayak are molded-in rod holders and vertical cup holders. I wouldn't hesitate recommending this kayak to my friends.

Great Kayak, I use mine for a Fly Fishing taxi down the Merced River. I have used it at Lake Tahoe and the Ocean. It is very stable and handles very well in the light white water we take it in (class II and -III).

The Gemini is a 2 person sit-on-top kayak. It is easy to jump right on and use. It has many practical features. It is stable, 31 inches wide at the back seat and tapers to a magnificent shape. It handles as well as it looks, on the open ocean or in good size surf. It is made of durable plastic (polyethylene) and seems quite capable to handle the abuse of even a/The Samsonite Gorilla. The quality is most excellent, nice hatches, plugs, seat rests, plastic, finish and seams.

Molded-in hand grabs on fore, aft and sides, as well as built in side ropes make grappling this large kayak possible and feasible. The fore-handle especially is most useful, for either the positive handling or even lockability, when you us a cart on this kayak, the handle makes it like suitcase with rollers, very easy and agile, and in complete control. Even down rough roads beaches, cliffs or anything. I portage my kayak from the back of my truck, lash the kayak onto the cart, and walk it down the street for about 1/2 mile, then down a 200 foot elevation drop down a bumpy dirt road and onto the pebble beach. I launch. When I land, I lug the kayak up the cliff road; I really enjoy the details that make this kayak most practical and easy to access the most inaccessible. The molded-in fore handle really helps.

This kayaks shape lets it turn pretty quick for a long kayak and its pretty good in surf, I ride solo in the back seat, and the kayak seems to pivot from there quite easily, since the widest part of the kayak is right at the back seat. It seems to track nicely, and goes the direction I want it to. I have no problem out in the windy open ocean around Cabrillo Beach or the rocky points around Palos Verdes Penisula.

It also has a 617 pound capacity, most excellent for fishing or diving platform, or even big campout picnics. I will gear up my kayak for some kelp bass fishing, and clear water cove diving. It is very roomy and has lots of capacity.

It is a nice kayak and I am stoked. I am ordering more kayaks from Feelfree. Definitely worth a go. It is too easy, too much fun. This kayak is excellent for any fun adventure. Very safe and very seaworthy, everybody likes them.