Thoughts and Impressions of the 07 Hobie Outback Mirage

[Robert]

Slayersmith,
Good advice my Brother! I got over confident and didn't leash any of my rods
for 3 years. A few months ago I flipped my Tarpon over in the bay, of all places, on a fairly calm day and lost a couple of rods and some gear. I learned my lesson big time! I don't care if I am going out in water 1 ft deep. I put a leash on everything now. When I found out how much those Mirage drives cost I started making plans for a leash right away.

Robert

[slayersmith]

Robert,

Good luck on your purchase!

Take it easy!

Aaron

[greyloon]

From the pictures, it appears the hatch is different on the '07 Outback. The former hatch was concave, the new one more like on the Revolution. If so, that is a good thing, I think. I've peddled both the Outback and Revolution in a short demo pool and could tell a few things about them, especially the speed. And, the Revolution is about the same width as the Hobie Quest, so should paddle about the same. But, has anyone tried paddling the Outback...not peddle, paddle, for any distance. In looking at it, I've wondered how well it does paddle say if the drive breaks or, like I run into here, it gets stuck in a hydrilla mat. I do wish they would make the drive so you can pedlle bacwards too as I like to drift fish that way, keeping my lines in front of me.

[slayersmith]

Greyloon,

The outback sucks to paddle, it sits pretty high off the water, its a short and wide boat. I would not want to paddle it very far. I think the only reason you get a paddle with the boat is to turn around in tight places.

I have found the best way to get thru the surf in the outback is to get in waist deep water (so the peddles dont hit the sand) time the sets and peddle out.

What is a hydrilla mat? Do you mean kelp? If so, the best thing to do in kelp is pull the rudder and peddle drive up and paddle to clear water.

I hope this helps.

Take it easy!

Aaron

[greyloon]

You confirmed my suspicions about the Hobie and paddling. I'm a freshwater fisherman, primarily. Hydrilla is an exotic aquatic weed brought in by the aquarium trade...what's new... It grows thick in water up to about 12 feet, depending on water clarity. Usually, the thickest mats are in 5 ft or less. It gets so thick in places that alligators will lie on it sunning themselves. On the other hand, it can be great cover for bass, catfish, and other fish. Baitfish love to hide in it, the predators hang out in and near it for ambush.

[seaslug]

I almost agree with Aaron - but not compariing it to paddling anything else it seems OK. You want a 230 cm or longer paddle as the Outback is 34" wide.. I routinely paddle for a while to take a break from peddling when I am going more than a mile or so.

The new, high performance peddles are great for me. I can kick and coast a long ways for a senior citizen.

[greyloon]

It is true that any kayak's speed and ease of paddling is just in comparison to others. Its like my two kayaks. I thought the first one I bought was fine until I paddled the second one. Its the layout I like about the Outback, it appears to be better than that of the Revolution for bait fishing.