We have been keeping our eye on the Old Town Loon 126 Fishing Kayak for a while now. We must confess that we absolutely love that it is a stable boat, tracks well, is comfortable, and has plenty of legroom. Why do we think it’s a great purchase? Mostly because it is sooo comfortable and so roomy. So, let’s get into it and continue with our review.
Appearance
We like the look of the new Loons, though we also loved the older decal, the traditional Loon decal that is on the older boats. But the new Old Town Loon 126 Fishing Kayak looks more modern and chic which is undoubtedly a great aspect.
Cockpit
The width of the cockpit offers plenty of room. More so, another big selling point for us was the fact that there IS room behind the seat for the cart you use if you might happen to transport the kayak solo. The rear part of the kayak is blocked off but there is a compartment for storage which is very nice. We didn’t try to access the rear storage while paddling, but it’s good to have a sweatshirt in there in case you needed it!
The console
Although we love the idea of a console, on our first adventure using it, we were not necessarily sold on having it. There are two main reasons for which we are not automatic fans…
1.) It closes off the cockpit just where your knees go thus if you wanted to pull your legs out to hang them over the edge which some anglers sometimes like to do, in order to change position. On those hot summer days when you just want to dip your feet in the water, you would have to remove the console to do that. That being said, it would not be hard to take it out because the locking mechanisms which hold it to the cockpit are fairly easy to move and the console comes off and goes on very easily. In fact, we needed to take it out to get in and out of the kayak, to be able to swing our legs in/out, and it was not a problem to do that.
2.) This kayak also has, on the bottom of the console, a metal water bottle holder attached to it. But if you don’t find use to it, it looks like it will be easy to remove, which in our case we might be planning on doing so.
We did enjoy the compartment in the console of this kayak. It is big enough for your phone, sunscreen, and maybe a thick pair of wool socks! The console has a USB port that connects to a USB cord inside the watertight compartment. This is designed to have a battery of sorts inside so people can easily power their devices or phone. We suppose that would be good if your phone battery was low because we do use our phone a bit when we paddle to take photos and videos.
The Seat
The seat! We absolutely love it! It is so comfortable even while wearing your PFD! We will say that we don’t think we had to adjust our PFD once to make ourselves more comfortable. The back came up high enough, where we felt supported and the butt part of the seat was also comfortable. We like that it is adjustable so that we could raise and lower the part of the seat that was on the lower thigh. The seat folds down for easier transport and there is a small bungee with a plastic clip on it to connect it to a similar bungee and clip on the seat to keep the seat folded. We do wonder about the durability of the plastic clips, but time will tell! To be noted is that, the red bungee-like cord in the circle of the seat is how you adjust the height of the front of the seat.
Maneuverability
The Old Town Loon 126 Fishing Kayak comes with a paddle holder that can be attached to the kayak. Although, you can also choose not to attach it if the size of your paddle doesn’t fit in it and if it were attached to the kayak in the location where it is supposed to be, it would likely get damaged when you load the kayak onto your vehicle. We transported the kayak cockpit side down although we know not all paddlers do. So, for us, the metal type paddle holder is not a feature to highlight.
Tracking
We can say we were satisfied with the Old Town Loon 126 Fishing Kayakâs tracking. We found that when we tried to ‘float’ to take photos, we would often turn more than we expected when we would try to slightly adjust our position. Although, it is something we think we will quickly adapt to.
Speed
We have paddled with a lot of people who have described their fishing kayaks as ‘faster’ due to their design. To be honest it is not something we were too concerned about because the Old Town Loon 126 Fishing Kayak met our needs. That being said, we think this boat is a little faster in the water. We are not sure what about the design makes that the case, but, we did feel like the paddling strokes got more bang for our buck, so to speak.
Overall we are in love with the new Old Town Loon 126 Fishing Kayak and we think this may give us exactly what we are looking for. Thus, if you want a stable boat that provides comfort and efficiency, this great kayak can provide it. More so, in case you are thinking of purchasing one of these beauties, we recommend you take a peek on Amazon.com, where we guarantee you will find the best prices.
