Sit-On-Top Kayak for Emotional Adventures: The Spitfire

ebshipebship: This was my first kayak. I needed something that wasn’t too much for me to carry around myself (5’4”, 130lbs). I’ve been mostly pleased with this purchase. Some pluses - it’s very stable, has storage, place to store other gear up top. I’m a newbie at kayaking but would say it probably tracks well for a short kayak. Biggest downside is the seat. It works ok once you have it fully attached and you’re seated in kayak, but doesn’t want to stay connected in any convenient way for storage and transferring. I find it a real pain.

United States on Nov 12, 2023

Kirsty: Easy to maneuver, very stable and very stylish. I bought it so I could have my bags and it not worry about a weight limit. This could easily handle all my stuff and I never worried about turning over.

Very happy with my purchase.

United States on Jul 23, 2023

Patricia TaylorPatricia Taylor: I absolutely loveeeeee this kayak!!!! It’s my first sit on top kayak and I’m so thrilled I bought it!!!!! It’s extremely sturdy, I can sit “Chris cross apple sauce” in it and still paddle around!!! I can also sit with my legs over both sides and my feet in the water! The back rest is absolutely incredible! It’s so comfortable!!! My only complaints are tracking in a straight line can be difficult at times, and there are scupper holes right under the seat so you’re going to get wet. I wouldn’t recommend it for fall kayaking just because I was soaked after my first outing in it, but if the water is warm then go for it!!!! All of my belongings stayed dry in the dry hatch too!!! It’s so lightweight that it should be a crime! And it’s exceptionally quick! My boyfriend who has an 11’6” Teton pro struggled to keep up with me and he’s extremely experienced! I’d have to say, over all, 8.5/10.

United States on Sep 24, 2022

Froglok: I've used this kayak on a few multi-mile paddles on camping trips and have even taken it over some low-grade rapids with no real issues. It's extremely stable and has enough room for me to strap a drybag with my sleep system, shelter & cooking items onto the back and a smaller drybag or backpack with clothes & food on the front. It doesn't track perfectly straight unless you're going through some really calm water but that hasn't been a problem for me at all, just something to be aware of.

The only point of contention I have with this kayak is the bottom seat pad. It's secured in place with a few small plastic bits and the holes through the seat which those bits go through can stretch/tear. To prevent this from being a significant issue requiring you to get a new seat pad I'd suggest *carefully* removing the pad from the kayak before securing it to your roof rack etc. The wind while driving can get under/around the pad and cause it to violently flap which can tear those holes around the mount points. If you do that it shouldn't really be an issue.

The material isn't exactly the highest grade but it's decent enough. I've taken it over lots of rocks and logs...

United States on Dec 08, 2020

NoneOfYourBeesWax: I purchased this little Kayak to replace my Cobra Tandem (11.6 ft) that fits on top of my VW Westy which I am selling soon. Just got my 1st "Non-VW" in over 30 years - a 2006 Honda Civic LX. Because I won't have my big Transporter anymore, I've had to do some serious re-thinking about outfitting my various hobbies to fit my new wheels. I worried for weeks about what I was going to do about a Kayak, since my Tandem won't fit in the car. As a result of that & also the fact that my new Wife won't go anywhere near the water (unlike my Ex who thought she could paddle but couldn't), I decided to sell the Tandem & finally downsize to a Single. Well, after carefully researching the Internet on this particular Craft (the Emotion Spitfire 8 as well) & getting all the dimensions, I painstakingly measured the dimensions of the Civic's trunk space, as well as the room of the passenger section with the back seat pulled down. After comparing those measurements many times with the dimensions of the Spitfire 8 & 9, I came to the pleasant conclusion that either would fit in my new Civic just fine - especially the Spitfire 8, where it seemed that the "8" would hardly stick out of the...

United States on Jun 22, 2014