2015 Hobie Oasis - First Impressions

It took some convincing but after my wife kept asking me to go fishing with her I would decline politely pointing out I was often more successful in the kayak than stuck on the bank with her. Eventually she got the message. Last week my wife and I picked up a brand spanking new Hobie Oasis from Next Adventure.



I currently own a Hobie Revolution 13 and have more than enough rod holders and gear attachments most of which use gear tracs. When I picked up the kayak I got a variety of gear tracs and immediately got to work installing those when we got the kayak home. I used the puck method for mounting the transducer underneath the rear seat and ran the power/transducer cord out below the mesh pocket using a Hobie Thru-hull wiring kit which allows me to move the transducer/fishfinder between the two kayaks in about 5 minutes.





We took the kayak out this past week on Lake Merwin for a shakedown trip. I was very happy with the track and rod holder configuration. The fishfinder worked flawlessly and we easily ran 3 rods with no problems and I have no doubt 4 would be doable. We caught 8 kokanee total including my wife's first kokanee.



Some first impressions:

1. Weight: Its a much heavier boat and loading/unloading off the roof of my Subaru isn't as simple as my Revo. That being said its isn't so unwieldy that one person can't do it on their own.

2. Deck space: There is a surprising amount of space in the cockpits and I didn't feel cramped in the rear even with the front Vantage seat fully reclined. There is a ton of space to mount gear tracs on the rails but its really difficult to reach most of the spots due to hatch placement, foam supports, and for some reason Hobie felt the need to put TWO cupholders which seems like overkill. The storage space behind the rear seat isn't expansive but enough to hold my tackle box and a kill bag. I'll need to think about how to store an anchor or crab pot.

3. Vantage seat: My ass is in love. We realized on this trip that it is important to have a high back or no-back PFD as my wife complained that the seats hurt her back with a traditional full PFD.

4. Speed: We opted to see how the boat performs without turbo fins. For kokanee fishing the standard fins are more than adequate. The boat is comparatively sluggish for one person peddalling compared to my Revo but with two people its a cinch. I think the turbo fins would be nice to have in the event I was fighting a strong headwind or current.

5. Stability: It took me about an hour to adjust from the relative low slung position in the cockpit of my Revo to the more elevated position. However, the boat is extremely stable and even with both of us fidgeting around with the chairs or rolling on big wake on the water I never felt even close to tipping.

6. Maneuverability: The Oasis comes standard with a large rudder and I felt only a minor response difference between this and my Revo. That being said having two rudder controls makes for some funny steering moments on the water. She wants to one way while I want to go another. Lots more of that to come I'm sure!

What I like most:
1. I don't have to load, unload, or prep two boats to go fishing with my wife, family, or friends.
2. Comfortable and spacious cockpits
3. Having two mirage drives/rudder controls is great because while one person is fighting/bleeding/processing the fish the other can keep trolling and steering

What I dislike:
1. Hobie needs to provide more vertical rod/net storage. Two slots in the back isn't enough for two people.They could have easily put two additional vertical rod tubes behind the front seat.
2. I was constantly losing shit under the seats and it would roll back away from easy reach. This really pissed me off. Basically anything you drop in the cockpit rolls back under your seat. A small plastic lip would have prevented this.
3.) No Lowrance ready...wtf?

Overall I give the boat a solid B+ rating. Its a great sized tandem boat that packs a lot of opportunity into a small space for a decent price. At the same time it doesn't have the feel of a purpose built fishing craft.

Congrats on the new Hobie! Looks like an awesome kayak. I recently bought my Revo from Next Adventure and they seem like a great company.

What I dislike:
1. Hobie needs to provide more vertical rod/net storage. Two slots in the back isn't enough for two people.They could have easily put two additional vertical rod tubes behind the front seat.

excellent report, sounds like a great new version of the Oasis.

this is how I turned the 2 rear slots in our 2012 into 4 vertical spots for rod transport/net/safety flag and a scotty mount on each side for a rod holder or GoPro, plus gear organizer...cheers, roger

What I dislike:
1. Hobie needs to provide more vertical rod/net storage. Two slots in the back isn't enough for two people.They could have easily put two additional vertical rod tubes behind the front seat.

excellent report, sounds like a great new version of the Oasis.

this is how I turned the 2 rear slots in our 2012 into 4 vertical spots for rod transport/net/safety flag and a scotty mount on each side for a rod holder or GoPro, plus gear organizer...cheers, roger

Nice! I too, am a Hobie Oasis owner, and I'm working on a similar solution. I'm shooting for 5-6 rod/tool holders with enough room for a small crate. I like yours - nice work.

Great write-up Tyler. I'll add my thoughts in case anyone cares. 

The only points I disagree on a little are:

1. The cockpit space in the rear. Partly because I'm a little bit longer legged than you and mostly because I slouch when I sit, I end up kicking my wife's seat (or hair) unless I modify my stroke. Not the end of the world, but noticeable.

2. The rear cargo area feels claustrophobic to me. Wait until you have a limit of rockfish and lingcod.  I'd gladly deal with another foot of boat length to have more space back there.

Other than that all I can say is that if you are lifting that thing over your head onto the car alone then you are much, much manlier than me. But then again I suppose you'll assure me that was never in doubt...

I can't wait to see more pictures of your and Mrs. USP's fish massacres. It almost isn't fair to the fish.

Congrats on the new Oasis - definitely love seeing how others are able to take advantage of this kayak!  I agree with many of your points, and the Capt's as well.  Fishing tandem, you really have to plan out what gear you really need, and how you'll be handling the day's catch.  The lack of above deck cargo area when tandem goes away when fishing solo - the empty cockpit becomes another huge storage area.

I had a suggestion for more vertical storage behind the front cockpit - though looking closely at the 2015 model - appears that it won't work.  I've installed Scotty flush mounts on each side, which work quite well.  With the area re-done and squared off to accommodate the new seat, it appears it won't work with the new Oasis.

-Sam