Odyssey 100X

Well... After owning my kayak for a few years, and loving it, it finally stood the ultimate test of time when it look a spin on the road after a strap broke. These things are build to last. They will not break. Had a great kayak afterwards. 5 stars.

This is my first hard shell kayak, bought on a great deal from Costco, and it is amazing!! I highly recommend...

Got this to go out on the lake fishing. Paddles well and tracks pretty good. Had to paddle back up the lake 3km with 70km/h wind gusts and it handled it like a champ. At no time did it feel unstable. Only complaint is water splashes onto the back cargo area and has nowhere to drain so you better have a drysack on hand if you want your cargo dry.

My Wife and I pulled the trigger on a pair of the Pelican Odyssey 100s from Costco this Spring. We didn't know much about kayaks but we found out quickly that while I was under the max capacity for the Odyssey 100 at 260 pounds, I was close enough that the kayak would swamp easily even with something as simple as stopping abruptly. The rear storage area was very useful and the shock cord was nice for keeping things in place, however any extra weight to the rear of the kayak made the depressed storage area even easier to swamp. Once that area was full of water there was no way for it to escape so you ride a little lower due to the extra water weight. If you keep up the activities that swamped the rear deck the water can then cascade right into the seating area over the back. I never filled the Pelican, or capsized but I took on a lot of water in the learning process. After handing off my gear bag, leaving just me and my paddle in the kayak I was still swamping the deck and getting soaked by water coming over the back while trying to enjoy my day in a big flat river. The claimed max capacity is 300 lbs. I think that would work if you didn't move. My Brother has a Wilderness Systems Pungo 120 with a 325 lb capacity and that kayak floats me very well, I never get wet using it and I have been in far more aggressive water with it than I ever put the Pelican in.

This Kayak works well for my Wife, though she has swamped the back a bit in the calmer waters, she is light enough that the kayak trims well and she rides pretty high in it. The Odyssey was nimble, and stable for me, despite all of the water it would take on. I felt it tracked well, but that could have been because it was nearly submerged. My wife doesn't complain about tracking but she's not picky. I see her spinning with every dip of the paddle, so I think it's pretty wiley when you're not full of water. It came with a pretty decent aluminum-shaft, plastic bladed paddle.

The kayak is rated for "Lakes and slow-moving rivers", even at that it wouldn't work for me. I had the bug however and was enjoying this new hobby with my Wife and Brother so back to Costco I went and upgraded to the Equinox Angler 12.0, sit-on and I am completely happy with my purchase. I realize not everyone gets the chance to try it before they buy it so hopefully this review will either help someone to be sure that they fit the bill for the 10 footers from Pelican, including the Intrepid that they seem to have replaced the Odyssey with, or steer them away from it if they are over 200 lbs and don't want to be confined to bath tub calm waters.