Hobie announcement on May14 is...

any guesses, serious or otherwise, what Hobies big "Whole New Breed" announcement on Friday might be?

here are mine:

Revo is due for a new hull design, so that is sort of a boring guess.

adding to the hulls designed for the 360 drive, perhaps an Outback360 or new design Revo360?

change to new manufacturing process and/or materials set?  perhaps one that reduces weight?

long shot that would definitely be a whole new breed: addition of board lifting wings that raise the kayak out of the water at speed:  https://liftfoils.com/

Gonna guess a motor to keep up with Old Town's Sportsman line. Hoping so, so I can finally join the 360 drive crowd after-market. Still have the original drive so I only go forward 💨

I've been seeing a lot of videos about the inflatables including a 4-person beast.

I've been seeing a lot of videos about the inflatables including a 4-person beast.

yeah, there is a whole new inflatable line called 'iTrek' but they have been out for like 6months, I think.

A mid-line kayak to compete with Old Town. I think the Sportsman is killing Hobie right now.

A mid-line kayak to compete with Old Town. I think the Sportsman is killing Hobie right now.

The compass sort of does that now, but its less of a full featured boat. 

so it's a new (to Hobie) solid core manufacturing technology called Ace-Tec. 

The new Lynx 11 looks like a rigid but lightweight version of the old i11s (now called the iTrek 11).  45# hull sounds good.

Ace-Tec is a board/SUP technology that has a solid core with layers molded around it, this sure takes care of those pesky leaking gasket concerns...



here is the video I grabbed that image from: 

   

 

Hmmmm. On one hand lighter is nice to see.  Would be nice to have something that light for hopping down unimproved launches, but have more durability than the inflatables. On the other hand...they want 2600 for this...which is more than a compass but less than an outback.   A revo 11 is around the same price but is considerably narrower and still almost 20 lbs heavier.  Passports much cheaper but also pushign over 70 lbs.  Guess it will depend on how much you value light weight. 

Hull shape looks interesting and just seems like it may slap and not cut through chop at all (though promo videos show a quick shot in an ocean)? Kind of seems targeted more to the rec crowd than the fishing crowd...but man that price...I feel like if someone just wants to dink around/tour in a Mirage kayak they would get a Revo or a Passport.   Would make a good small water bass boat I suppose. 

Or a SE USA Flats boat like they show a lot of the footage on in their promo videos.

Man Looking at this more...just not sure what to think about it.  On one hand light is really good to see, fishing kayaks have gotten ridiculously heavy.  This thing is lighter than my rec sit insides.  I certainly bought my compass because I wanted pedal drive but also a lighter hull.  At the same time it kind of seems like the fishing kayak market has said "we dont care" and just bought up the heavy boats anyways and the trailers to go with it. 

On the other hand, not sure where the place in the line is for this thing when its functionality is just so similar to the inflatables but with a bit higher durability. 

I think some people avoid inflatables due to concerns about long-term durability and resale value and also short term "I could get a leak and sink" concerns.

This Lynx 11 is interesting, it should be easy to walk around on and it's solid like a surf board; it can't sink.  Bungie down a full featured fishing box on the back, like I did on my i11s, with storage, rod holders, sonar battery...and you would have a nice fishing board.

They might also find a market for it from resorts and rental places, especially if they are willing to sell them cheaper with just the GT drive.

This video does a good job of covering everything Hobie put into this new boat:



 

I think some people avoid inflatables due to concerns about long-term durability and resale value and also short term "I could get a leak and sink" concerns.

This Lynx 11 is interesting, it should be easy to walk around on and it's solid like a surf board; it can't sink.  Bungie down a full featured fishing box on the back, like I did on my i11s, with storage, rod holders, sonar battery...and you would have a nice fishing board.

They might also find a market for it from resorts and rental places, especially if they are willing to sell them cheaper with just the GT drive.

This video does a good job of covering everything Hobie put into this new boat:



 

They stole my idea. Whenever I get time to build again, my next build is going to be this

https://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/surf_boats/kaholo-stand-up-paddleboard.html

with a mirage drive.


Although I still need to build that surf kayak. If only I had more time.

Based on the description here I was completely uninterested, but after watching the walkthrough video I feel like I misjudged it. Even though it lacks the convenience (or lack thereof, depending on your perspective) of an inflatable, it is still has a lot of advantages and looks like a really fun fishing platform. It looks like it would be fun to stand on for fly fishing and sight-casting. I'd be curious how well that plastic shell holds up to abuse compared to the HDPE of our heavy SOTs. I'd enjoy demoing one.

The inflatables have always kind been off putting to me in that they arent going to last forever when compared to a hard shell kayak. Seams will fail eventually and really the more you roll it up and deflate it the faster that is likely to happen.  They have looked like good fishing platforms though with all that space.    So I can see now more that they are targeting it to be like a more durable inflatable its got a bit more going for it.  I still think the price is kind of bonkers. 

The inflatables have always kind been off putting to me in that they arent going to last forever when compared to a hard shell kayak.

I hear you, although the modern inflatables are kind of amazing. The BOTE SUPs I bought last year have been bulletproof so far. We'll see in the long run - like you said, after 3-4 years I might not be so happy.

I still think the price is kind of bonkers.

Yeah, well, I just assume if it has the Hobie logo then I'm going to choke on the price. I think there's a pretty good argument to be made that maybe Hobie should ease up on the R&D budget for a year and get back to actually having stock of the things that people already want. Consumer sentiment can be fickle for top-price brands. Hobie: take care of your customers! People are waiting for kayaks they ordered 6 months ago.