Hobie Mirage Outback

I have a 2014 Hobie Outback. I had a 2014 Pro Angler 12 before this one. Sold it due to it being heavy. I really love my Outback and use it almost every weekend. I mostly troll for my fish as I fish for rainbow trout and kokanee salmon. The Mirage drive works perfectly for this. The Outback also is very stable. I am a big guy, 5'8 and over 300 lbs and the kayak handles my weight just fine. I haven't tried to stand in it though to cast or sight fish. The only down side I can say is, I wish it had the square hatch with the Plano trays like the Pro Angler. I currently just use the standard gear bucket but the hatch with the trays would be much better.

I bought the Hobie Mirage Outback and have overall been extremely disappointed with the boat.
I was convinced by quite a few people when telling them I was looking for an easily transportable and stable fishing kayak to go with the Hobie. I was disappointed with the small amount of deck space and the fact that I tipped it over 3 times my first time out fishing. It is a decent boat if you are looking for a kayak to pedal around. But not for fishing which was what I was looking for. I have since purchased a Nucanoe Frontier and it blows this boat out of the water as far as stability and versatility for $700 cheaper. I wish somebody would have told me about the Nucanoe when I asked about a stable and versatile boat made for fishing in the first place. Would have saved me a lot of frustration and money.

I have a 2014 and 2015 Outback, setup a little different, and the 2014 has a small seat towards the stern for my five year old daughter.

I fish in the NY/Raritan Harbor, which like the Chesapeake gets rougher than the ocean. And inland saltwater rivers. I use to own a Ocean Kayak that was fine, but nothing to compare to the Outbacks; better stability, more comfortable, better layout stable.

I think my next yak will be a 13' revolution; little bit faster and easier to launch from the beach. But, that will be a couple of years. I love both of my yaks, and wouldn't go back to paddle.

Great fishing platform ,stable ,hands free ,light enough to car top short enough to put in the bed of a pickup.

I've fished out of the Outback, Revo 13, PA12, and Tandem Island and I have to say the Outback is in my opinion the best kayak Hobie makes for kayak fishing. I own a 2011 Outback and I love it.
It's got tons of storage space, is not too heavy that it couldn't be lifted by one person, stable as can be, and the turning radius is phenomenal (with sailing rudder).
It's true this boat is not as fast as the Revo 13 or Adventure, but I'm not looking for a speedboat neither am I going miles offshore in it (although it can handle it). The bigger downside to me is that it is nearly impossible to paddle the Outback but you probably won't need to paddle much anyway since you have the amazing mirage drive system.
I gave it a 5 overall, it would really be more of a 4.5 in my book ( but that wasn't an option).
I love my Outback. If I had to do it over again I'd buy the same boat.
My advise to anyone considering a Hobie is go try out the different models and buy the one that fits you best and not what everyone else has.
Paul

For the last several weeks I have been field testing a 2013 Hobie Outback from Mariner-Sails in Dallas, TX. Mike from Mariner installed the rectangular hatch in front of the seat and I installed two , 4” GearTrac GT-175Rails. Other than that, no modifications were performed to this kayak. I fished in this kayak eight times, all trips were over 4 hours in length and all were recorded on video so I could go back and review.

I originally chose the Outback because of a trip to Lake Fork. I knew with March weather, it could be rough. I didn’t want to be limited by just my paddling strength and liked the thought of speed and less fatigue that the Outback represented. I needed to be able to rig it out with my fish finder, a Lowrance 5X-DSI, fit my BlackPak from YakAttack in it and past that, just be able to fish and put the kayak on top of my Ford Escape.
With all of these criteria met, I picked up the Hobie Outback in early February, rigged it out and got to fishing.

The Good

The Outback is light enough to cartop by yourself. At least for me it was. Anything under 75lbs is typically able to be put on top of a car or SUV. Some folks are stronger, have load assist bars etc and can do more but if you have a factory rack or foam blocks, 75lbs is a pretty good threshold. The Outback comes in under that. My rigged weight was 74lbs.

Though not advertised as such, you can stand and fish in this kayak. The platform is not quite developed to promote it but I stood and fished a crankbait out of this kayak with no problems. At 33 inches wide and just over 12 feet long with a tunnel hull, the Outback is very stable. I sat side saddle, stood and even disembarked by walking straight up the centerline to the bow. With increasing demand for stable, standable kayaks, this one should be on your list.

Outbacks come with a rudder already installed and have tiller steering. For those of us who brace with our feet, this is a great feature. I spent an afternoon trolling for hybrids by pedaling the Outback while enjoying a large soda. Not a lot of platforms offer hands free fishing. Another nice feature to the rudder is being able to stay on a line with the wind blowing. All rudders offer this but a tiller style is easier in the wind for us “bracers”.


Mirage Drive
The Mirage Drive comes with standard fins that are upgradable to turbo fins which are narrower and generate more power. While the option is nice, don’t think it necessary to immediately upgrade. The standard equipment will move this boat well.

The draft on the Outback is much shallower than I thought. With the fins spread I was able to fish in less than a foot of water multiple times in many conditions. If you remove the Mirage Drive, the kayak is limited only by your poling ability. I crossed over a stretch of water standing and poling the Outback at Lake Fork that was four inches deep.

The back well storage is large. I pack a lot of things when I fish. Typically, the added gear weighs another 60-80lbs. It has to go somewhere and above deck is where I like it in freshwater. I was able to store everything behind my seat and still have room for a small cooler if I wanted.

The front hatch is a nice size. While not the largest of front hatches in the market, the Outback has enough clearance to stow rods, paddles and other gear below deck. The sail post just in front of the hatch also gives easy access to install a fish finder or other accessory post if you don’t plan on sailing.

The Outback seat is not your normal seat. Usually strap in seats are flimsy and give you about a four hour max seat time before your back wants to leave the country. Not this seat. With adjustable support via air intakes (you just twist) I had no issues fishing six or eight hours without a shoreline exodus.


The Bad

These are the things I see as needing improvement for future models. Not everyone will agree but these are what I encountered.

The tunnel hull offers great stability in the water. It makes it very difficult to transport with other kayaks or by itself while upright. You cannot stay rigged when transporting this kayak. The hull causes it to lean to one side which means all of your gear will shift and your rods are at a funky angle. I suppose you could fix this with PVC, a trailer, Hydro Glide pads from Thule or something of the like but it still remains a nuisance. Lots of preplanning has to go into transport.

Straight gunwales are at a minimum. The longest GearTrac I could add to a front gunwale was four inches. This doesn’t leave a lot of room for adding accessories and made me think long and hard about where everything would have to go. A straight eight inch section of space would be nice (that’s NOT in the recessed areas by the handles).

Move the rear carrying handle already. People have complained for years that the rear carrying handle is hard to get to and covered by the rudder in the stowed position. I don’t want the rudder flopping around while I’m loading and I don’t want any more scratches and cuts from fighting the rudder while carrying the Outback. Move it to an offset position on the back and front, four inches from where it is and problem solved.

The Outback is able to be fished standing up currently but is not designed for it. Steal six inches of the back well and move the seat back to add a flatter, larger surface just in front of the seat. And while we are talking in front of the seat, make the rectangular hatch standard so you can fit a paddle and larger gear underneath.


Summary

The Hobie Outback shines as a fishing boat. It is a nice hybrid between the sleek, fast Hobie Revolution and its battle cruiser brother the Pro Angler. If you want a kayak that is able to be car topped, transported via cart easily, is versatile enough for almost any water and comes with tons of features built in, this is a great choice.

I have been fishing from kayaks for years, mostly from cheaper boats. No comparison. At 225lb I can ride and not get wet. Hands free is the only way to go! The paddle can be strapped down easily to either side of the boat, and can be released with one hand. Love the hand rudder control. Not too easy to paddle and pedal at the same time. Could just be me.

I spent a couple of years in smaller lighter paddle kayaks. I got tired of having to control paddles and fish. I was one who could never see me spending the money on the higher priced Hobies. Well I used one and fell in love. The Outback is stable and does a wonderful job as my #1 fishing kayak. I added the turbo fins and large rudder and have been very impressed who a wide kayak tracks and steers. The Hobie layout is very nice and has lots of storage right at your finger tips. I have added a few things to fit my style of fishing (saltwater) but it comes well set up right from Hobie. The seat is comfortable on my back but after a few hours my butt would hurt. Hobie makes an inflatable pad but I just added a closed cell foam seat cushion. I just love being in control and fishing hands free. The Outback is not a speed demon but does move thru the water with ease and at a good speed.

Hobie hit a homer with the Outback!!!
Stable,comfortable,plenty of storage,a quality kayak.
Hands free is the best.............

Robin Armstrong,Pace,Fl.

USED THIS PUP A COULPE OF TIMES WHEN MY BUD WASNT HOME THOUGHT IT WAS ALL THE RAGE BEING HANDS FREE