Submitted: 05-30-2008 by Ed Thibodeau
I AM incredibly disappointed in the Monarch single kayak I bought. I took it out for the first time last weekend, and I'll never put it in the water again. What should have been a pleasant afternoon turned out to be a frustrating and exhausting ordeal.
There was a light but steady wind, and that made the boat virtually uncontrollable. The only way it would track even close to straight is going directly into the wind. If I went with the wind, any breeze would catch the stern and spin me around 180 degrees, any other angle I would end up sideways. I was constantly stopping and trying to get myself oriented again before I could continue. I own three other kayaks, and have never had problems like this with any of them, including an inflatable Sevylor.
If you're looking for a boat you can put in your trunk, I'd suggest a good quality inflatable. It would also have the advantage of setting up a lot quicker than the Foldlite. I practiced putting it together several times over the winter before going out, and it still took me 45 minutes to put the Foldlite together. |