I got my kayak in January of 2013 and after much, much research I can tell you that I am very pleased with the Jackson Coosa I decided on.
After all the research I had narrowed it down to two (2), the Jackson Coosa or the Wilderness System Ride 110.
I chose the Coosa over the the Ride 110 because of the storage advantage incase I were to ever do any camp outings. I too have a Jeep, and am 53 years of age and can lift the Coosa fairly easily onto the top of the Jeep.
Another factor in deciding on a kayak was my storage space for the yak during the off season. I needed something that was no more than
11.5ft. and both the Coosa and the Ride 110 fell into this range.
The Jackson Coosa runs about three to four hundred dollars more than the Ride 110.
Jackson, being the main manufacture for the USA kayak team, offers more color options than Wilderness System kayaks can afford to offer on their
kayaks, that is if color matters. WS has extended their color options and offer some very nice looking options.
The tracking on the Coosa is okay at best, but performs well on my upstream paddles on the Kish.
Rocktown Adventure is the place to go. Talk with any of the guys there and they will go out of their way to fit you into a great kayak.
If you go there on Saturday they can probably have the kayaks you are interested in at their Open Pool Session on Sunday for you to try out.
Rocktown Adventure Paddle Sport Open Pool Session:
Sunday
at 4:00pm - 7:00pm
Boylan Swim Complex
4120 Latham St, Rockford, Illinois 61103