So you want to go fishing, but are tired of casting your line from the shore. Buying a motorboat seems like a huge purchase, and you’d need a decent-sized vehicle to tow it anyway. The solution: a fishing kayak. It’s an economical (and honestly more fun) way to get out on the water and start reeling the fish in. They’re definitely a specialized type of kayak – not for someone who just wants to tour around some rivers and lakes – but a good fishing kayak will allow you to comfortably paddle out to those great fishing holes that were previously inaccessible.
The Old Town Vapor 10 checks most of the boxes for what you’d want in your new fishing kayak. It will hold your rod, store your tackle, and is easy to paddle between fishing holes. This review of the Old Town Vapor 10 explains some of the advantages and drawbacks of this particular fishing kayak.
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What You Want in a Fishing Kayak
Fishing kayaks are built to be the opposite of what most non-anglers would want. Their wide hulls don’t track that well and are kind of slow. But when your goal is to catch fish, that doesn’t really matter. You’re not trying to get anywhere fast; slow and steady wins the race (or catches the fish in this case). You just need stability, something to hold your fishing rod, and a fair amount of storage space since most people will be carrying a bit of gear when they’re fishing (net, tacklebox, etc.), and it should be as easy as possible to reach in the kayak.
Old Town Vapor 10 Overview
The Vapor 10 is a fairly traditional fishing kayak. It sports an impressively large cockpit at 19.5” by 48”, which larger paddlers will have no difficulty getting in and out of. The larger cockpit should also increase range of motion, so it won’t be difficult to reach gear stored near your feet. The seat is quite comfortable and comes with thigh pads, foot braces, and even an integrated cup holder, so you should feel pretty good spending a few hours in it. The front rim of the cockpit has a paddle holder, so you won’t have to worry about it while you have your rod in hand.
The kayak also comes with a “day well” in the stern section, where you can keep wet gear or anything that you’re not comfortable putting inside the boat; it will dry out faster there. If you really don’t like that feature, Old Town sells a kit to convert it to a typical waterproof hatch, though it doesn’t have as much volume as a standard bulkhead compartment.
Pros
- Two fishing rod holders sit behind the cockpit, which allows you to set up two different lures.
- The kayak only weighs 48 pounds and comes with grab handles at both ends, so it won’t be too difficult to take it off the top of your vehicle and get it in the water.
- The Vapor 10 comes with an attractive price tag – most retailers are selling it for less than $500. It’s not going to break your bank account, and you won’t feel bad if you only get to use it a few times per year. In fact, if you have the storage space, this would be an excellent second kayak for anyone who already has a quality touring boat and wants something more stable for fishing (or to lend to a friend who isn’t a strong paddler).
Cons
- The day well is a nice feature for a fishing kayak, but it is not very big and not that easy to use, being located behind the seat. It also cuts down on the storage space, which is really important for anglers with a lot of gear. It’s also not very helpful if you need to keep your equipment completely dry.
- A related problem: there also isn’t any shock cord on the bow or stern to tie down gear. The boat was already lacking in storage space, so that would have been a nice addition.
Conclusion
Hopefully this Vapor 10 kayak review has helped you decide if this fishing kayak from Old Town is right for you. The boat’s wide hull makes for a stable platform for anglers or someone who is just learning how to kayak. However, its lack of waterproof storage might be a problem for paddlers that want to bring more gear than will fit in their boat. The “day well” is an attractive feature for drying equipment out, but it does come at the cost of storage space. The relatively low price makes it attractive to anyone who isn’t sure how often they’ll be getting out on the water and don’t want to invest too much money just yet.
