So I bought the Ascend FS12T. I mentioned it on this site and another. People keep saying it's a great starter yak except for two guys that don't like theirs. What makes you want to upgrade to a more expensive yak? What am I missing? A Trident/Prowler 13 costs twice what the FS12T did. Even a Drifter is $120 more. What do those do that this doesn't? I ask because I am not testing kayaks to see if I like the sport. I kayaked all through college and know I like it. I do not want to waste near $500 on a yak that is only good as a starter. Is it just the cool factor of "my yak cost a grand" or do they do something better?

Nothing better...I leave my $1300 Native Magic 14.5 @ home in place of my new(June) Acsend 90-95 percent of the time, it started out as a back up! I've paddled alota quality boats, and even more junk. The Acsend has things in the spots I want them, for the kinds of fishing I do most. Its as simple as that. Build quality is top notch, plastic is thick, and best part-this aint my first ride. It will take time for this one to catch on, since you wont find many dealers willing to pay retail to allow potential customers to be lost to Bass Pros' walmart style sales approch. Use the money saved to fish new bodies of water, while the others decide whats best for your future fishing career.

I'm suprized that you dont know exactly what you want by now with your background unless youve been out of action for a while.

Everyones body's, taste, likes, dislikes & budgets are different. It became obvious to me that the kayaks that hold more weight & are more stable are also more expensive. These are all things that some are willing to pay more $ for. IMO the FS12T would have been a nice 1st kayak for me too. Typically, all the bigger kayaks are going to cost more. That's the way it is, more plastic more $. So, you say you like kayaking & angling & you like the ASCEND FS12T. It makes sense that you'd go for it. According to FarSouth it suites him great! But, unless you know someone like FarsSouth, who will let you demo his BassPro isn't going to let you demo theirs. Some may not like their FS12T but IMO the FS12 is a good kayak for the $. You spend but shop smart & chances are your going to get more options, more payload capacity, more storage, flat surfaces/rails/seat choices, etc, etc. Research it a little more & you'll see what the $ difference is all about. The bigger "name brands" give you all kinds of options & upgrades. depending on where you buy, you can have yours customized to your likes/taste/budget. Whatever you choose, whether you like it or don't, you can always sell it & buy another. My brother-n-law was in a RUSH to get on the water & bought an FS12 based stickly on his budget even after i told him to wait for a great deal on a used name brand kayak. Later he found out he wanted something else. So he took his back to BassPro & bought a Perception Caster from Dick's & took it back a few days later because he wasn't satisfied with it's performance in moderately choppy water (notice how flat the front of the boat is). He ended up with the OK Drifter & hasn't complained once. But even the Drifter doesn't work for everyone. So there is no perfect kayak but the one you love.

ASCEND FS12T
http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores...014000_325-14-0

Perception Caster 12.5



OK Drifter

I hope this helps you & others.

I bought an Ocean Kayak Caper last January and mainly because of the stability, storage, and most of all the weight for an 11' kayak that tracks well, and has everything that I want in a kayak.

I could have spent more money and gotten a more popular brand but then it would have been a lot heavier and harder for me to handle loading on top of my Jeep.

It's not pretty, but it's function is what I like the most.

I've owned a Redfish (heavy) and an OK Scrambler (older and narrow) and paddled others, but this was the one I settled on.

The kool factor I believe has a lot to do with it, but get what works for you, and if you get tired of it, you can always pick up another. That's probably the coolest factor about kayaks!

I think I get your point: all you really need in a yak is one that gets you from point A (the bank) to point B (hopefully there's fish there). It's a point well taken. I've looked at the Ascend yaks and they seem to be pretty solid, so I applaud you for making a purchase that fits your needs.

I think it's fair to say that fishing from the yak often turns into an obsession. It's only natural to analyze the differences in the equipment you can use to practice that obsession. Yes, these differences are sometimes smaller than we make them, but they ARE differences. If you lived at the coast and found a honey hole that was 5 miles from the closest put in, I guarantee you that one day, heading back through open water and fighting an 18 knot headwind, you might start asking yourself, "Is this 12 footer the right yak for this?" It's only natural.

Got any other hobbies? Do you shoot/hunt? If so, have you ever switched to a different gun? Play guitar? That 150 dollar Peavy just might not have the action and sound you want now that you're a little more advanced. What kind of oil do you put in your car? I'll bet you have preference. Does it matter?

Being snooty about what kind of yak someone paddles is silly and small-minded of course. Better fishermen than me paddle yaks that I consider inferior to mine. They're still better fishermen than me, but it was my purchase and I got what I wanted. You did the same and, as I said before, I applaud you for it.

You didn't buy a Pelican I notice. They're a good 100 dollars cheaper than the ascends. Somewhere there's a guy just starting to look at yaks who's saying to himself "Okay, the Ascend looks a little better maybe, but the Pelican's cheaper and really pretty much does the same thing, right?"

Just saying.