Texas Fishing Forum

Wilderness Systems Radar 135

Posted By: hurricanecraig

Wilderness Systems Radar 135 - 01/16/18 05:55 PM

Anyone have any experience with this boat?
Posted By: benhood

Re: Wilderness Systems Radar 135 - 01/19/18 02:24 PM

Yes, purchased my Radar 135 from Mariner Sales last May and have had an absolute blast with it. Here are my thoughts - this yak is very stable, easy to stand up in. I purchased the Helix pedal drive and thus I have both pedal and paddle capabilities. I use both mechanisms. It paddles similarly to how my Jackson Cuda 12 did. But the pedal drive is the difference maker. It will get you to and from places much quicker with less overall effort and you can stay on a spot with the pedal drive system and not have to drop an anchor. The boat doesn't come with lots of built ins - has a center hatch but if you have pedal drive installed, you may not be able to open it because your seat position required to reach the pedals will place it partially over the hatch. The front hatch is pretty roomy and I store my yak cart in there. It has plenty of geartrac to mount accessories. It has a well designed battery box and transducer mounting area. There is also a lot of room behind the seat before the rear gunnel area. No built in rod holders so you will have to improvise. Of course you have to be aware of stumps, rocks, grass, etc. when running the pedal drive. If you hit a stump, the latching hold down mechanism is designed to break away. Sometimes the J clips will pull out and you may loose one down a scupper hole. I have done that a couple of times. WS will ship you some more of them but I've made my own and just used machine screws to attach them back in. Overall, it's a tough great all around kayak in my opinion. Gives you the best of both worlds. With pedal yaks and rudder systems, there's just going to be more maintenance you have to be willing to do, but it's worth it to me. Let me know if you have any other specific questions. I am probably headed to Welsh in the morning with it.
Posted By: IslandJim

Re: Wilderness Systems Radar 135 - 01/19/18 03:30 PM

My fishing buddy bought one, his first kayak. I was very impressed with the design and engineering they did. The center hatch, as mentioned, is useless if you are pedaling. He could stand in it easily. Comfy seat. It was just too long, required a T-Bar to haul it. He sold the 135 and bought a 11.5 foot paddle yak, that's much easier to load and go. I think if he had bought the Radar 115, he'd still have it.

IslandJim
Posted By: hurricanecraig

Re: Wilderness Systems Radar 135 - 01/19/18 10:41 PM

Thanks guys. I just got one off craigslist and haven't had the chance to take it out with all of this cold weather lately.
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