Oo damn. Im sorry to hear that. My son and I stopped by last month. It was great to meet you in person. I know it sound silly but my teenage daughters think its cool to meet youtube creators. I hope your able to continue making the kayak reviews for years to come. I was really planning on purchasing my next kayak from y’all. Because y’all’s reviews and discussions have influenced what to look for and what makes one kayak better than another. I hope the best for both y’all.
Still fighting the good fight for the right to use a peddle kayak in the BWCAW. Visited with you in shop about this. Sink your teeth in that fight. Too many disabled kayak peddlers that pray for this access. Thanks for all you do to support the Kayak industry.
Very sad to see you away from OMTC. Being a Flippin resident, wife and I hate to see this type of Change. Best to you and Kristina on your future endevours. Look forward to more content for sure.
You navigated the Crescent subject very well. I appreciate that. They have a niche in the market, and they do that very well. Hate to hear about the NRS inflatable was planning on picking one up for hard to access spots. Hope everything goes great in your future endeavors.
Wish you the best of luck in the future! It is sad to see all these local shops closing/stepping back. Sales have been down over these past two years for our shop. We've stepped back from over 50 models to a core 35 that do really well, and if we weren't an all-around outdoor store It would be really tight for us.
Thank you. It's tight for a lot of people. I think if businesses are more strategic that it can stay healthy. Re-evaluating every year is key in an evolving industry
If the motor is out, u can still use ur peddle like Hobie or other kayak. You just need to be prepare when you r out on the water either inshore or offshore.
Wow! I hate to see this for you. Wishing you the best in your new role. I have 6 shops near me. Tampa area. One just cut his space in 1/2. I was just there yesterday. Then I came to see this. Video today. I am expecting my company to down size soon. Different industry. The internet and AI. Is now pushing out many. The human interaction is not needed. Many of the younger generation prefer this. That adds to the move toward it faster.
Hate to hear that about your company. AI definitely has taken a cut from a lot of content creators too. There are also several AI kayak "list" videos that are just bizarre
Sad but the reality of the economy we are in ...the Amazon's of the world are making it hard for small shops to compete.... We will keep watching, I hope you land on your feet!
Less discretionary cash due to inflation, higher kayak prices, and a glut of used Covid kayaks on the secondary market leads to less demand for new kayaks.
A year ago or so I was a little frustrated at how slow the technology was evolving. Smarter motor integration into kayak design literally died. With the very short lifespan of Jackson's Bite FD/E-Drive very little progressed from there with the other brands. There were some design improvements across the board but for the most part they stopped evolving. The Bixby's and the Newport's and the like, in my opinion, are clumsy add-ons that require users to spend a lot of time futzing with them. My Bite E-Drive is quick and easy to use when I did use it. The mad Covid rush that stirred the market has clearly subsided. I got out once this year and I had high hopes of spending this summer on the water but prostate issues returned and I have been recovering from surgery for the rest of the summer. Now I am in the middle of moving across the state to care for my elderly mother. When I saw this video pop up I realized that the kayak craze was just another national fly by night trend. There are hard core paddlers and kayak fisher-people but the dream is over. I thought for sure that there were going to be some incredible designs and some high end options. I was expecting built in motors and plotters and fish finders and nav lights and so on. The potential was there and it just evaporated! The last thing I expected was to hear this news especially after how hard you worked recording and editing videos on behalf of O.M.T.C. I was looking forward to making a road trip to check out your store after the dust settles with my situation. I wish you two the best.
This is very sad news. 😢 I hope you land on your feet. OMTC is going to miss you big time. When I saw the big announcement title, I thought you were adding a human child to the mix! 😂
@@NuFishin lol me and Kristina laughed out loud at this! No more children for me. I definitely landed on my feet but just need to get a feel for my schedule
Sad news. Glad they gave you time to find options for yourself and family. Sadly though in this economy people have to decide where they spend limited free money. Then you have those with the go cheap mentality vs buy nice or buy twice mindset. Also some of the creep with prices in the industry hasn't helped and the void in the 700-1000 range isnt being met. Sad to hear about ouchita outdoor outfitters as I bought my first two kayaks from them in 1999 when i lived in hot springs and they had their new storefront at the time.
What seems to be the issues that are causing the scale back? It seems to be counter intuitive to the increasing popularity of kayaking. I have switched from Lund style aluminum boat to fishing kayaks. They are cheaper and catch more fish!
Well I can say that at least around me for every 40-50 cheaper kayaks like a pelican or lifetime for example I might see 1 or 2 of the high end kayaks. This even goes for the fishing kayaks I use myself and see most other people using. I guess its kinda like why buy 1 really expensive kayak when you can by 4 or 5 of the cheap ones and get your whole family out. Ive had the expensive kayaks and I sold them all and just went to one of the sitin pelican fishing kayaks. Its light, paddles well and I still catch fish. No reason to spend a ton of money on a pladtic boat. Ive had it for 4 years now and its holding up fine. I should also say though that I live in Michigan so your not using them all year.
How could you go from a quality boat to a pool toy boat and think it's a good move? I sat in a Pelican for 5 minutes and could tell there is no way I'd like it. There's a reason why I have 7 Jackson's. It's sad that people won't invest in something quality if they are using it alot. The pool toy boats don't have the quality or paddling quality and capabilities of quality boats.
@@MysticalDragon73 The pelican kayak I have came with a very comfortable stadium seat. I can fish for hours and be fine. The cheaper brands have stepped things up. Ill admit that they dont have as many frills on them but you can ad most of that yourself for pretty dang cheap. Like anchor trollys, better handles, more rails whatever. All cheap and easy to do.
@@Ozzypup1 they are still cheap garbage without the performance. Look how thin the plastic is compared to a quality boat. Only fools think the pool toy boats are good kayaks.
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Oo damn. Im sorry to hear that. My son and I stopped by last month. It was great to meet you in person. I know it sound silly but my teenage daughters think its cool to meet youtube creators. I hope your able to continue making the kayak reviews for years to come.
I was really planning on purchasing my next kayak from y’all. Because y’all’s reviews and discussions have influenced what to look for and what makes one kayak better than another. I hope the best for both y’all.
@@mumbles1justin they will still be open. And I will still be filming. Thank you for bringing the family by to see us!
Still fighting the good fight for the right to use a peddle kayak in the BWCAW. Visited with you in shop about this. Sink your teeth in that fight. Too many disabled kayak peddlers that pray for this access. Thanks for all you do to support the Kayak industry.
Very sad to see you away from OMTC. Being a Flippin resident, wife and I hate to see this type of Change. Best to you and Kristina on your future endevours. Look forward to more content for sure.
@@thaddbigler4639 ill still be in the area. Just not at OMTC unfortunately
You navigated the Crescent subject very well. I appreciate that. They have a niche in the market, and they do that very well. Hate to hear about the NRS inflatable was planning on picking one up for hard to access spots. Hope everything goes great in your future endeavors.
Thank you!
Wish you the best of luck in the future! It is sad to see all these local shops closing/stepping back. Sales have been down over these past two years for our shop. We've stepped back from over 50 models to a core 35 that do really well, and if we weren't an all-around outdoor store It would be really tight for us.
Thank you. It's tight for a lot of people. I think if businesses are more strategic that it can stay healthy. Re-evaluating every year is key in an evolving industry
If the motor is out, u can still use ur peddle like Hobie or other kayak. You just need to be prepare when you r out on the water either inshore or offshore.
Wow! I hate to see this for you. Wishing you the best in your new role. I have 6 shops near me. Tampa area. One just cut his space in 1/2. I was just there yesterday. Then I came to see this. Video today. I am expecting my company to down size soon. Different industry. The internet and AI. Is now pushing out many. The human interaction is not needed. Many of the younger generation prefer this. That adds to the move toward it faster.
Hate to hear that about your company. AI definitely has taken a cut from a lot of content creators too. There are also several AI kayak "list" videos that are just bizarre
Time to open your own store
Not an option at the moment
I hate to hear this! I know you’ll keep the great content coming but sad to see a paddle shop closing! So wish we had one in my area!
Sad but the reality of the economy we are in ...the Amazon's of the world are making it hard for small shops to compete....
We will keep watching, I hope you land on your feet!
@@chrisjohansson5409 thank you. I'll be good.
It's a unique business that's for sure
Less discretionary cash due to inflation, higher kayak prices, and a glut of used Covid kayaks on the secondary market leads to less demand for new kayaks.
A year ago or so I was a little frustrated at how slow the technology was evolving. Smarter motor integration into kayak design literally died. With the very short lifespan of Jackson's Bite FD/E-Drive very little progressed from there with the other brands. There were some design improvements across the board but for the most part they stopped evolving.
The Bixby's and the Newport's and the like, in my opinion, are clumsy add-ons that require users to spend a lot of time futzing with them. My Bite E-Drive is quick and easy to use when I did use it. The mad Covid rush that stirred the market has clearly subsided. I got out once this year and I had high hopes of spending this summer on the water but prostate issues returned and I have been recovering from surgery for the rest of the summer. Now I am in the middle of moving across the state to care for my elderly mother.
When I saw this video pop up I realized that the kayak craze was just another national fly by night trend. There are hard core paddlers and kayak fisher-people but the dream is over. I thought for sure that there were going to be some incredible designs and some high end options. I was expecting built in motors and plotters and fish finders and nav lights and so on. The potential was there and it just evaporated!
The last thing I expected was to hear this news especially after how hard you worked recording and editing videos on behalf of O.M.T.C. I was looking forward to making a road trip to check out your store after the dust settles with my situation. I wish you two the best.
OMTC in Garfield, AR will be open for the foreseeable future unless something changes of course
@@thebeardedpaddler yeah but I wanted to visit you!
This is very sad news. 😢 I hope you land on your feet. OMTC is going to miss you big time. When I saw the big announcement title, I thought you were adding a human child to the mix! 😂
@@NuFishin lol me and Kristina laughed out loud at this! No more children for me. I definitely landed on my feet but just need to get a feel for my schedule
Sad news. Glad they gave you time to find options for yourself and family. Sadly though in this economy people have to decide where they spend limited free money. Then you have those with the go cheap mentality vs buy nice or buy twice mindset. Also some of the creep with prices in the industry hasn't helped and the void in the 700-1000 range isnt being met.
Sad to hear about ouchita outdoor outfitters as I bought my first two kayaks from them in 1999 when i lived in hot springs and they had their new storefront at the time.
What seems to be the issues that are causing the scale back? It seems to be counter intuitive to the increasing popularity of kayaking. I have switched from Lund style aluminum boat to fishing kayaks. They are cheaper and catch more fish!
@@marcbeck3166 paddleshops carrying too much inventory and manufacturers posting discount sales online and trying direct to customer sales.
Manufacturers need to stop selling direct and cut out the dealers.
@@dpsaws it actually hurts the manufacturers in the long run doing this
Well I can say that at least around me for every 40-50 cheaper kayaks like a pelican or lifetime for example I might see 1 or 2 of the high end kayaks. This even goes for the fishing kayaks I use myself and see most other people using. I guess its kinda like why buy 1 really expensive kayak when you can by 4 or 5 of the cheap ones and get your whole family out. Ive had the expensive kayaks and I sold them all and just went to one of the sitin pelican fishing kayaks. Its light, paddles well and I still catch fish. No reason to spend a ton of money on a pladtic boat. Ive had it for 4 years now and its holding up fine. I should also say though that I live in Michigan so your not using them all year.
@@Ozzypup1 absolutely!
How could you go from a quality boat to a pool toy boat and think it's a good move? I sat in a Pelican for 5 minutes and could tell there is no way I'd like it. There's a reason why I have 7 Jackson's. It's sad that people won't invest in something quality if they are using it alot. The pool toy boats don't have the quality or paddling quality and capabilities of quality boats.
@@MysticalDragon73 The pelican kayak I have came with a very comfortable stadium seat. I can fish for hours and be fine. The cheaper brands have stepped things up. Ill admit that they dont have as many frills on them but you can ad most of that yourself for pretty dang cheap. Like anchor trollys, better handles, more rails whatever. All cheap and easy to do.
@@Ozzypup1 they are still cheap garbage without the performance. Look how thin the plastic is compared to a quality boat. Only fools think the pool toy boats are good kayaks.
@@MysticalDragon73 whatever. I never said they compared. Just said they work fine for what most people want.