TRAK 2.0

Simply do not buy these kayak from the manufacturer. I've ordered and payed in full my kayak in 2020 now after three years have passed still no trace of it. Beware!

Fabulous boat. Fast, superb tracking, great edging with those hard chines, very comfortable seat when properly adjusted, and it really does paddle like a hardshell. Beautiful too.

The skin, under tension, is surprisingly firm, and so far smoothly handled all the obstacles I ran into.

I love being able to end my paddle and take out at any launch, just packing up the kayak into its travel bag and catching a ride. I don't have to paddle back to the launch point or figure out a kayak transport. So I can see more stuff, or adjust the length of the trip on the fly depending on conditions. (I carry the travel bag rolled up in my stern drybag, after removing the bag's velcroed back stiff plate).

Setup is very easy. The written instructions are clear and the instruction videos ("TRAK Foundations") are very helpful. After putting it together once, I got the hang of it and don't need to look up the instructions again

A lot of very smart engineering went into this boat. It's clearly inspired by Feathercrafts of lore, but with many lessons, tricks and new materials that drastically simplify assembly.

@THORPIN's review raises a good point, about how bending the tubes the wrong way can lead to the ball joints dislocating where the tubes connect to the stern connect to the tubes. Happened to me too, but wasn't hard to fix after reading @THORPIN's advice. As they say, the trick is to pull out the black plastic inset at the end of the tube; then you can separate the two halves of the inset, put the metal ball back inbetween the two halves, and push the whole assembly back into the tube. The tricky part is that to pull out the plastic inset, you need to press down on its small plastic circles while *pushing* it out by inserting something long and thin from the *other* end of the tube. A straightened wire hanger works great! So I now keep a wire hanger (folded up) in my TRAK bag. And two tiny pieces of foam to more easily press in the small plastic circles. Just note that you need to push hard on the wire hanger, since you're overcoming both the friction of the plastic inset and the force of the bungee cord (tied to the inset from the inside). So yeah, those ball joints are a delicate part of the assembly, but even if they dislocate, it’s just a few minutes to fix.

It is a very good kayak to paddle and very seaworthy. Not that stable to get into initially but you get used to it and it is great in the water. Good secondary stability but probably suit an intermediate level paddler rather than a beginner. This is NOT an easy boat to self-rescue if you wet exit as it, being a skin on frame, does not float that high in the water even with the buoyancy bags fully inflated. ( Keep checking and re-inflating in the water)!A sea sock can be purchased from Chill Cheater UK, directly, cheaper and usually in stock which helps somewhat

10 minute assembly time is somewhat optimistic. Count on 25mins plus. However, what really takes the time is the wash down of the skin frames and tubes after use in saltwater and drying of the skin. Never forget to re-oil it as well as this makes assembly the next time so much easier and, of course, limits corrosion. Not a boat for a casual single day trip unless you are extremely keen. It is a labour of love.

Be very careful when assembling and disassembling the boat. The ball sockets in the plastic bow and stern sections can dislocate and come out. I usually hold the plastic frame up above my head and let the shock cord pull the frame sections together, then grab all of them together so to limit the accidental movement that could cause dislocation. You are not going to be able to push it back in place and go paddling, even with the addition of WD40 or similar. The plastic female insert needs to be pushed out of the tube and the ball on aluminium tube inserted and the whole lot pushed back into the tube. This is a huge hassle if you do not carry a thin strong carbon fibre rod or equivalent with you to place inside the tube section and push out the female socket while pushing in its retaining lugs. Make sure you line it all up correctly when you push it all back again or there will be tears of frustration. Pliers, vice grips or screwdrivers applied to the plastic socket when trying to remove will only damage the plug, yourself and the aluminium tube.

However, the jacks are a weakness. You will definitely need to keep one as a spare, if you can get one. The plastic plugs in the frame that the tube ball joints clip into are also weak, and it is best to keep a few on hand. I have 3 D printed some replacements as I received no feedback from the company. The aluminium frame and coaming do cause damage and wear to the carbon frames. Keep an eye on this and apply export if required. The availability of spares from the company is distinctly worrying. I have wanted a spare jack for over a year and it is always in 'pre-order' state. The date from January two years ago has now moved to November 2022. I have no idea if the two year wait time for a new boat has improved but they keep on offering special colour editions so one would sincerely hope so, or this is going to be another maker going into the deep blue abyss leaving behind a very good product that does not deserve such a fate.

Yes, production was late (very late). Yes, the communication wasn't always good (in some cases non-existent). Yes, I wondered if I was ever going to get it (purchased through Kickstarter). But, when I did receive the kayak late in 2019, it was everything I expected it to be. The Trak 2.0 is actually much more stable and sturdy than I expected, it tracks well and is pretty rigid. I am new to skin on frame kayaks and it takes a bit of getting used to -- especially when you can feel the waves and water hit the side in new ways, but that doesn't mean the boat isn't capable or strong. That being said, I won't be using the boat much for paddles near my home in Florida -- I will use my Epic, Hobie, etc. But I do travel quite a bit and look forward to taking this with me on expeditions far from home. I will not worry about taking this kayak on overnight trips, far from civilization and solo. It's more than capable and is a quality build for sure. The reason I won't use it more regularly is that is does take longer to assemble and disassemble/clean than I would like. If I didn't have other kayaks available, it would be fine, but since I do, I won't use it as often because of that. It's not a major drawback, but it does take a bit longer than a normal kayak -- say 10 mins on assembly and more on disassembly as you need to wash the components down asap. So, if you don't have the space for sea kayaks or you travel quite a bit -- this is an ideal and capable kayak that won't seem flimsy or cheaply made. I am every bit as confident in it as I am my other kayaks. Also, please don't ever take this kayak out without the float bags and sea sock too. Just don't do it. It will sink without them if you have a problem. It should be a no-brainer, but it is worth repeating here. They are pretty easy to install and use. All in all, I am very impressed with this kayak for it's portability, weight and performance. Definitely consider it if you are looking for a portable kayak. I don't know of a better one on the market.

This review is not for the Trak 2.0 kayak which I hear is a decent product. This review is for the company that makes the kayak and it tears me up to write this. I never leave reviews and have never left a negative review for a company before but I feel that it would be doing a disservice to the paddling community not to inform you of my experience.

I cannot recommend ordering anything from this company until they sort out their manufacturing issues.

Early backers have had over a two year delay from the date their order was placed. I have been waiting almost a year after being told it would be ready from the order page in six months after placing my order through the company's website. This wasn't a Kickstarter backing for me but sending my money to a company directly through their direct sales website. What I've received in return are false promises and almost no information.

Communication has been tremendously awful, and it is only due to the hard work of a few dedicated non-staff members on a Facebook page that any information has been transmitted from the company about order delays and arrivals.

The company refuses to answer individual questions about orders or delays instead focusing on getting what boats they have received out to customers. I understand the small number of staff have limited resources but this is not the way to ensure repeat business.

Refunds are not allowed based on the purchasing contract after 90 days and with no communication from the company your money will be taken and sent into a black hole of non-information. Each email contains only new delays in the manufacturing process and promises to attend amazing trips and join their community . Alas, it is hard to join a community of kayakers without a boat.

It was estimated I would receive a boat in March of 2019 then May of 2019 and now it looks like October to December of 2019. I wouldnt be surprised if i don't receive anything until late 2020. What is even more frustrating is that you can today (August 2019) put in an order for expected delivery in March or April of 2020. Based on the previous experiences with this company that delivery timeframe seems impossible.

I imagine I will one day get a boat from them long after I have moved away from the sea and from what I have heard they are good boats. If you have the chance to buy someone's I would say go for it. I would not give my money again to a company that has such poor communication skills and keeps thousands of people waiting with little information. I have seen little information on general website about this product other than glowing reviews. The people that have them love them it seems. However hundreds of other people who have ordered boats are having a similar experience to mine. I learned my lesson and won't be buying a boat like this unless I can see it.

I do hope they get their issues figured out. I do hope they end up producing a great quantity of amazing quality boats and I do sympathize with how challenging it must be to receive over a thousand orders for your great product and have to make them, but at the moment put your hard earned money elsewhere.

For the price I could have purchased numerous other high performance touring boats, even a slightly less capable folding boat like the Orkut is better than no boat at all.

With kind regards and hoping Trak can turn this around. I would love to update this review to note how they did right by the thousands of people that have backed them with better communication and honesty towards the community that they are trying to build.

If you are on the market for a Trak kayak, read this thread on the message board: https://forums.paddling.com/discussion/2938833/trak-2-0-whats-not-to-like-about-it

While the kayak itself seems to be great, the way Trak is handling orders and communicating with customers is unacceptable. Trak is not fulfilling orders in the 6 months window they advertised and it is almost impossible to get an answer from the company after you place your order (before ordering, you will be flooded with emails and proposals to meet a Trak ambassador). The problem has been going on for over a year and Trak still keeps selling in the same way. Some of the original Kickstarter backers have not received their boat yet!!!

Be aware before you jump in!

This portable kayak is easy to assemble and disassemble. No issues repacking it into its travel case and there is plenty of room to put my PFD and 4 piece paddle in the bag. Responsive on the water and has great edging properties. Rolls well and tracks better than expected. It is also very versatile with the ability to change the rocker. Paddles well in following seas and in choppy waters as we get on the Chesapeake Bay. Performs much like a hard shell kayak which I did not expect from a portable kayak.