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Which one would you choose MD180 vs Kick-up fin?


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After talking to Brian on DPS, I am still deciding on which model I should go..

 

Now is impossible to find decent used ones, so I am thinking to get a new yak. My first choice was the 2020 Compass, which they have an opening for September pre-order. Then I learned if I upgrade GT to MD180, I will lose kick-up fin option. Compass camo comes with MD180 and Kickup fin as standard - after couple 'essential' addons, the cost will be more than buying Outback.

 

Since I am running on a tight budget, I want to make every move count.

 

Which one would be more useful on Hobie Compass, MD180, or GT with kickup fin?

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Sometimes it helps to do a test paddle or pedal. The choice may be obvious after you sample the merchandise? The number one selling fishing kayak in the world is an outback . That being said I am surprised you did not mention the revo ?  Also the size of the paddler is an important factor when picking a kayak. Other things to consider is how are you going to transport the kayak and where are you going to store it.  Some people find the weight of the outback to be a bit much to handle? Some people like the compass because it is less money and lighter then an outback ?  It would likely be more comfortable to fish out of an outback ? Some people buy a pickup and or trailer to handle the weight of the outback . Others get some type of load assist rack system like a thule hulivator? Keep in mind the cost of the kayak is just the beginning. You have fish finder,  wheels, dry wear, accessories ? You can easily double your costs ?  You may want to consider something used ? 

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If I understand the Kick-up fin correctly, it is a safety option for protecting the fins from battering rocks, stumps and other objects in the water. The 180 is really a function in it allows for reverse. I only have the standard GT drive in my Compass ... would the 180 be beneficial? yes ... but I'm not losing sleep over it. Would the kic-up fins be a nice safety feature ... sure. Just not certain that my fishing exposes my drive to that many problems the kick-up fins would solve. I guess I'd find the 180 more useful

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I would personally rather have reverse, at least I think (haven’t tried the kick-up fins). I fish around a lot of surface/floating obstructions (ie. moored boats, moorings

 balls and lobster buoys, docks, etc.) and near the rocky shore in saltwater with strong current, and sometimes I have to throw it into reverse quickly to avoid a collision or avoid entanglement. If I fished very shallow water with little to no current then maybe the kick-up fins would get the nod. A lot of guys say they don’t want or need reverse and that it makes the drive a lot more fragile, but I use it all the time and so far it’s held up with almost 3 years of use. 

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3 hours ago, dbjpb said:

Sometimes it helps to do a test paddle or pedal. The choice may be obvious after you sample the merchandise? The number one selling fishing kayak in the world is an outback . That being said I am surprised you did not mention the revo ?  Also the size of the paddler is an important factor when picking a kayak. Other things to consider is how are you going to transport the kayak and where are you going to store it.  Some people find the weight of the outback to be a bit much to handle? Some people like the compass because it is less money and lighter then an outback ?  It would likely be more comfortable to fish out of an outback ? Some people buy a pickup and or trailer to handle the weight of the outback . Others get some type of load assist rack system like a thule hulivator? Keep in mind the cost of the kayak is just the beginning. You have fish finder,  wheels, dry wear, accessories ? You can easily double your costs ?  You may want to consider something used ? 

Thank you. I did some research and narrowed down to Hobie Compass. All of your ?s were factored into my decision. 

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1 hour ago, atv223 said:

Yes, but if you upgrade to the 180, the 180 retains the kick up feature. So either way you get kick up. You’re decision is reverse or not. 

Are you sure? That would be awesome. As far as I know, if you upgrade GT -> 180 on the regular version, you will lose kick-up fin option. Only Camo version comes MD180+kickup-fin as a stock option.

 

My question:

So if I understand correctly, the normal compass MD180 upgrade will lose Kickup fin option, and camo version would have both MD180 and kickup fin?

 

The answer from DPS was "That is correct."

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9 hours ago, Rangler said:

Are you sure? That would be awesome. As far as I know, if you upgrade GT -> 180 on the regular version, you will lose kick-up fin option. Only Camo version comes MD180+kickup-fin as a stock option.

 

My question:

So if I understand correctly, the normal compass MD180 upgrade will lose Kickup fin option, and camo version would have both MD180 and kickup fin?

 

The answer from DPS was "That is correct."

If you look at Hobie's website, for 2020 they have 3 Mirage Drives available (I'm excluding the 360 and Eclipse drives since they aren't compatible)

  1. Classic - basically the V2 Drive.  This is the lowest cost available in the Passports
  2. GT with Kick up fins - They took the GT drive, which is the V2 drive with roller bearings and added the Kick up fins.  Available on the Compasses
  3. MD180 with Kick up fins - Added Kick up fins to the MD180

I could be wrong, but Hobie really doesn't like to have redundant products for sale at the same time.  There are big cost differences between the 3 drive options they are selling now so it makes sense to have all 3 for the target buyers.  The cost difference between a 180 and a 180 with Kick up fins is likely negligible, so makes little sense to continue to offer both.

 

From what I can tell, they are no longer producing new GT or 180 drives without Kick up fins.  That's not to say your dealer isn't selling you a 2019 or earlier drive pre the kick up feature.

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On 8/8/2020 at 8:41 PM, atv223 said:

If you look at Hobie's website, for 2020 they have 3 Mirage Drives available (I'm excluding the 360 and Eclipse drives since they aren't compatible)

  1. Classic - basically the V2 Drive.  This is the lowest cost available in the Passports
  2. GT with Kick up fins - They took the GT drive, which is the V2 drive with roller bearings and added the Kick up fins.  Available on the Compasses
  3. MD180 with Kick up fins - Added Kick up fins to the MD180

I could be wrong, but Hobie really doesn't like to have redundant products for sale at the same time.  There are big cost differences between the 3 drive options they are selling now so it makes sense to have all 3 for the target buyers.  The cost difference between a 180 and a 180 with Kick up fins is likely negligible, so makes little sense to continue to offer both.

 

From what I can tell, they are no longer producing new GT or 180 drives without Kick up fins.  That's not to say your dealer isn't selling you a 2019 or earlier drive pre the kick up feature.

not trying to be negative, saw on youtube yesterday, some ppl who purchased the 180 w/ kickup fins, complained the front fins were very stiff once kicked up, hard to lower it down.  they said, the second fin was working fine.  just wanted to share for those who are interested in buying the kickup fins.

 

 

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58 mins ago, minman98 said:

i have old hobie revo 13, bought like 10 yrs ago,  trying to upgrade to 180, looked it up on internet, its about $950 w/ turbo fins.  so expensive.  is anyone selling extra drive or should i wait until winter to grab'em, hopefully get a little discount?

My concern buying from someone else would be having no warranty or a short warranty period. I only know one other guy around here with a Hobie and he had a 180 drive failure on a 2020 Outback. I'm sure Hobie will tell you the failure rate is low but I wouldn't want to roll the dice on such an expensive component. 

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