Profile

I bought this kayak on a whim when my daughter was not able to hike one summer. I knew nothing about kayaks and I bought this kayak on clearance at the end of the season. This model is discontinued, but if I ever come across another one, I will snag it up.

Pros:
I bought this kayak at the end of 2019, I have not kept track of miles until this year (2021), and noted I have done 96 miles in the last 3 months in it. When we take the kayaks out, we are generally doing 8 mile paddles at this time. Although others in my small kayaking group are or have been looking for other kayaks, I am still currently satisfied with mine. We do rivers, estuaries, and large lakes.

I constantly get compliments on how well my kayak tracks. It does. It neither veers right nor left like I started observing other kayaks in my party will. Even with wind, it still tracks straight. Even with weight of gear in it.

Glides easily through the water with minimal effort. Even with the paddle that came with it.

Hatch on stern. Although not waterproof and looking quite small, there is a fair bit of storage in there. I take small/medium collapsable coolers and I can get three of them easily in there for a insulated hot/cold lunch, a dry box (for snacks), and emergency equipment like lights, first aid kit, etc. If I need to, I can put another cooler in the bow area. These coolers are larger than the 6 pack ones. The largest I have to unload a couple items to get it through the kayak hatch opening, but then I can put them back in and close it up.

Since I often take my tea out with me in the mornings, I really appreciate the cup holder. There is another sideways one in the seat, but I don't usually use it for anything.

Adjustable foot pegs. There is a difference with shoes on and barefoot, so I have to adjust them often. They are easily adjusted from sitting inside the boat on water.

I can go into relatively low water in it. I often can be in 4 inch depth and not even really realizing it.

Other than from my paddle, I do not get water into it very much. It will drain easily after I take the plugs out and elevate it after a day of paddling.

It takes 2-2.5ft swells. I used to take them nose on only, but I have taken swells sideways (although I prefer not to) and no longer worry too much about it as I once did.

It feels very stable to me, and easy to get in and out of.

Cons:
It says the weight of the craft is 45lbs. As a farm girl, I am seriously thinking this is not the right weight for it, and one of my guy kayaking buddies also thinks it is heavier. I have not officially weighted it yet, but it is HEAVY!!! I can move and load it myself, but out of all our kayaks, this one is the heaviest.

The seat was very cheap and ripped out of the rivets and the kayak in just a couple times of using it. I bought a nice folding boating seat and it fits in there perfectly, lacing into the seat straps which are attached to the Phoenix. So if you have a cheap seat, just replace it, no matter what kayak you have.

All in all, I really enjoy this kayak and looking forward to the many miles of water trials we will have in the future.

This is my child's kayak that we picked up in 2019 after she injured her leg and we could not do 10-miler hikes that summer. We were new into kayaking and I didn't know if we would stay into kayaking, but this for a bit would get us outside and active while she could not hike.

We knew nothing about what to look for in a kayak, but we lucked out buying two at the end of the season sales. Mine is also a Sundolphin, but another model.

I have not kept track of other years, but so far this year (2021) she has done 96 miles in this kayak in the last 3 months. My daughter is 4ft and a bit, and weighs 58lbs currently. We do 8 mile paddles each time we go out, which is about once to twice a week.

Pros:
Lightweight. She can carry her own kayak and help get it onto the truck, or pull it onto the shore.

Stable for her. I see alot of reviews that this boat is unstable. I am wondering if the stablility/unstability has to do with weight and center of gravity for the person/boat. This last weekend she went swimming in the middle of the lake right out of her kayak (on purpose) and it took 3 of us to get her back into her boat. The boat did not even come close to taking on water or tipping in trying to get her back into the craft.

Takes wakes. We go into some large lakes and this last weekend we had 2-2.5ft swells repeatedly from party boats and skiiers. I was worried at first and had her nose into the wakes (like 10 or more in a row) and even though she got caught on the side, and a couple times had wakes coming in from all directions at the same time, she bobbed like a cork. Many of the wakes had white caps on them.

My daughter has never complained about it not tracking well, and it does not look like she has issues with tracking.

Price at the time was excellent. Prices now, if you can find one is double what we paid for almost 2.5 yrs ago. This model is discontinued.

You can fish from this boat, and we will likely keep it just for that.

Cons:
No storage, except one tiny waterproof one for car keys or something
No bottle holder
High profile catches the wind and pushes her around
High profile and harder to paddle, as she has to hold the paddle up higher than normal, and it does tire her out
Drain plugs must pop out easy, as 1 was missing and we never took it out. I have bought replacements.
Came with a very cheap seat, so my daughter uses a floatation cushion to sit on.
My daughter says her boat is slow. I do believe that it probably is and does not glide in the water as well as my kayak (which is also a Sundolphin, but a different model).

An adult friend borrowed the Aruba 8 SS to see if he wanted to buy a kayak, having never been in one. For him and his weight, 225lbs, the boat did not track well. After he found his balance, it also was not tippy, although in the beginning it seemed to be.

All in all, it is a good boat for my daughter's needs and for a beginner/entry level , but we are looking for another one for her that is lower profile, easier for her to paddle at a natural level, since we are now breaking out of the 8 mile paddles and heading towards 10-15 milers.