Sparky

I moved to Vermont in 2003 was quickly introduced to kayaking. The group I was a part of had several different kayaks to use and none seemed right. As a novice I had trouble going straight. As I practiced my paddling, I got better, but the kayaks weren't quite right for me.

THEN I used my friend's Sparky, and loved it. What a difference! I felt very much at home in my little blue kayak. I loved paddling the ponds of the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont! Sparky was small enough to fit into my old Honda CRV, poking out the back window. My next car WILL have a rack on it!

Now I'm in Western North Carolina and still use my Perception Sparky. I have no complaints! Love it!

I love my Sparky! My only complaint is that it's not FAST enough. I guess you can't expect to get a sea kayak out of plastic boat... It's nice and light, easy to throw on top of the car, and I love that it has the foot peddles.

My mom won it for me from her canoe club, but knowing how fun it is now, I'd easily part with $250 for a used one. (rarely buy things new here). I saw a brand new one online for $399 and that included a paddle.

I LOVE my Sparky!! Did I say that already?

I have owned a Sparky for three years. I just love it! It takes me all kinds of adventures on lakes and rivers. A stable, fun, relaxing boat. Highly recommended for all ages!

I wanted an in expensive starter / recreation kayak. Have had the Sparky for 3 summers and it is perfect for me. Great for protected bays, lakes, mild rivers. Adjustable foot pegs great for hours of paddling. You can move them up or back to change leg and sitting position. If your are old and creaky like me you will appreciate the large opening and the great adjustable seat. I find myself getting uncomfortable after awhile so I change the seat and/or foot peg position and it helps. Not for riding ocean waves or big rapids but great for almost everything else. Great job Perception!

My wife and I purchased to red Sparkys this summer and have just had a blast. We have paddled our local lakes and have even taken them down to Cape Cod in the rivers and ponds. They are very well made and trimed out for such inexpensive yaks. Very stable and quicker than people think for short boats. I love to fish with these.There is plenty of room for me and my stuff.I may go for a longer touring boat next, but I'll still keep Sparky.

We sold 2 Old Town 160T's (tandems) last fall because they were just too big (16') and heavy (85#) and dificult to store. This spring we purchased 4 yellow Sparky's (we call ourselves the "Banana Bunch!), and thoroughly love them for both their performance and size. The drain hole makes them a snap to clean out also!

This is my first kayak... I absolutly love it! Right now it is only being used on the lake, but it has been great to help me learn the basics of kayaking and hopefully soon i'll be able to move up to whitewater! If you're looking for a first kayak to learn with this is a great choice... its really hard to flip unless you're just trying to. My father who has lots of problems with hips and knees found them very stable to get in and out of... HIGHLY RECOMMENEDED!!!!!!

Hi! This is my first kayak (have been canoeing for many years) This is a very stable little boat which tracks well and will float in less than a foot of water. I did manage to tip it on my second day out -entirely MY FAULT not the boat's! (see, there was this tackle box on the bottom that I thought I could reach...) the boat is very forgiving, but push it too far, and it is hard to recover. I have since ridden class 1-2 rapids (without a skirt) battled smallmouth bass and caught a 12 pound catfish (after a ten minute fight - being dragged all around the river...) without a problem. My 9 and 6 year old daughters love it - the 6 year old can go out by herself (in still water with a pfd) or sit in front of me and paddle. This is not a white water boat, but is GREAT rec. boat and when pushed to its limits can handle small rapids - don't go higher than class 2 without a skirt!

I bought 2 boats the other day. One was the Sparky and the other was the Old Town Solitude. The Sparky was for my son (11) and the other was for me. The Sparky did great. My son was paddling circles around me. The solitude was a little bit unstable and didn't maneuver as well as the Sparky. The Solitude also sit lower in the water. Even though I weigh about 210 it was still unstable when my son got in it. We took the Solitude back the next day and exchanged it for another Sparky. We now have 2 of them and took them about 4 miles the first day. They were great. On small rivers they are easy to maneuver and you can float across most shoal with only about 3 inches of water. These are our first kayaks and we plan on using them about 3-4 times a week all summer. At 38lbs they are easy to load on the car and put in. I am very impressed.

This is my first kayak and I love it. At $251 (after Perceptions $50 mail-in rebate) it's the best fun-per-dollar investment I ever made. I used the savings to buy an upgraded paddle (Seaquel).