Which kayak is best? Arguments rage for days, and no conclusions are ever reached. Forget about which superhero paddles what boat, what is best for you depends on many factors, in loose order:
1. Your body weight. Be honest. If you’re too heavy for the boat it will handle like a barge, ground out early in shallow water, and be slow. If you’re too light, the boat will get tossed around on standing waves and the wind will take it to places you don’t want to go.
2. Your stability in a kayak, and your tolerance for instability. Sure, you might like the fastest boat on the water, but can you sit in it, and can you paddle it through moving water without having to brace every second stroke? A swim will cost you 5 to 15 minutes or more, and over a one to two hour race that takes you from hero to zero. Bear in mind there’s primary stability, which is how tippy the boat feels just sitting upright, and secondary stability, which is how much support you get when the kayak is leaned over.
3. Your ambition. You can probably aim a level higher if you plan to get better and faster in the sport, are prepared to put time and effort into your training, and allow enough time to acclimatise to a tippier boat.
4. Your ability in moving water, and ability to read moving water and respond appropriately. A whitewater background really helps here, but you still need time on rivers in a multisport kayak before you buy the skinniest rocket on the water.
5. Where you plan to use the kayak. Flat water, rivers, harbours and open ocean are totally different environments that suit different sorts of boats. Some kayaks are good all-round but not perfect in any particular place, whereas some boats are ideally suited to a specific environment but hopeless in others. Think about where you're going to do most of your paddling.
This comparison chart will give you an idea of where most multisport boats fit in the speed/stability spectrum. Use it to figure out what particular boats are, or should be, of interest, then try them out – there is no better way of finding out what really, really suits you. Click here to download the Excel version.