Cobra Expedition
Review by John "EagleEye" Pawlak

The Cobra Expedition replaces the SPTW as my favorite kayak. While I've paddled several different kayaks over the years, I' ve only laid my hard earned cash down for two. The second being the Cobra Expedition I purchased a couple years back. Initially it was meant to be used solely on the long range Paddling and Fishing Adventures. My original plan was to keep the SPTW for midrange fishing trips and when the weather was bad, but once I acquired the balance and confidence necessary to effectively paddle and fish from a performance kayak there was just no way I could go back to the SPTW and sold it.

The Cobra Expedition is a 18' x 23' touring style kayak that was not designed for fishing. I don' t think Cobra even recommends it for fishing but there are a few of us around the country who prefers it for fishing. The Expedition is noticeably lighter than the SPTW and paddles with much less effort than any other plastic sit on top I' ve ever tried. I can paddle the Expedition all day long without feeling worked the way I do in other kayaks. Cobra hatches give a whole new meaning to the word watertight. At the end of even my worst weather paddles there is hardly a drop of water inside the Expedition' s hull. To date the biggest fish I' ve landed from my Expedition is a 32-pound Halibut and while it took some concentration I have complete confidence fish twice that size will someday come aboard. The Expedition has a large watertight compartment directly behind the seat. I either use it as a live bait well or for storing equipment I' d rather not have exposed on deck. The scupper holes come factory sealed and depending on your weight you can either knock them out for an open bilge or leave them in and use the siphon device to drain water from the cockpit.

The Expedition is not without its short comings. It turns like an aircraft carrier which is generally not a problem for me except in the surf zone. This kayak sets real low in the water and doesn' t ride up over waves, punching through instead. The front hatch doesn' t have a ton of room although I can put my rods and electronics on the inside for surf launches & landings. When launching through a 2-3 foot or larger surf the entire cockpit fills to the top with water as it punches through. In order to drain all this water the paddler has to either hand pump or paddle at 2-3 mph until the water can be siphoned out. The Expedition is a performance kayak - craftsmanship and details don' t come cheap, putting its cost above all other commonly used plastic fishing sit on tops on the market.

While the Expedition paddles like a dream through most seas, there are times when the situation calls for something different. Because of this I would not recommend the Expedition if you desire one kayak for all of your fishing and paddling needs. At some point, about a year ago, I realized that two kayaks are the best kayak. The Expedition is at the far right of the spectrum and I now am testing and looking for a model that is much more to the left.