I had a few kayaking and fishing trips to lakes including Cameron Lake, Upper Waterton Lake, Pigeon Lake, and Lesser Slave Lake in the past couple of months. So far, I am very happy with my Pelican Unison 136T Kayak. Below are some pros and cons I found with the tandem kayak.
Pros:
Great product for the price. We got it at Costco.ca with $150 off the $949.99 regular price. The package comes with 2 paddles, which may worth more than $100.
It tracks (moves in straight line) well with two people on board. Paddling with this tandem kayak with one person (solo kayaking) sitting in the front cockpit was acceptable as well.
The speed could go up to 1.5 m/s (5.4 km/hr or 3.4 mile/hr) on calm water with payload (two people and some gears) of about 280 lbs. We were actually faster than the speed of average hikers.
The kayak is fairly stable. We had no problem kayaking on Lesser Slave Lake (1,168 km2), known as the fresh water ocean in Alberta, Canada, on a windy (>20 km/hr) day with big waves.
Cons:
The 60 L Quick Lock hatch was not water-tight. It was more than half-full with water after kayaking for about an hour in waves.
The kayak has no bulkhead. One may want to use inflation bags or equivalents so that it will be easier to re-enter in case of flipping over. Inflation bags provide buoyancy and take space in a kayak so that less water can fill in the kayak, which means the kayak may still be afloat filled with water and there will be less work to do to drain the kayak.
Read the specifications here.
Read more:
How to mount/put/carry a kayak on a car roof: 6 easy steps with pictures.
Interested in highly portable inflatable kayaks instead? No kayak carriers needed! Check the products below. They are from reputable companies (Intex and Coleman) having great track records in making a variety of outdoor products.