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My boyfriend and I are beginning kayakers. This summer I decided to take the plunge and buy our first kayaks. Being beginners, I wanted something easy to navigate and at a good price. I scoured the internet for weeks looking through reviews and looking up prices. I couldn't justify spending 300+ on my first kayak (because, let's face it, I wanted to make sure kayaking wasn't just a passing interest that I'd get bored of after taking it out a few times). I found the Sun Dolphin Aruba 10 on the Dick's Sporting Goods website. I checked out the reviews and the specs and the video from the company. It looked like the perfect kayak for my price range. It was around $250 so I'd be spending around $300 by the time I got the paddle. So once I decided the Aruba 10 might be the one, I again hit the internet searching for any reviews I could find. Most of what I could find said it was a great beginners kayak. PERFECT. Then I was lucky enough to find that, of all places, my local Sears was offering the kayaks for $199 with free in-store pickup and paddles were on sale for $30. So I placed my order for two kayaks and two paddles and was at the store to pick them up in a few days.

Now to the good stuff, actually taking them out on the water! Within a few days of picking them up we were loading them up in the truck to take to the river for the first time. They were light weight and the handles on the front and back made it easy for the two of us to load into the truck. Then it was time to hit the water. We had an amazing time on them that first day. Spent a total of 8 hours floating down the river. The kayaks were easy to maneuver for a beginning paddler. They're nothing fancy, and aren't super fast, but I was okay with that. We've taken them out a few times since and have had a great time every time.

Pros:
Affordable, light weight, easy to keep straight, easy to keep upright without feeling like you're gonna tip over, adjustable foot pedals, perfect for a beginner

Cons:
The storage compartment does not stay dry, the cockpit opening is pretty large so you let some water in when you paddle (so you might want to add a kayak skirt), not super fast because it is pretty wide.

So I'd say this is the PERFECT kayak for a beginner who doesn't want to invest a ton of money into their first kayak