I used to think Hobie Sidekicks were stupid until I bought some.

I have been loving my new Revolution 16, but when conditions get sporty the Revo is prone to tipping in following seas.  I'm starting to firm up my personal go and no-go limits in this boat, but in the waters I fish the weather and sea conditions can change drastically in a short time.  Before leaving town for the four hour drive to go fishing last weekend, I stopped in and relieved Alaska Raft and Kayak of that ugly pair of green Sidekicks that they've had collecting dust for a year. 

I fished with the Sidekicks on Saturday and they really won me over.  The first couple of hours of my group's 5-mile one-way trip were into a 10-15 mph headwind that was blowing against an outgoing tide, and "sporty" was an apt description.  In the high position, the Sidekicks let the Revo rock enough to be compliant with the swells, but gave it unbelievable stability.  Once I got used to them, I didn't think about watching waves for the rest of the day.  When the swells calmed down enough that I could troll, I had to work through how to deploy my line and get it clipped into my downrigger release without tangling with the Sidekick.  Once I got that worked out, trolling was a dream.  Again, normally I am on constant alert for waves that would test the Revo's stability, but with the Sidekicks I could just chooch along and watch my rod tip and chart plotter, zero brainpower required. 

This morning I carted the Revo down to the lake near my house.  I spent an hour rolling and re-entering the boat, and when I was done I hooked up the Sidekicks for some more deliberate testing.  In the high position, I was able to pretty easily get the boat listed over to its "un-Sidekicked" tipping point, and felt like I could have rolled it if I had kept going, but I was holding onto the handles to do this, and was purposefully shifting my weight in the boat.  If a wave ever took the boat over this far with the Sidekicks installed, I'd be falling out before the boat rolls.  In the high position, the Sidekicks just barely skim across the water, so drag is pretty negligible.  In the low position, the boat was rock solid.  I even stood up with no difficulty whatsoever.  The Sidekicks created a ton of drag, so I wouldn't plan on covering miles with them in the low position.  I think they'd also make for a pretty rough ride offshore in the low position, because the boat would be rocking to stay level with the surface of every wave that goes under it. 

As goofy as they look, Sidekicks have earned a place in my front hatch.  I won't be using them all the time, but if I'm planning to cover long distance in the salt or on a big lake, I definitely want to have them with me even if they're not installed when I launch. 

The tinkerer in me wants to make solid amas, because I can see an angry fish sticking a hook into one of the inflatable amas, but that is a topic for another day. .  .

The tinkerer in me wants to make solid amas, because I can see an angry fish sticking a hook into one of the inflatable amas, but that is a topic for another day. .  .

A little HH-66 and a patch and you are on your way. http://www.sailrite.com/HH-66-Vinyl-Cement-8oz

I caught a large halibut last year, along with many other spiny fish (just ate some random Alaska rockfish from that trip for lunch today) in a Hobie inflatable in Alaska. Their vinyl is durable.

It sounds like these amas could solve a problem for those not sure between the Outback and the Revo.

Ya know its funny this came up. I must admit I thought this too. I have always turned my nose up at them thinking they were more like "training wheels", and if you needed them then you probably have no business being in a kayak to begin with. I couldn't see how you could fish very well with the amas in the way either.

Now that I have them for sailing, I too have seen the light. So many things I was wrong about! I now see many advantages I hadn't even thought about.

They are easily fished around (or I could see with use with a downrigger)
I don't feel like they slow me down (as much) as I thought they would.
I can easily stand up in it (sight fishing).
I can move around, and get to reach places on my kayak that I normally don't.
Would be great for a diving platform.
More stable to take my fur buddies (dogs) out.
Would be great for a person with disabilities, beginners or small children learning (with supervision)
Provide a new place to mount other accessories such as a rod holder, camera or even a downrigger.

Another thought I had was for those that like tandem kayaks, I was thinking these might allow connecting two kayaks together in parallel like a catamaran with some mods and certain reinforcement.

I don't think they are "puncture proof" but are probably lot tougher than they look. Take a look at the abuse rubber rafts take floating rivers. Just keep them stored correctly, and protected from UV is what's more likely to take their toll on them. Oh... and didn't yours come with a patch kit in the box? Mine did.