Jackson Kayak "Kraken" Hot

I have floated the Jackson Kraken 15.5 Elite model kayak in every kind of water you can think of, and have had only one complaint with its performance: You must purchase a rudder system in order to keep it under control in strong winds and currents. It is a beast to keep straight in those conditions and will wear you out without a rudder. Once the rudder is installed, it is a dream to handle in any condition. The hull is clearly designed to punch through surf and glide long distances quickly, so naturally its stability while standing is greatly reduced when compared to other, wider kayaks but, you can stand and site fish in it in calm water after a small bit of practice. The Elite seat 3.0 is amazingly comfortable and the included Therma-Rest inflatable lumbar support only makes it better. You can spend many hours in this seat without fatigue. The Elite model comes factory direct with the huge capacity KKrate (which easily converts to a live well), and a Plano tool box, both of which bolt directly to hull tracks so they won't get lost in the event of a roll over. It also comes with two water tight plano tackle boxes that store neatly in either the center hatch tub or in pockets located on both sides of the seat bottom, a 32 Oz Nalgene water bottle, two fully adjustable Ram "Rocket launcher" style rod holders, with mounts pre-installed on the hull, and one Ram track mounting rod holder which easily mounts on the track rails that are factory installed on the center hatch cover, the KKrate lid, and the rear storage well. The front hatch opening is huge, allowing you to easily store large items inside the very spacious hull, and comes factory direct with a neoprene cover gasket to insure water resistance when punching through rough surf. All in all, this boat gives a lot of bank for the buck. You will not be disappointed with it. In my humble opinion, Jackson is the finest kayak manufacturer there is, and the Kraken 15.5 Elite is their premier model.

I primarily use my Kraken out on the Chicago portion of Lake Michigan. Now arguably, Lake Michigan behaves more like an ocean than a lake with waves/swells plus there's the massive amount of recreational boaters on the water. I'm happy to report that this yak just excels at handling open water!

Water trail access to LM here in Chicago is through Chicago Park District beaches so its all surf launches. The Kraken can really push through the surf and cut through the waves to get you out into the open waters without taking an unexpected swim (provided you know how to paddle through waves). Once out in the water, paddling 3+mi to get to the fishing spots is fairly quick and more importantly, I don't feel tired or fatigued before I've even begun fishing.

When I'm out on Lake Michigan I'm there to fish the day, I'm talking 8+ moving around chasing baitfish so having enough water/food/snacks/etc is never an issue. Between the center hatch, the hull under it, and the storage space area behind the KKrate, I can put all that I need in all of these areas. The front storage hatch is big enough that I can breakdown and store my C-Tug trolley easily.

The Elite seat 3.0 is COMFY! Let's get that out there right away plus the ability to "trim" the seat forward and back really helps when you have a heavy load on the yak. Depending on the water conditions you can adjust your seat to raise the bow or lower it to cut through the waves, etc etc.

The Kraken is fairly slim coming in at about 30" wide but it is stable! The biggest point to make when speaking about the Kraken's stability is that if you're used to paddling wider yak's, or never paddled a kayak before, the initial feeling is that its not stable. The reality is that you need to acclimate yourself the Kraken and learn it. Put in the time to just paddle it, push its limits, purposely rock side-to-side to try and flip it...once you gain confidence in it, you'll really see how stable it is. However, if you like to stand this isn't the kayak for that!

My first couple of times loading/unloading it I accidentally dropped it and it help up very well. Superficial damage only so it seems really durable to me. The Kraken is ready to hit the water and fish right out of the factory! For the price you pay, you really get a lot of features and that to me is what attracted me to purchase this yak. Overall, great value, great features, great performance. If you fish BIG open bodies of water....Great Lakes, Reservoirs, Offshore, you should really consider the Kraken and if nothing more, give it a test paddle!

I was able to demo the Kraken prototype at the Outdoor Retailer event in August. As expected from a boat of these dimensions it accelerated very well, was easy to keep moving at an estimated 4 knots (Cell phone app) and a great glide. The demo was on a lake but I was able to put the bow through a boat wake and the flared bow performed well by lifting the kayak while slicing through it. It has a fairly low profile which should help it in a cross wind.

With a length of over 15' it wasn't designed to turn on a dime, however there is enough rocker that it does turn well for it's length (the prototype did not have a rudder). The Kraken lacks the initial stability of their wider kayaks designed for standing but it does not lack secondary stability and when a tried tipping it while sitting side saddle on it I slid off of the kayak before turtleling. you are really able to lean this kayak into turns and I'm sure this will help in beach landings where you need to surf it in.

The Kraken comes equipped with a Crate and a Plano Ammo-style tackle box as well as haven a battery try and scuppers designed to hold a transducer and a bait pump to turn the K-Crate into a bait tank. The trim-able framed seat (Lo position only) was very comfortable and locks securely into place.

Coming from the factory that well equipped may add to the price but you won't have to add much to it, if anything to get it out on the water. If you fish oceans, bays, or larger lakes with wind boat traffic or waves this is a great kayak. Even if you don't paddle in those types of exposed water and just cover miles on flats and are looking for a kayak that was designed for paddlers be sure to check out the Kraken.