Hands down the finest fishing kayak I’ve ever used.
That is coming from someone who has used others, plus has them on the rack at the house and makes a serious choice for on the water time. My W500 is like a pickup truck on the water, the kind that has a high performance engine under the hood. It’s tough, sturdy, and made for the angler. Standing to fish is not a balancing act nor is it a stunt to show the stability of the design. It’s a boat where standing is as natural as sitting. Casting distances are far better sitting or standing since the angler can put their whole body into a cast not just flail an arm. With my little fishing rods from Emmrod I’m locked and loaded to catch fish not fool with equipment.
Of course there is a problem, the W500 really has spoiled me. Tough to even consider fishing out of anything else. My friend Yoav Rosen created quite a watercraft in the Wavewalk.
This short movie is my setup as of 12-31-11.

Jeff

Visit Jeff’s one of a kind kayak fishing blog >>

This year, we started an experiment with local dealers and international distributors who are basically W fans with neither storefront nor prior experience in the kayak business. This experiment proved to be a success, with all having sold W kayaks, and some even making multiple orders.
Our dealers in upstate NY and in the Midwest sold W kayaks not just locally, but also to clients from other states, as well as to clients from Canada. Our distributor in the Netherlands sold W kayaks in his country and in neighboring Belgium, and our distributor in Norway and Sweden was surprised to get a mail order from a duck hunter living hundreds of miles away, who didn’t even bother to come over and see the product before ordering it. Our dealer in Houston got orders for 5 W kayaks in one demo day he organized. One of the clients who picked up a boat from him that day drove 160 miles from San Antonio, and stayed in a motel the night before, to make sure he’d get the W kayak in the color he wanted…
Such stories are normal for us at Wavewalk, and we’re happy to see that our distributors, wherever they are located, are beginning to experience similar things.

Our dealers and international distributors proved to be both creative and productive – Our dealer in Wisconsin developed a way to camouflage the W500 kayak for duck hunting, and posted instructional videos on his website and on YouTube. Our distributor in New Zealand developed a new type of flotation. Our distributor in South Korea successfully rigged a W500 with a powerful outboard gas engine, and our dealer in Minnesota picked up the idea and improved the transom motor mount.
Their efforts resulted in Wavewalk developing two new products: The 502 series that can be outfitted with extra-large side flotation, and an off-the-shelf transom motor mount that fits electric tolling motors as well as outboard gas engines.
These new products are already selling, and our clients are both excited and satisfied with them.

During this year, we’ve learned to work closely with our dealers and distributors, and they’ve learned to provide various services to their clients, including live demos, outfitting, repair, and even finishing and assembly in the case of those who’ve made big orders.

We’re looking for new dealers and distributors in the US and overseas, but we’re also expanding our direct sales, such as in Australia, where we’ve started advertising and selling factory direct as a matter of routine.

This year, more than ever before, our clients proved to be a valuable source of information, ideas and support, both for us and for other W clients. They’ve provided interesting trip reports, pictures and movies, innovative rigging solutions, useful tips, product reviews, and some of them have even battled our competitors in online discussion forums that are not always friendly to us   Both our clients and distributors helped us choose the additional Sand color that we introduced this year, and it turned out to be popular among our new clients.

We’ve produced some amazing and cool videos this year, and a bunch of new technical articles, some of which have become quite popular. Our YouTube channel movies got over 280,000 views this year, a 50,000 increase compared to the year before, and in addition, videos posted by our dealers and clients got thousands of views.  The number of visits to our website was 10% higher in 2011 compared to 2010, and the average time spent per visit increased as well. We hope this means more visitors are finding our website more interesting

The only things that remained unchanged this year are our absolute commitment to our customers, and the fact that our W kayak has no match when stability, ergonomics, mobility, versatility and overall fishability are concerned. As Rox put it – “nothing like it, nothing better”.

THANK YOU ALL, AND HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012!

Yoav

I shall have to do some fine tuning in how I use it, but the bottom line is that I am thrilled with it, and it will get a lot more use than my [name brand sit-in kayak].

Regards, Ken

Read more on the Wavewalk Kayaks New Zealand blog >>



1. Credibility

You should never trust fishing kayak reviews posted by an anonymous person, under alias, a user ID, etc. That review may have been created and published by an individual who’s involved in a business relationship with certain fishing kayaks manufacturers, distributors, or retailers. Such relationship can include being a member of a kayak fishing ‘Team’, and getting paid by the manufacturer to promote their product directly and indirectly – both in an overt and covert manner. In fact, such review may have been posted directly by an employee of a kayak company, if the website on which it was posted allows posting without full and true identity disclosure. Unfortunately, some websites featuring kayak reviews in great numbers encourage such anonymous postings, which in its turn spurs kayak manufacturers to compete among themselves in posting countless favorable reviews of their own products, and sometimes even post unfavorable reviews of their competitors’ products.
Generally, you should be aware that many participants in online kayak fishing discussion forums are affiliated with kayak manufacturers and vendors, but they seldom disclose their affiliation, and most of them use multiple online identities. Kayak fishing websites often encourage users to post under multiple identities, because it increases the activity on their website, and generates more ‘action’ and interest for visitors, and potentially more revenues from advertising.
In other words, only a kayak review stating the author’s full name and state is worth your attention. A review posted by a kayak dealer who fully disclose their identity may be worth your consideration, since that dealer buys the kayaks before offering them for sale, which goes to show that they put their money where their mouth is. That dealer may be biased, but theoretically they could resell other brands of fishing kayaks, so at least they are sincere in their recommendation, and possibly know what they’re talking about.

Good fishing kayak reviews need to be written by regular customers, and based on their personal experience with the product. A good, reliable fishing kayak review should be the product of an unbiased mind, as much as possible. Therefore, you should look for the author’s full name and state of residence, and preferably for pictures as well, if possible.
Unfortunately, certain websites who publish kayak reviews won’t allow posting pictures, yet they allow posting reviews under an alias, or a User ID that hide the true identity of the person who posted the review. Both things undermine these websites’ credibility to a point where nothing published on them may be trusted.

The credibility criterion also goes directly to fishing kayak reviews written by fishing and paddling magazine staff writers. You, the reader, should realize that such magazines depend on advertisers’ dollars to survive, and therefore would never publish a negative kayak review, nor would they even highlight serious design or manufacturing flaws. This is especially true for fishing kayaks made by companies that are known to spend big bucks on advertising. A typical flaw in such reviews is the assessment of the reviewed kayak as being both fast and stable, which in sit-in and SOT kayaks are in fact two contradictory terms, due to the laws of physics.
As for the writers themselves, they are sometimes affiliated commercially with certain kayak vendors, whether directly or indirectly.

As for reviews of fishing kayaks posted on a manufacturer’s or vendor’s website, the reader should obviously apply critical reading, and even try to see whether the individual who wrote the review isn’t a member of that business’ official kayak fishing team… Reading between the lines is always a good rule to follow.

2. Relevance

You should always ask yourself whether the review, or the perspective of the individual who wrote it is of any relevance to you personally. Some fishing kayaks may get enthusiastic reviews by people who have fishing styles that are totally different from yours, and benefit from a physical condition and skills that are considerably different from yours.
For example, a kayak fisherman of small stature and light weight has a noticeable advantage in using kayaks for fishing, compared to bigger and heavier kayak fishermen. When fishing from kayaks is considered, age and physical condition also play a critical role in the overall user experience.
Some flats kayak fishermen in the South use their fishing kayak just to get from one spot to another, and fish standing in the water once they get there. If you don’t like wading, or if you fish in deeper water, or if you’re planning to take your kayak on long fishing trips, a review from such a kayak angler might not be relevant to you.
Senior kayak anglers should be particularly aware of such issues, as well as anglers who big and heavy, or suffer from a back condition that could increase their suffering from back pain.

Kayak anglers who fish in colder regions, where both water and air temperatures are less pleasant and favorable, and can even be hazardous, should take these factors into consideration, and try reading reviews contributed by anglers like themselves, who fish in such colder climates.

It is equally important to make the difference between a review written by a novice and one written by a seasoned kayak angler, sine such different writers’ perspectives are likely to be totally different, and may not even be applicable to you. For example, if you’re a beginning kayaker, or kayak angler, you shouldn’t necessarily be impressed by a review posted by another angler who’s been fishing from kayaks for years, as they have long ago passed the stage called ‘learning curve’ that you should be prepared to go through.

3. Breadth and Depth

By Breadth we mean some comparison with other types of fishing kayaks, other watercraft, etc., and by Depth we mean a long personal experience in kayak fishing in general, and with the reviewed kayak in particular. Preferably, the fishing kayak reviewer should have both prior experience in kayak fishing, and experience with other fishing kayaks and other small watercraft, if possible. However, there is also an interest in reviews by ‘first timers’, since such customers are less likely to be affected by their prior knowledge and personal experience, and could report their raw impression. If this is the case, the reviewer, or editor, should put the review in perspective. For example, a seasoned canoeist who’s never been in a kayak before could write an interesting review of his or her new fishing kayak, but they should also explain where they’re coming from.
Similarly, a seasoned kayak fishermen who’s never been in a W kayak prior to buying it, should also remember to put his experience and report in the right perspective.
In principle, an experienced kayak fisherman can write an interesting review, based on comparative study of different brands and models. Such quality would be enhanced if the writer has been fishing out of other small watercraft as well, such as canoes, dinghies, jon boats etc. A broader perspective that’s not restricted to human powered watercraft is potentially more interesting in view of recent advancements in motorizing fishing kayaks.

Of particular interest are all changes and improvements the reviewer may have introduced in their kayak, whether it’s the way they rigged it for fishing, or outfitted for other applications, or for use in particular environments. The reader can often learn a lot from such details, especially if the review includes pictures. In some cases, a good review can and should include a short movie showing the kayak, preferably in action.