Ocean Kayak Trident 4.7 or Tarpon 160

[kayak_dood78]

Does anyone have or has anyone tried the New Ocean Kayak Trident Ultra 4.7? How would the speed compare to a Wilderness Tarpon 160? I fish mainly on the coast and usually like to cover 10+ miles a trip. Which kayak would you suggest?

[dlaws60600]

I love my ultra, I'm gettin my rod tube installed tomorrow. It has the best of both worlds, very fast, yet extremely stable. The storage is amazing especially with the huge tankwell in back. Me personally, I put my crate n other gear in the back, and I'm putting the fish bag in fron. With the rotating pod gives you a place to hide ff in ruff conditions and also has a lot of mounting options. I've paddled it in all types of conditions, choppy, flat, n crazy currents and. In the surf. It excelled in each. Probably the all around best paddle kayak imo. 8ve never paddled a t160, so mabey someone who has can give some good imput. On that. I hear a lot of good things about that yak as well. Also what also got me on the 4.7 was the fact it came with a good rudder and 4 flush mt rod holders as well. Good luck with your yak huntin!!

[GoinCoastal]

If you're covering 10+ miles, do yourself a major favor, go paddle a Tarpon160. It is the most efficient paddling boat on the water. You pair a T160 with a good carbon paddle and you can cover lots of water in a short time without wearing yourself out. As a Wilderness Systems Pro Staffer, I can tell you that everyone of the Wildy Pros that fish coastal waters fish from T160s, even the BTB guys of Southern Cali. And we get our choice of any of their boats....we all CHOOSE the T160. It handles chop and rough water very well. It is a dry ride too. And at 16' long, when set up a drift in the wind, it drifts slower than other boats because it has an extra 1-3 foot of hull in the water creating more drag when it is sideways to the wind. And there is ton of room for gear and rigging too.

[pdt818]

I've owned a tarpon 160 and currently own a Ultra 4.7. The Ocean gets the nod for me over the 160 any day of the week. There is no boat out there (SOT at least) that handles big water better than the Ultra. The 160 has a bit more speed but the Ultra trumps it in every other aspect IMO. Carries far more gear and actually supports the weight capacity it touts, unlike the 160. Do yourself a favor and set up a test paddle in both. I have no affiliation to ANY brand so this is purely unbiased info. I've paddled almost everything the major brands have out there. Ultra wins hands down as a better all around fishing boat.

Jerron

[osochuck]

where do you live?

demo days are happening regularly

[kayak_dood78]

Thanks for the responses. I have always had Ocean Kayaks and have liked them so I really had my eyes set on the 4.7 for some time now. I did a Demo today on a 4.7 and Tarpon 160. Let just say I ending up buying the Tarpon 160. I don't want to bad mouth the 4.7 because im sure it fits some people's fishing style but I can see myself covering alot of water with the Tarpon. If I had to sum up the make of the 2 kayaks it would be -

Ocean Kayak Trident 4.7 = Fishing 1st Priority, Paddling 2nd
Wilderness Tarpon 160 = Paddling 1st Priority, Fishing 2nd