X-Factor Review Part 2
by Ed Whited

I took the Malibu X-Factor out for a spin around the kelp beds to open her up and see what she would really do. No speed limits, no counter clockwise driving water ski pulling speed boats, no rowing sculls, no sailboats, no aircraft carriers hogging the channel, just wide open ocean from La Jolla to Hawaii.

The weather conditions were a mild Santa Ana, with a gentle offshore breeze, one to two foot waves and a water tempter of 66 degrees. Outside the preserve, the waves were crashing against Boomers and the Children’s Pool so there must have been a sizable ground swell, but it was not too noticeable in deep water.

I got to the beach about 7:30 AM and started to get set up. Since I didn’t have my own kayak the setup was a little longer than normal. My bait tank/crate combination fit in the X-Factor’s tank well. I decided to put all of my gear inside as some of the waves were larger and knowing me, I would pick the largest set of the whole morning to try to launch. I put the rods in the front hatch and all of my Plano plastic tackle boxes inside the center hatch. Everything fit inside very easily, no problems at all.

Pulling the X-Factor to the water, I got set to try my normal frantic dash for the safety of deeper water, past the surf death zone. Wait, wait for the big set, its gone now, try for the small set behind it, that’s my plan. The big set washes ashore and I jump into the X-Factor and immediately get a little side ways to the waves, I snag my pants leg on the left foot rest lock lever releasing the foot rest. As I put pressure on the foot rest it slides all the way forward, preventing me from bracing my legs and power paddling. There I was, at the mercy of the surf, trying to turn the X-Factor against the wave and point it’s bow to sea where it can run free before the bounding main. Now the full length keel was working against me. Slowly I managed to get the bow pointed in the right direction. Paddling out, I met a couple of waves head on. The X-Factor’s bow punched through them instead of riding over them. For comparison, my F~N~D also punches through waves when I meet them as they are breaking over my bow.

Once past the surf zone I readjusted the foot rests and pointed the bow at the yellow buoy marking the edge of the preserve. The kayak felt slow, but my GPS said I was paddling about 3.5 miles per hour. Then I remembered the Santa Ana, the wind was at my back so I could not feel the breeze in my face. Once again the full keel that hindered me in the surf was keeping the kayak tracking straight, almost no wandering while headed into the swells. I reached edge of the preserve fairly quickly and started to get ready to fish.

I got all my Planos out on deck so I could get the rods out. And I sat there and thought for a minute. Now I have all my Planos sitting in front of me, but I have to scoot forward to the bow hatch to get the rods out. So I put the Planos in the tank well and bait tank and scooted forward. The bow hatch is easy to open. Much easier than my Tourer which has eight dogs (t-handles) which you have to flip up and turn a quarter turn to open. Reaching out that far while I am scooted all the way forward is a long stretch on the pointy end of that narrow boat. The rods come out of the X-Factor easily, all four of them, but where do I put them? There are four forward rod holders, but my legs are covering two of them. I have to scoot backwards to put two of the rods in the aft holders, then back up to the bow for the rest of my rods. Luckily, the swell is small and the X-Factor is very stable. I never felt off balance during my gymnastics. Now the bow hatch was floating next to the kayak, held on by the forward strap, but how do I reach it to close it? The gaff came into play, a simple mater of hooking the hatch with the gaff, putting it into place and snapping straps into place. I scooted back and restored all of my Planos back in the center hatch.

Once set up I tried to catch bait and get ready to fish. I managed to get one large smelt and my old Sabiki broke off. Putting the Smelt in the bait tank, I noticed it was a long reach. The canted bulkhead and aft hatch moved the bait tank further aft than I was used to. Not having another sabiki, I started throwing a blue and white iron and a Crocodile spoon. The bonito was crashing through the schools of bait all around me. I quickly hooked and landed two medium sized bonito. The X-Factor did exactly what it was supposed to, allow me to cast, retrieve, fight and land fish without any consideration how I moved or shifted my weight around. I sat sideways, straddled the kayak and twisted around to cast over my shoulder. Not so much as a wobble.

Not wanting to just catch bonito, I left biting fish to look for, you guessed it, more biting fish. I paddled out to the flats where the lobster floats marked a deeper reef to jig for Sand Bass or Rock Fish, no joy. I then went deep into the kelp to pot hole for Calicos with swimbaits and spinner baits, again no joy. Back out to the edge of the kelp and into the bonito boils. A fellow kayaker hailed me on the radio and I went over to photograph him fighting a nice 16 pound Yellowtail. Circling him, and trying to get close enough for good pictures and still stay out of the way, the full keel made itself know again. After ten minutes he had a lap full of brown salad and fresh hamachi. I congratulated him and moved off to try my luck again. More Bonito and a nice Calico which hit my full sized iron in open water, but nothing bigger. It was time to head back in. This time the kayak felt faster, the wind was in my face but my GPS said I was a quarter mile an hour slower. The swell was the same height, but it was quartering off my port stern. The X-Factor weather cocked a little and the stern wandered a bit. Nothing hard to compensate for, but it was present. It felt that I got to the beach faster than normal.

I spent a whole paragraph earlier describing how I had to move all over the kayak just to get my gear out and in place. It may be the norm for many people. While with practice I’m sure I could streamline the process and make it more efficient. In my F~N~D, I can accomplish the entire process without leaving my seat. Get the Planos out, rods out, into the rod holders and restore the Planos. No gymnastics, no scooting forward and backwards, just sitting in the center of the kayak, which is also the center of gravity. This is why I was so happy that I could get all of my rods inside the X-Factor’s center hatch. On the way back in, I put the rods inside the center hatch and all of the Planos as well. I was set for the surf recovery, the only thing I could lose would be my dignity as I dumped in foot and a half waves.

Now as I have claimed, I’m not very good in the surf. I try to get in and out as fast as possible. However I often provide entertainment to the tourists as I flounder through my launches and recoveries. I paddled in and let the first wave pass under me, but the next one lifted my stern and the bow started to bury. Unlike my F~N~D, the X-Factor didn’t fall of to one side and get parallel to the wave. I know how to handle the sideways slide to the beach, but the straight in worried me. I leaned back hard to keep the bow from digging in, but that long boat had the bit in it’s teeth. Looking down, it looked like I was in a foot of water so I bailed out and grabbed the hand hold. The water was actually deeper than I expected, about thigh high instead of mid calf. No matter, I didn’t wipe out and for once my dignity remained intact as I walked the kayak into the beach.

I took the bait tank out but left everything else inside the kayak. Getting the truck, I slide the X-Factor up onto my lumber rack and strapped it down, I had to get the X-Factor back to the San Diego Sailing Center. Once there I unloaded the X-Factor onto the grass. Brian Lloyd came out and we shot the breeze as I unloaded all of my stuff from the X-Factor. Discussing the X-Factor’s weight of, I tried to pick it up by the side handle for the first time. All of the other times I moved it, I used a set of wheels or slide it along the sand. Man that thing was heavy. Now this is a pre-production model and I know that Malibu is working on the weight issue so I’m not sure this should let this stop anyone from considering buying this kayak.

Now if you made it this far, you know what I think about the X-Factor. But I would like to end with a three paragraph synopsis:

The X-Factor is a very very nice kayak. It is roomy, stable and reasonably easy to paddle. The stability is great, I never felt off balance even in the surf. All of the surf foibles are mine and should not be used to rate the X-Factor. With a full length keel, it tracks straight, but takes a little effort to get it to turn sharply. The aft and mid section flush mounted rod holders are well placed and easy to reach. The forward two are a little out of reach for me but I used them to store rods until I needed them. The canted bulkhead kept my crate/bait tank a little further aft than I was used to. I do not like the foot rests as I am used to the heel wells on Cobra and Ocean kayaks. If it was my boat, I’d figure out a way to keep the foot rest locks from opening up unexpectedly. Maybe some sort of hook or bungee to hold it closed. The two dog center hatch is ample, very usable and provided all the access I need to get four full sized rods and reels in and out as well as all of the excess tackle I normally carry. I did not use the aft hatch at all. The X-Factor is heavy than some other kayaks, but Malibu is working on it. The center console between the foot wells is wide and just begging to have a compass and a fish finder mounted on it. The seat area is wide and well drained. The boat is a dry one, no water got in the cockpit once I got past the surf.

Now for a couple of real nit picky things that I noticed. All the hardware is corrosion resistant rivets or stainless steel screws and nuts except the washers on the handles. These were painted steel and already starting to corrode. It would be a good idea if Malibu used stainless steel washers along with rest of the hardware. The plastic in the tank well seemed a little thin and flexed easily, but remember, this is a pre-production model.

I guess I’d give the X-Factor an 8.5 with the East German judge’s vote thrown out. It is as I said before, an extremely well designed boat. The X-Factor has nothing really wrong with it and has a few opportunities for improvement. If it were mine, I think I’d get the rudder option. Would I own it? If I didn’t already have a Tourer and a F~N~D, I would be first in line to buy one. I think the X-Factor spans the intended uses of the Tourer and F~N~D nicely, but to have all three might be a little over kill. I have tried to be as impartial as possible and yet compare the X-Factor to it’s obvious competition, one I know intimately, the Cobra Fish N Dive. I hope my review provided entertainment and a fair review of an excellent kayak.