13'
Length
35"
Width (in)
70
Weight (lb)
discontinued

Apex 130T Description

Hit the water in pair in the Pelican APEX 130T. This stable sit-on-top tandem kayak is great for embarking on a shared adventure. Built on a shallow twin-arched V hull, it is very stable and maneuverable and offers great tracking and speed. The APEX 130T features molded footrests, adjustable ERGOFORM padded backrests with seat cushions, a tank well with a bungee to secure your personal items, lay-down bottle holders and carrying handles. Made of RAM-X™ impact-resistant material, this sit-on-top tandem kayak is built to last for many shared moments. So start working together and create memorable stories worth sharing with friends and family.

Apex 130T Specs and Features

  • Structure: Rigid / Hard Shell
  • Cockpit Type: Sit on Top / Open Cockpit
  • Seating Configuration: Tandem
  • Ideal Paddler Size: Average Adult
  • Skill Level: Intermediate
  • Ideal Paddler Size: Average Adult
  • Skill Level: Intermediate

Additional Attributes

  • Molded footrests
  • Adjustable ERGOform backrests seat cushion
  • Tank well with bungee
  • Lay-down bottle holders
  • Carrying Handles

Pelican International
Apex 130T Reviews

Read reviews for the Apex 130T by Pelican International as submitted by your fellow paddlers. All of the reviews are created and written by paddlers like you, so be sure to submit your own review and be part of the community!

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1

I hate this Kayak, I bought…

Submitted by: guest-paddler on 9/20/2021

I hate this Kayak, I bought it because of the great reviews, but it's not for me. I'm a bigger guy, but I found the seats are uncomfortable and I was chewing on my knees the whole time. Used it once and it's now on Craigslist. Good reddens, I guess if you are 5'7 and 150 pounds it might be good for you.

4

Happy with boat but...

Submitted by: Luis-Adrian-Gonzalez on 6/7/2017

My girlfriend and I have been enjoying our Apex 130T tandem boat for four months now. So far, mostly in the ocean, we've done a few rivers, lakes, estuaries as well. Although it's supposed to be for recreational use, we use it for fishing, it already came with two rod holders. It is very stable, seaworthy, responsive, I can move it on my own whenever my GF decides she's paddled enough, plenty of room on the port well for cargo, as well as on the bow end (I've installed bungee cords on the bow end) .

The boat has two spaces for 8" day hatches that I've already installed. We've battled waves and surf rolling over us and completely filling up the deck and seen it drain dry in less than a minute. We're happy. But, ever since the first time we took it out, before any of the accessories where installed, we've been getting an unusual amount of water INSIDE the hull. A three hour trip will allow between about gallon and a half, maybe two inside the hull. So whenever we reach land, we pull out the drain plug and stand the boat on it's end to drain it. I've gone over ever inch of the boat looking for the water's way in, but can't find it. Another reviewer mentions the drain plug. I'll be buying a new one and see how it goes, and will also get the bilge pump so I can drain the water en route, through the day hatches. Other than that, it's thumbs up. !!!

5

This was our first kayak. We…

Submitted by: ktspappy on 9/20/2016
This was our first kayak. We bought this for lake use and one that one or two people could go out on it. We have had two adults and two children paddling around in shallow water with no problems.

This kayak is very stable and great for a beginner. I wanted a paddle board and decided to see how I handled using my kayak for one. It worked like charm I could paddle standing and if I got tired sit and use as a kayak. This let me know I could use a sup with no problems and have since purchased one. This kayak is more stable standing and paddling than my paddle board.

4

This is a very sturdy kayak…

Submitted by: Ft12396 on 6/12/2016
This is a very sturdy kayak and easy to steer. It just becomes a hassle to lug around when you only have one kayaker. I would recommend this kayak.
5

My wife and I are first time…

Submitted by: mjwrew on 8/11/2015
My wife and I are first time kayakers and purchased this one as it was affordable for entry level tandem to kayaking. Took our first tour on a quiet Sunday morning and enjoyed every minute.

The Apex 130T is very stable. I was even able to stand up to stretch my legs after about an hour of paddling. It moves through the water easily allowing one paddler to take a break while the other continues. There is ample room to carry items with you while exploring. The only drawback is that it is quite heavy while loading and unloading from top of an SUV and carrying to and from the waters edge. I have since ordered a kayak cart with wheels and a sherpak roller to help with this.

Overall a great tandem to start out our kayaking adventures

3

I was checking out this model…

Submitted by: guest-paddler on 7/10/2014
I was checking out this model at BJs but I wasn't sure about quality somebody asked if he could fish in my lake I said sure I could try out his kayak. it seemed pretty easy to paddle, but I had a hard time keeping it straight or turning around in small lake but I am an amateur at kayaking...
4

I purchased this tandem kayak…

Submitted by: guest-paddler on 8/10/2013
I purchased this tandem kayak to use in the back bays. It is very stable and handles well. My wife sits up front and is usually taking pictures and posting them online while I do most of the paddling. Not much more effort than a single sot. I recommend that you use gel type seat cushions if you going to paddle for any length of time.
4

I purchased this tandem kayak…

Submitted by: paddler234836 on 11/12/2012
I purchased this tandem kayak last spring so my daughter would be able to continue kayaking (fibromyalgia). This is a wide and stable kayak that can be easily paddled by one person. It is a rigid platform that I easily added two 6" storage hatches and bow bungie rigging to. The bottom is multi-chined and does have a fair amount of hull slap in choppy water. It does not maneuver quickly, given its shape, and I had not expected it to. I dropped a point due to it retaining water in the seats (this is not an issue with my other kayaks). It is a good kayak for the price.
5

Extremely stable kayak,…

Submitted by: flwitch on 8/30/2011
Extremely stable kayak, Wonderful for beginners, and children, still and moving waters. Enjoyed it on the Weeki Wachee Springs, even in a heavy downpour, self bailing.
5

Let's start out with the…

Submitted by: paddler234176 on 7/28/2011
Let's start out with the good.. I got the Apex 130T SE (Special Edition for bulk shopping stores, aka Costco, Sam's, BJ's, etc) 2 weeks ago now and have taken it out twice both in the Ocean (South Florida). First week was incredible. Perfectly flat ocean for the entire morning and only a light chop in the afternoon. Took both of my kids (5 and 6 years old) out separately and while I didn't give either of them a paddle since I didn't have a tether for them to use yet, they both felt perfectly comfortable in the boat. Spent the better part of 6 hours on the water. My only complaint is that I'm 33 years old and I haven't used quite a few of those muscles in many many years and I hurt for a few days after. No fault of the kayak's of course.

This past weekend was a different story. I'll have to preface this bad experience with the fact that I still give the kayak a 10 out of 10 because the problems were 10000% preventable and completely my own stupidity at work.

We got to the beach and immediately saw that the previous week's glass ocean had turned into 5-8 foot waves crashing on shore, but I was stupid and decided that I wanted to make it out to the reef no matter what. Two people on the kayak (the 130T is a tandem and is rated for between 450 and 500lbs total between the two people.) I had practiced getting on and off the kayak from water deep enough the week before that I couldn't touch the ground successfully. The reef is just over a half mile directly off-shore and the first 3/4 of the trip, while being in rough seas, were pretty normal taking roughly 15 or 20 minutes to make it that far. We were towing behind us a BC and tank so that the other member of my paddling team could do some scuba once we got to the reef and I'd do some snorkeling. At this point we were in visible range of the mooring buoys and they were maybe 50 or 75 more yards away from us. The boat seemed to take over at this point and we didn't really move forward no matter how hard we paddled. I got myself to the point of exhaustion and dehydration in those final 15/20 minutes before the rough seas caught up with me and I started feeling nauseous.. I'll leave the gory details out, but to make a long story shorter that it could be, by the time we made it to the buoys and tied off at the reef, I got sick multiple times making the dehydration kick in that much faster. A little while later after a tiny bit of trying to recover, I was towed in by friends of mine that happened to be out there at the same time in their own kayaks.

As we got back to shore and I tried to pull the kayak up out of the surf, the kayak wouldn't budge. That's when I saw it, (or didn't see it) The drain plug at the rear of the kayak had ripped out sometime during the trip out in the rough seas, and I had taken on enough water to fill 1/2 the kayak... the "compression" fitting needs to be a more secure screw in plug and I've already ordered a $4 replacement one.

Please Please Please if you have one of these find a screw in replacement online and replace the compression cork. My situation turned out good in the end, but a little more water in the kayak and things could have been much much worse than they turned out to be.

I still give it to the kayak that holding that much water in the hull it still made it back to shore to be drained. 10/10, but please do yourself a favor and replace the drain cork.

4

This review is after having…

Submitted by: guest-paddler on 6/15/2011
This review is after having this boat for over a year. The Apex 130T is Pelican's tandem wonder. My wife and I were first introduced to the APEX 130T when some friends of ours asked us to go kayaking with them near Allen's Fresh in Southern MD. We had never been kayaking before. Being raised in the Boy Scouts, I had been canoeing dozens of times, but middle age set in, and I never realized the joy of kayaking. We had a great time on the water using their APEX 130T, so I went out the next day and bought one of our own at Sports Authority in Waldorf, MD for $430. I couldn't wait for the wife to get off of work, so I took it out solo, and it did just fine without a front paddler. I had very little windage problems, and it was comfortable enough for an entire afternoon.

Since then, We've probably put over 50 miles on the orange beast as a family. My 11 year old paddled it with ease by herself after I purchased two more kayaks, so we could each have our own. The good thing about this boat is that we could invite friends/couples who have never kayaked before (like our friends did for us), and they could enjoy a very stable ride. We did this many times, and have since been responsible for spreading the kayak fever to others.

A very important reason I love this boat is that we have another 9 y.o. daughter with severe special needs who cannot hold her head up. She has never spoken or moved, but she has a smile worth a thousand words. We found a special life jacket for her, and her older sister held her in the front seat of the APEX 130T, and we crossed a 2-3 mile stretch of the lower Potomac River with her. She was beaming. The water was typical big river water, and we stopped on an Island in the middle. It is a VERY STABLE PLATFORM, and there was plenty of room for our picnic gear and extra paddle. We've even taken the family dog on board with no problems at all.

If you are a family who's looking at getting into kayaking, and are looking for a cheap entry to the sport, then I highly recommend the APEX 130T. You can find them most anywhere, however I prefer Dick's Sporting Goods rather than Sports Authority for their selection. That's a whole other review.

Pro's - Stability, plenty of room, easy to maneuver, easily accessorized with day hatches.

Con's - A little heavy for a single lift, but not bad. I haul in the bed of my pickup with the tailgate down and a flag hanging from the back.
P.S. I also own two Perception Caster 12.5's for fishing.