Comparisons

Ok I know this has probably been beat to death here but Ive been looking at hobies and am wondering what your thoughts of camparisons and pros/cons of the revo 13 vs. trident 13 are... looking at the numbers they are very close to being the same boats and im looking for opinions other than one is paddle and the other peddle.  If you have operated or own both of these which is your go to yak majority of the time?  Im pondering the idea of going to Hobie Cats NW over on lake union and trying out a revo 13 monday if I can find time so just trying to keep a non-biased opinion between the two so just looking for thoughts since I probably wont be able to purchase another yak until next year.

I've canoed since I was a kid, and I've been a very active whitewater kayaker for almost 30 years, so I'm used to paddling.  I fished and spearfished from a 13" Trident for quite a few years, and think it's an excellent kayak.  There aren't very many Hobie Mirage Drive kayaks out here in Montana.  When I saw one of them from time to time, I figured they were a gimmick for use by decrepit old people with no boating skills.  Then a friend bought an Outback, and after I saw him zooming around in it fishing with both hands, I borrowed it from him for a weekend.  And I immediately realized, wow, I can go twice as fast in this kayak as I can paddle my Trident, it's highly maneuverable, I can chug around all day and not get tired, I can fish with both hands while motoring around, I can hold myself stationary against wind and waves while jigging with both hands, and it's way easier to mount a downrigger on a pedal kayak than it is on a paddle kayak. I bought a 13" Revolution, and do virtually all my lake fishing from it.  I still use my Trident for rod fishing on rivers and spearfishing, and I loan it to friends, but other than that it sits in my garage.  On a river or a lake with big waves, I'd rather be in my Trident with thigh straps clipped in.  However, if I could own only one sit-on-top fishing kayak, I'd definitely choose a Mirage Drive kayak.  And I've been real happy with the 13' Revolution.

You are basically comparing the two best boat in their classes. The Revo is regarded as the most versatile of the Hobie line and the Trident 13 could be, IMO, the best PNW paddle boat out there.

I like the hull shape of the Trident series over the Hobie hull because it has more rocker and flare but the mirage drive is a thing of beauty.

The perfect boat would be a T13 with a mirage drive!

So basically decide do you want to pedal or paddle?

Exactly what Fungunnin said. 

I own a Revo13 and a Trident13.  I got the Trident13 as my first boat.  Decades of racquetball apparently weakened my elbows as I found they could not take frequent paddling.  The next year I got the Revo13.  I was quite disappointed at the difference in Hobie hull design and manufacturing quality compared to the T13.  But the Revo has the mirage drive which outweighs all the other differences. 

The perfect boat would be a T13 with a mirage drive!

I like the hull shape of the Trident series over the Hobie hull because it has more rocker and flare but the mirage drive is a thing of beauty.

With regard to the amount of rocker in the Trident and the Revolution, I'd have said the opposite.  In my Trident, the keel is deeper in the water at the bow and stern than it is in the middle of the kayak.  As a result, the kayak tracks nicely without a rudder, but turns like an oil tanker.  I'm going out with a guy who owns a Trident on Sunday, and will compare the rocker on his Trident with mine to see if his has a different keel profile than mine.  But aside from being slow-turning, the Trident has a very nice hull.

My Revolution has a small amount of rocker, more than is usually found on a sea kayak, but way less than in a whitewater kayak.  Between this rocker, the rudder, and the mirage drive pulling about a third of the way back from the bow, the Revolution turns like a jet ski.  It's a very agile and fast-turning kayak.  If you get one, I recommend that you get the turbo fins and sailing rudder.

An advantage of the Trident and any other paddle kayak over the pedal kayaks when paddling rough water on rivers, lakes, and oceans or going in and out through surf is that you can clip in thigh straps, which give you much more control over the kayak.  I don't see very many kayak fishers using thigh straps, but I'm a whitewater kayaker, and I'm used to being able to control my kayaks with my thighs and hips.  I sometimes feel like a marble rolling around on a plate in a sit-on-top kayak.

This thread is great, because my next solo boat will either be a Trident or a Revo 13. Thanks for all the good input and analysis.

This thread is great, because my next solo boat will either be a Trident or a Revo 13. Thanks for all the good input and analysis.

The Adventure is what I'm lusting after.  But a Revo 13 would be good too.  Just need to win at ORC!!

I don't own either but I've fished from wobbler's wife's Revo many, many times. I do own 3 OK yaks: Trident 11, 15 and Tetra 12. The extra gear space in the OKs is very nice. The Revo is spacious at all. I'm not a big guy (5'9" 180lb) but it's fine for anything I've tried including very large sturgeon. I've see Lingbanger paddle his T-13 in the ocean and I think he can keep up with a Rwvo.

Ok this is awsome because I love my trident 13 (ok so its a prowler trident 13 "big whoop wana fight about it" lol) and so I wanted to find something comparable to it and to hear that I basically picked the two best boats in thier respective catagories makes me happy.  Now I thought to create this topic because as much as I love to paddle my OK there have been times where Ive gotten caught in either strong winds on lakes or strong tides in the sound and am thinking that pedaling a yak would be a better alternative (really dont wana risk almost taking an unwanted trip to tacoma from redondo from the rip currents by the narrows again... ) also Im liking the idea of hands free fishing, but I do still love the purist experience of juggling paddling and deploying gear (call me crazy right ) also I think the hobie would be and easier way to get the little woman into yaking which is something ive been trying to get her to do since I got the OK.