Crescent Kayak Splash II Compared To Others

Article By Shorty

Here are all the kayaks I looked at before buying the Splash II. The top one is the Splash II, the second is the Cobra Tandem, the third is the Ocean Kayak Malibu Two, and the fourth is the Cobra Fish-N-Dive.


Points I was considering:
1 - Length - I had a spot in my garage that would fit a 12'6" kayak, and 13' just wouldn't make it. These are the only multi seat kayaks I could find in that length.

2 - Number of seats - I wasn't sure if I could take the whole family on such a small boat, but I atleast wanted 2 seats to take along a passenger. I don't really expect my passenger to paddle, so the Fish-N-Dive was a candidtate having a rear facing jump seat. The Tandem has 2 forward facing seats, but no real center seat. If I wanted to paddle alone, I would have to sit on that rectangular hatch which isn't that comfy. The Malibu has 3 nice roundy molded in seats - very desireable arrangement. The Splash has a little bit of back support at each seat and more room in front of the forward seat making it possible to sit a kid there.

3 - Weight Capacity - Both of the Cobra's have a 600 lb weight rating making them both very adequate for my purpose of hauling a family of 4. The Malibu has a rating of only 400-450 lbs. Several people warned me not to exceed this limit because it turns it into a submarine. The Splash has a rating of 500 lbs which I have learned that it can easily handle. We make a combined weight of just a little over 500 lbs, and it works fine.

4 - Price - Both the Cobra's go for about $750, the Malibu is $599 on the shelf at a local sporting goods store, and the Splash (see CrescentKayak.com) is $479.