My first impression of the Moken 10 was that Feelfree has definitely packed a lot of kayak into this 3.15m fishing package.

It has moulded in handles at the bow and stern, and also at the side. These side carry handles are cleverly designed so that they don’t lower the free board of the craft ensuring the Moken 10 provides a dry ride for the paddler. The 200kg load carrying capacity also helps in this department.

Up front the large hinged hatch covers a self-draining storage well that is a great spot to store fish. It not only allows you to keep fish out of the sun but also is also easy to hose out later on. Anything you place inside this front hatch stays located at the bow where you can easily find it. On kayaks where the front hatch opens into the hull it can sometimes be an issue with gear sliding back under your seat where you are unable to retrieve it. The angler version that was provided for the review has the hard hatch at the front and also 4 recessed rod holders, 2 paddle parks and 2 side net pockets.

Just in front of the paddler is a centre console with a hinged lid and an opening into the hull with an 8” rubber hatch. The console area will take a small tackle box or safely store lures and other tackle in an area that can be easily accessed. The rubber hatch conceals a large mesh bag that locates any gear you put into this location. To complete the storage options there is a large rear well that provides storage for a crate, live bait tank or diving tank.

The final feature is one that is unique to Feelfree, the wheel in the keel. For moving the kayak around short distances the wheel works well on all terrains. If you need to move your kayak 100m or more a kayak trolley is still a useful inclusion as the trolley takes most of the weight and is easy to pull along. For short distances, where you would normally pick up the whole kayak, the wheel in the keel is certainly an easy and simple alternative.

The Moken 10 is an extremely stable kayak. If you like the idea of throwing your legs over the side and sitting sidesaddle, it’s easily done on this craft. I also found it quite simple to slide forward, straddle the kayak and access gear from the front hatch. The forward rod holders are quite well positioned… I found that I had to slightly shorten my forward paddle stroke while having rods in the forward holders. The foot well and seat pan were comfortable. The deluxe seat fitted to the craft didn’t seem to be a perfect match as the seat would still slide a little when tightened into position. A different clip in seat would easily address this.

I thought the deck layout was fantastic, with a lot of storage options. Whether it was rods, landing net, lip grips, pliers or tackle there was a place for everything that could be easily accessed.

The tri keel hull on the Moken 10 does help with the tracking of this yak. Once up and moving, the hull held a straight course, but was still very easy to manoeuvre. The tri keel, and its 89.5cm width, does give a fairly large wetted surface area, thus the Moken is no speed machine! However this large wetted surface area is also what delivers its impressive 200kg load carrying capacity. From a stationary position this kayak will spin on a dime, which is an advantage when fishing structure such as pontoons and for getting into some tighter fishing spots.

The day we tested the Moken in the surf we had 1m+ dumping waves on a fairly messy shore break, probably not what the Moken 10 was designed for! However, it performed pretty well.

The large volume in the bow helped it lift up over the waves when punching out and the soft chines on the side of the hull made it quite forgiving when broached sideways on a wave. In these larger conditions the only real issue was that the front well area would fill up faster than the self-draining holes could displace the water, affecting its ability to punch out through the waves.

If you intended to use the Moken 10 for this application I’d add a rubber seal to the deck on the inside of the front hatch to provide a better seal. The Moken 10’s best application is going to be as a freshwater and estuary fishing machine, but it is OK in small surf.

I was really impressed with the design and fit out of the Moken 10. It will particularly suit the bigger angler who wants to get into the rivers and target bream, whiting, wild bass or other species such as saratoga or mangrove jack. In fact any type of fishing that doesn’t require travelling massive distances would see the Moken 10 as a great fishing option.

It is a great fishing platform in its standard angler version but also has provisions and the design to be kitted up with a sounder, more rodholders, anchor kit and much more. I really enjoyed my time on the Moken 10 fishing the estuaries.

The Moken 10 retails for $1,165 with deluxe backrest. For more information contact Ross at Active Water Sports on 07 5564 8077, or email --e-mail address hidden-- or log onto www.activewatersports.com.au .

Reviewer

This review was conducted by Craig McSween, Level 2 Sea Kayak Instructor with Australian Canoeing. For feedback on this review you can contact me at Adventure Outlet (Kayaking & Outdoor Store) in Southport on (07)55712929 or --e-mail address hidden-- .