11.5 Striker Deluxe Kayak

I just got a brand new striker Deluxe and took it down to the local pond to test drive it. I had been extremely excited to move up to a SOT fishing machine after having an Old Towne Loon 111 for the past 12 years or so.All I can say is what a disappointment! I got out there and could not paddle a straight line if my life depended on it. The tracking was as if I had no paddle at all. And loud...this was more loud than any aluminum boat I have been in. Fish would be scrambling away as fast as they could when I came by.I did like the lay out sort of. But it was a very wet ride and there were no waves slashing in. The weight is another issue. 67 lbs if not a lot of weight, but there did not seem to be any balance to the weight.My husband w my disappointment and loaded it up right from the pond and went and returned it ( what a guy). I got my full refund back and am going back to mu Loon 111.I would not recommend this kayak if it was the last one on earth. Perception you did yourself a disservice on the making of this Striker Deluxe.

I purchased a Perception Pro Striker 11.5 about 2 1/2 months ago and have taken it out a few times now. I am both thrilled and disappointed with this kayak.First, the good. It has an incredibly high payload. 500 pounds for an 11'5" SOT 'yak is pretty good. Since my intention is to use it both for fishing and as a river camping boat, I like this lift capability. I am also not a thin guy and weigh in around 280 myself. I am confortable with the load bearing ability of the Striker. I have found it to be a fairly stable boat when I am in the lower "paddling seat." On the James River the Striker is able to ride over speed boat wakes that I would have to turn "bow into" with my canoe. Only the most severe wakes and waves, on the river, cause me to have to turn, "bow on toward danger." For the most part, she slips right over them without even noticing.The Striker is also pretty stable for getting in and out of. Much more so than my old Pelican 15.5 canoe or other SOT 'yaks I have paddled. This is probably due to the fact that it is supposed to be a "stand up" design. The four built in, flush mount, rod holders are nice too and there is a a LOT of room in the hull for gear storage.Now for the bad. You really cannot access that hull room. There are two hatches. One 8 inch located forward and one 6 inch "day hatch" located IMMEDIATELY under the paddling seat. The "day hatch" is, in fact, so close to the seat that my seat covers it when I snap it in place! I am then partially sitting on top of the day hatch when paddling. This makes it, for practical purposes, inaccesable. Do not put anything down there which you will actually need.The day hatch is also located next to the largest section of interior storage space, under the seats. Yet, it is only 6 inches across making it impossible to get most gear bags into the your best space. This is also the centermost point of the hull and should be where you load most of your gear but it is just not possible.the main hatch is located foraward and is, frankly, next to impossible to get open. I should have realized this in the store when it took two salesmen to pry this hatch loose. I chalked it up to it "being new." I have tried a light coating of vegetable oil on the threads of this hatch. No joy. The thing seals so tight it is next to impossible to get open and it is made worse on a a sunny day. It is my belief that the hatch, being made of black plastic, absorbs sunlight and swells. Whatever the case, the last time I had it on the river and tried to open it I found the hatch to be stuck so hard that I simply could NOT get it open. I could not get to any of the gear in the bow until I had the bright idea of pouring cold water on the hatch for several minutes. It is early spring here, I have scupper plugs in to keep water out and I really did not like pouring water into my boat! Perception REALLY needs to do something about this hatch.As bad as the hatch is the most glaring problem with the Perception Pro Stiker is its tracking or should I say its "lack of tracking?" I have named my Striker the "Elsie May," after my beloved old dog, recently deceased. I used to say that Elsie May behave herself or she may not, she was a had headed critter. Well, the Striker is a hard headed b*tch too and likes to "wander off on her own path." Paddling the Striker is a constant challenge.I have also found the high seat, or the "fishing seat" to be next to worthless. It was one of the main selling points when I purchased this 'yak and I was looking forward to using it. In practice I have found it to cause the 'yak to become overbalanced and unstable, even at anchor. I simply cannot say that I am thrilled with it. However, I do like clipping my tackle bag and a bottle of water there. It is easy to get to.As for it being a "stand up" kayak? I have tried it a few times and I have reached the conclusion that just because a thing can be done, it does not follow that it should be done.Perception could make some serious improvements, to the day hatch, to the forward hatch and including a hatch on the rear cargo well and, maybe a skeg, to help with the tracking problem. It also did not thrill me that, two months after I purchased it, they dropped the MSRP by $100! This tells me that they know there are issues and, somehow, I doubt that Perception intends to try to fix them.Over all? hmmm I am ranking it 3 out of 5 because it simply does not perform as advertised yet it does have tremendous potential for the money. If someone were looking at one I would say this, do not pay full price. If you can get it at a baragain, or on sale, go for it. You can probably make soemthing of it. I am thinking of trying to make a skeg for mine.

I took the striker out for the first time. This is my first kayak and happy overall,using a shoreline paddle. Very sable yak however the wind was blowing a little and the yak did not track well. I think if a rudder was added this would help but for the price and weight capacity and stability very satisfied. The other yak close to this layout start around 1000 dollars. Perception also does not have any videos or reviews online such as YouTube so they are really hurting the sale of this product.

There are two basic extremes of kayaks. The ones that are very stable (short and fat), and the ones that track very well (long and skinny). Everything else is a mixture of the two. This is on the very stable end. I was 280 and 5'11" when I got this kayak. I had NO trouble getting in and out of it and could even stand up in calm water. I did not feel comfortable standing up in it for very long. I am 260 now and feel better standing up but I don't see the need to stand in a kayak. This boat does not track well, so you won't win any races. If you plan to ease around in a lake or river and fish, this is your boat. If your goal is to run fast in straight lines you will hate this boat. It has great storage and is very stable. My wife is 5' ish and weighs a little over 100 lbs and I bought her one just like it. She loves it and can walk around in it without a problem. She can also maneuver it without a problem. So in closing if you are expecting a very stable boat, you will not be disappointed.

Maneuvers well for a fishing kayak. Easy to stand on. Stable.