Swifty 9.5

I bought this well used and for my wife. I ended up using it a lot as although it doesn't have much seat padding, I find it suitable and the kayak just seems to fit me so I didn't think a seat upgrade was needed and didn't even have to bother adding a gel pad. This kayak tracks well in calmer water and is remarkably maneuverable and I can easily show off doing fast & easy 360's. It's not heavy and is easy to transport and fits in my truck bed very easily. It is small, so it can be hard to paddle and have trouble tracking straight in choppy water and winds, but it is manageable, especially if you sit a little lower in the boat. Overall, I like it in our small neighborhood lake and love challenging and easily besting men 30 years my junior in maneuverability and 360's. Finally, my wife loves it and makes her feel like a mermaid.

This is my first kayak after renting a few. I needed something stable and also easy to load onto the car. And pretty. So far, I've taken her to a local small lake and then into Long Island Sound. On the sound, the swells were higher than my boat, but we just gently rose up over them. It amazed me how comfortable the ride became. This boat goes in whichever direction I point her and would go straighter if I was more even in my paddling. Adjust the seat to be more upright than you think before getting in and it will be fine.

Love my little first kayak! Have had it out in a quiet pond and then the Long Island Sound. Even though I was initially concerned about swells higher than the front of the boat, all she did was rise up and ride them. The longer I was out, the more comfortable I got. It's also a comfortable boat to sit in for a long time. Easy to transport. Goes in the direction I point her.

I went from my starter kayak the pelican trailblazer100 to the perception swifty 9.5 and have been very happy. I like the comfort, color pattern, large cockpit, and the 1piece design (makes it a bit heavier but as Boris the bullet dodger says heavy is reliable). Have used it mostly on calm to class 2 water and it has run like a champ. Tracking is good, not great but compared to the pelican it's a significant step up. Really only 2 cons for me. I wish it had padding for knees(I added pool noodles around the rim) and the hatch is useless. If it's not a dry hatch then why have a hatch at all? Overall a great medium range kayak that I'll be handing down to my daughter as soon as my LL remix xp10 arrives.

I needed a kayak with a large, easy access cockpit and a comfortable seat. This boat is exactly what I was looking for. It tracks great on flat water and is low profile enough to not get blown off course by the wind. I've spent three hours in it and it remained comfortable. It is very stable. It handles well in class 2 but I think you would need a spray skirt to take it on a class 3 run, that open cockpit would let in a lot of water.

We own a lakefront home where we have six kayaks of various brands on our dock. Needed to add two more kayaks for our big family. One of our previous six was a Perception Swifty. So, after carefully considering all brands, including the six we already own and a few others, we have decided to buy two more Perception Swifty kayaks. Basically this kayak is a nice size. Regardless what others have said about tracking, this kayak tracks very well! I have to wonder about the experience of those who don't think it tracks well. It is every bit as good as the other five brands we own. Does very nicely on our lake. We have not used it on the rivers. We especially like the width of this kayak. I can easily tuck a grandchild in the kayak with me for youngsters too small to go out alone. But, its also perfect for myself when I go out to do some photography on the water. Holds all my gear and plenty of room to move around while taking photos. I really could not be happier with this kayak. I think buying two more says it all!

I am a newbie kayaker, 54 years young and a woman. Love to kayak up the river and leisurely float back down. Easy to maneuver and control, sturdy and very well made. Lots of room for carrying gear. It also comes in many different colors. I got a red, white and blue one.

This thing has plenty of storage for a 9.5 sit-in but don't expect to take the tent and sleeping bag. an avid fisherman wouldn't be happy with this long term, but for an all-around yak this is perfect. rod holders, storage and stability for fishing, light and very maneuverable for rivers and rapids. Can't wait to hit the river. the 12 ft. will be staying in the garage.

The only reason I give it a 9 instead of 10 is that the foot pegs could be another inch or 2 further so I could fully stretch my legs but I'm 6'4"... also thigh pads would have been nice

My Swifty and I have shared many exciting adventures together. I have explored vast lakes, quiet coves, rapidly moving rivers and shallow swamps with ease. The sleek Swifty has also allowed me to enjoy days of peaceful paddling on still waters where I have been in communion with the sights and sounds of the great outdoors. Through it all, the polyethylene construction of my Perception Sport Swifty, has held up in every possible condition, from jagged boulders, protruding logs, and floating debris.

Fishing from my Swifty is a joy because of the total comfort, and the outstanding maneuverability through the water, in and out of small coves, searching for that prize fish. The cozy cockpit & cushy seating, built in molded rod holders, roomy hull and the convenient built in dashboard for all my modern necessities, makes fishing such a luxury. Also, the paddle holder is a huge bonus while baiting the hook.

The built in molded handles and the lightweight of my Swifty makes transporting a breeze. Thank you again, Perception Sport, this kayak certainly lives up to it’s name; Swifty. I look forward to many more years of fun and adventures with my Perception Sport Swifty Deluxe 9.5!

I'd give it a higher score but the seat is where you really see why the price is low. The seat back needs help... I'm sure you can figure something out... like tightening it up and using your life vest as a back brace. Plenty of room inside. Have yet to try to sink it...curious to see if I need to add more foam. If you dent it, warm it up with a heat gun (gently) and push it out with a gloved hand.

I got this kayak on sale for $206.00 and am very happy with it! I ran over a couple of underwater stumps in the lake yesterday and the material took it great - just enough "give" to take the impact with no problems. This kayak is easy to carry and fits in the bed (diagonally) of my short bed pick-up.
Great beginner kayak!

Where do I start? Bought the thing as a recreational run around kayak about 8 years ago at Ramakko's in Sudbury, Ontario. The thing is light- my wife has no problem throwing it in the truck which she does with the Manitou. It's stable. I've had this thing out a mile in Georgian Bay steel lining for lakers a hundred feet down with no skirt, a wind and a 2 ft. chop and no rod holder. And I catch fish each time without worrying about flipping the thing.

For a short, wide stubby boat in the recreational class it tracks damn well. I made it out and back on those trips on Georgian in reasonable time. Taken it for much longer trips too. Manitou is faster but it should be. Again, this is a recreational beginner kayak. As for storage, no water tight compartment, but good room for gear behind seat for a day trip or spartan overnight trip. With a skirt I can roll this thing no problem. Simple rigging and extremely durable plastic

For a beginner to intermediate boat this thing is excellent in its class- recreational. The only complaint I have is that I didn't buy another one when I saw them on sale for $250 at Paddleshack in Ottawa!

I have no trouble getting in and out of it with it part way in the lake, part way on land. Paddling is easy and burns a lot of calories (I hope - lol) and it's stable as a dream. It took the wake from power boaters like a champ. Its light weight, solid and comfortable to use. Easy to carry to and from the truck and I fit pretty comfortably in it and I can also sit in it and put my legs out and lay them across the top as I meander down the river in it with out fear of flipping over.

If you're big like me, get it, if you're not, get it cause I can only imagine how much I'd love it if I were 170 -180 lbs! lol

We would recommend the boat to anyone who is interested in beginning to kayak. We are looking forward to exploring the waterways of southwest Florida in our boats.

I bought the Swifty 9.5 at the end of May 2012 from Dicks and just finally got the time to get out on the river. I absolutely loved this kayak! I put in about 6 hours or so today, in calm waters along with some very mild rapids. Paired with my Quest Chute paddle, i had no problems at all maneuvering or stopping on a dime. For my first time, im very pleased with how easy it was to just jump in and go with this kayak. I love the width for the added stability, i never even got close to rolling it but did rock it around a little bit just to test its stability...all checked out well. Also, i really like how light the Swifty is, picking it up and loading on the car was a breeze as well as getting from car to the river. My buddy and I partnered up and carried his kayak to rivers edge first, then came back for the Swifty. He commented more than once on how light the Swifty was and that he liked that aspect. I would say his kayak probably weighed about 5 more pounds than the Swifty but that 5 pounds was a big difference.

Maybe the only drawback i can see, is what lots of others say...the seat is quite mediocre for sure. It does its job but im sure there are some aftermarket seats that will improve the comfort.

Pros
-Price point($279) -weight -colors to choose from (i went with orange/red) -stability

Cons
-Seat leaves a little to be desired, i will get an aftermarket seat down the road at some point

Months later (today) I took her out for her maiden voyage to see what it was like. I did sit in her at Dick's, but come to find out, my size 11 feet can't fit straight up and down in the boat. How do men with bigger feet than mine buy this kayak! I was told this was a big problem by a kayak expert. I've read all these reviews and didn't see anything about people's feet not fitting. I have to bend my toes against the roof in order to stretch my legs. This is without shoes, too. Maybe you're not supposed to be able to put your feet up and down in a kayak? Well that's weird. I've been in many where I could.

Aside from the scrapes and indents and my feet not fitting, the seat is pretty comfortable (including the adjustments I had to make and the homemade cushion I made out of a life preserver I stuffed behind the back rest). The colors are pretty, I felt safe, I could get in and out with ease, it was very stable, and I thought it tracked pretty well. People complained about that, but, well, ummm, if you paddle unequally, you WILL zigzag. Sillies. I thought I was going at a pretty good rate, too. I would think to get the full use of the channels on the bottom of the boat that the bottom of the boat would need to be FLAT, but the very LARGE indent has not come out. A woman at Gander Mountain told me to leave it in the sun and it will pop out, but that hasn't happened. She said it's from being on the shelf for so long. Sooo, with the scrapes and dents, I got an old boat from Dick's for $329. I was told it will be a good starter boat, but alas, I'm a teacher and buying multiple kayaks is NOT in my budget.

PROS:
-stable
-pretty speedy
-goes straight
-smooth ride
-drain plug

CONS:
-no room for lots of gear or coolers
-dented (mine)
-no cup holder
-no dash
-no cubbies
-my feet are too large to fit

The Swifty was spacious enough to hold plenty of gear plus me...and we probably overloaded it just a bit. I found the kayak tracked pretty well, but it took a considerable amount of effort to keep up with my Perception. The Perception held most of our gear, and it handled like a dream. While paddling the Swifty, it seemed to just stop when you stopped paddling....almost like it had brakes.

I think the Swifty would make a great workout kayak (you'll definitely get one), but as a lazy river paddler, I'll definitely be sticking with my Sierra.

As for me, I'm no expert either. I've been kayaking for 8-10 years in several boats of varying types with several multi-day trips in lakes and rivers. Still, I wouldn't claim to be more than moderately experienced. I'm guessing the experts haven't bothered to review this boat yet, if they did it would be memorable. So was my one experience with the Swifty. It seemed that I exerted more than 50% of my energy just trying to keep it straight. When I stopped paddling, the boat stopped like it was attached to an anchor. As with many of the lower priced Perception boats, the quality seemed noticeably cheaper than other boats in similar price ranges. Which brings me back to cost. If you want a boat to bash around the lake in and not care about getting anywhere soon, don't mind being frustrated by the extra effort of correcting the boat, and won't use it enough to justify spending more money, then this is the boat for you. If you plan to do any trips in this boat or keep up with anyone in any other boat, I highly urge you to investigate other boats.
Boats I currently own -Dagger Zydeco -Dagger Bayou -Wilderness Systems Manteo -Ocean Kayak Frenzy

If you get the Swifty into some fast water that comes across rear of the boat, the water will come in around the bungie cords on the deck. What I did was to remove the cords and plug the holes. Home Depot sells a pack of four 1/4 inch plastic snap in plugs. They fit perfect and require no sealant. The total cost of this modification? $.88! That's right, 88 cents.

This boat is easy, anyone can jump in and make it work. Great little boat.

You will read reviews stating they aren't performance kayaks, weathercock, etc. Reality is, these won't weathercock if you're actually paddling. ALL such kayaks have one issue or another. They are not priced or meant to be performance kayaks.

I have three boys, who paddled them effortlessly, never flipped them, from the age of 7 on. I have had many novice adults paddle them just fine. Dicks is now selling them for less than $300 (I think). What cheap recreation, that can last years.

We've been out in the Swiftys twice already and we could not be happier. They are VERY stable, easy to paddle, easy to maneuver, easy to carry and, most importantly, they are comfortable. I was pleasantly surprised with how well they track and how fast they are despite their short length. Our kids haven't tried paddling them yet but I'm sure they'll have no problem since they seem like very forgiving kayaks.

Overall, I have no complaints whatsoever, other than not having more time to enjoy them.

I love it. I bought it for its long cockpit - much easier for 6'4" me to get my legs into than my kids' Old Town Otter-Sports (aka Rush). I wanted a no-nonsense, lightweight and handy (easy to car-top), versatile, quality kayak with the must-have features: padded adjustable seat, footpegs, deck rigging. And a good value (Dick's, $269). I use in on lakes from 25 - 3000 acres, bays, broad flat rivers, fast-running streams (class I-II so far) and even played around in the Gulf of Mexico.

I love the upper body workout to balance my running and cycling. I'm not worried about racing someone to a destination quickly - I paddle for fresh air and fitness on my own, and for outdoor fun & scenery with my family - so I'm not to worried much about performance. Serves me well. I'd recommend it to anyone for all the same reasons.

I am by no means a small person, at 6'3" and 250lbs. I can attest to the 300lb capacity stated upon purchase at Dick's. I've even exceeded that a few times on calm water. My size 12.5 feet don't fit perfectly, but if I wear aqua shoes or no shoes, and with the foot braces forward (not all the way, surprisingly) I am very comfortable, and can put effort into paddling. It's also quite comfortable with my feet against the foam block in the center of the bow.

I'm still working on my paddling technique, but I routinely get 3.5 mph in no wind conditions with sloppy (relaxed) paddling. When I pay attention to technique and really paddle hard, I see 3.8 - 4 mph tops. Tracking is also very good with little to no wander when easily paddling, and slight wobble of 4-6 inches (approx), when paddling hard. Naturally that is with little to no winds from either side or current.

The seat is pretty comfortable, but the backrest is the weakest point (I feel) with the boat (A regular old square rowboat cushion behind you fixes it though). The boat is very stable, I've done a lot of fishing from it, and I've fished in 1-1.5 foot swells, as well as currents, and it performs well. Waves higher than 1 ft occasionally come over the coaming, but less than 1ft, and you hardly notice them. Lighter paddlers may have different results (for the better I would think). FYI for those who lean towards fishing, the harmony fishing deck fits like it was made for this boat, while adding a place for a scotty fishing mount (it's one of my favorite accessories now). Makes for a nice setup.

As would be expected with a short rec boat, it turns on a dime, but with pretty good tracking. It has good speed and a high weight limit as well as good, solid construction. On top of these other qualities, the stability is excellent. I've never rolled it (on purpose or by accident) so I can't tell you about secondary stability... I'm not that skilled yet. This boat is hard to beat, especially considering the price. Fits nice in the back of a pickup too, and at about 35 lbs, is easy to get in there.

Upgrading to a 14' Cayuga for longer trips, but the Swifty is going to stay on as the one that gets thrown in the back of the truck for the quick fishing trips, as well as a spare for guests.

A good, stable, straight line boat. My 10 YO son took mine out his 2nd day into 1-2 ft surf with no trouble. Seat is not comfortable for long periods, & the footpegs are too narrow (IMO). All fittings needed to be sealed B/C of leaking through the screw & Deck webbing holes. (RTV fixed this but annoying.) New footpegs & seat pads are on order.

The padded seat is comfortable and the adjustable seat back is a simple but good feature. The boat is lightweight and easy to drain with the drain plug on top of the stern. I am 6'1" and 235 lbs and am able to be comfortable in the boat. The adjustable foot pegs are a nice feature. My wife who is 5'4" also enjoys paddling it. I have not had the boat in current, but it handles well against the wind and in small chop.

I have found it to be a great boat for the money for a small sheltered lake. I got the boat on sale at Dicks Sporting Goods last year for just a little over $200. For a boat under $300 that is 9.5 feet long, it exceeded my expectations.

Where the Pamlico 120 cuts into the water the Swifty don't. and allows easier turns. I would recommend this model to anyone beginner or advanced for an inexpensive do-all rec./fishing yak. My outlook is that it would be hard to buy a better SIK for the money on the market today.

I'm looking for a SOT next, but if I'd run into a Swifty Cheap used I'd buy another just for the fun of it. I have over $400 in mine with the rigging I did to it and I wouldn't sell it for that. This is an unbiased write, my opinion is not for sale. Anyone who can't paddle a Swifty straight needs practice - it's not the boats fault.

Handling: Boat steers straight, little effort. Resists "tacking" (pointing to the side after each stroke). Handles lake chop and power boat wakes with no loss of stability Speed: Only a slight increase in effort is needed to maintain speed as compared to the Pungo or twin Acadia, if all boats are paddled for pace, not speed. Doesn't glide well when forward motion is ceased.

Manueverability: One Sweep stroke will turn boat about 45-60 degrees. (as opposed to about 2 strokes in Pungo and 3-4 in Acadia)

Stability: Completely flat, does not lean into turns, which is not necessary due to its short size and excellent flat-turn.

Comfort: Acceptable for several hours.

I loved my Swifty so much, I bought my husband and 14 year old son one each, for Christmas.

It's a fun boat for play and an afternoon on the water. I wouldn't do an entire day or a long trip in one but for a couple hours on the lake or calm river, it is wonderful. Short enough to turn around on a dime, handles well and weighs little so anyone can pick it up. All in all, it's an excellent entry-level boat, excellent for kids and useful as a back-up boat.

Getting back to the Swifty. It's a good starting point. Very basic. It's light and very manuverable. Especially helpful on the rivers down here. There are very few swift waters here so the Swifty is perfect. It's made for day trips that don't require a lot of gear, maybe a lunch and some light fishing tackle. I took it out one day on a local lake that has some size. It was very windy and choppy (1 1/2 waves). I turned back quickly as I didn't think my skills and the boats capabilities were up to it. Hard to paddle in those conditions. But on a slowly meandering stream or river it is perfect. I feel I made a correct choice when I purchased it. I will probably move up to a larger model as my skills improve.