WS Pungo 120 or Old Town Loon 120/126? Paddle both, if at all possible, or at least sit in both then buy the one that you believe you will find more comfortable during a three or four hour stint on the water. I would also look for something with an adjustable skeg and air tight compartments. The other time it was in moderate chop, it did feel stable, but I didn't venture too far from shore. I seemed perfectly fitted to ride in the Loon. I decided to go with the Loon 126 for myself and the 106 for my wife (she seems to prefer a smaller boat). The Old Town may be a whisker narrower while the Pungo has the larger cockpit opening, which gives more room if a four legged passenger or carrying a cooler front and center is in your plans. While Old Town made the Loon in basic roto-molded plastic for a few years, the older ones and now the newer version is a two-layer form with a layer of foam sandwiched between the inner and outer hulls. It also seemed pretty fast to me and the seat was semi comfy though I didn’t have a lot of time to spend setting it up. The seat was way comfy on the Loon as well and it’s equipped with the standard Old Town foot braces which work and adjust well. I just felt “comfortable” in the loon, both physically and psychologically. I've perused on here a bit in terms of finding a new rec kayak. The Loon Series seems to be a new take on a classic for Old Town.
Consider this.You should think about kicking it up a notch to something closer to 14 feet. The bay is somewhat more protected than Lake Michigan but it still shares the big lake's unpredictable weather and at 10 to 15 miles across is a pretty big piece of water itself. Honestly, it seemed just a tad tippy to me.
It handled the first time with a bit of chop pretty well. Unwrapping the Wilderness Systems Pungo 125 Kayak - YouTube Picked up a pair of Werner Skagit kayak paddles, a Stohlquist TREKKer and a Stohlquist Cruiser PFD. I believe this is good for flat-water kayaking since it reduces the wind drag. I don’t mean to give the impression it tracks poorly, it doesn’t, but just not quite as good as the Pungo in my opinion. A lot of folks indicated the Pungo 120 as a good rec kayak and I agree. The hull shapes are similar, so cruising speeds are nearly the same, although the Pungo seems to glide a bit faster. Pungo seems just a bit wider in the hip/thigh area. If you don't have that and are capsized or swamped, the boat will sink, with the bow down and will be impossible to re-enter.
After all of the debate of taking my Pungo there we ended up renting. ( I had a A++ experience renting from Costal Kayak, they delivered and picked up from where we were staying ). That’s where the important difference between these boats will lie. Pungo 125 in Breeze Blue. His video is one of the things that pushed me to get a pungo, that and a used one half off lol. Picked the Old Town LoonThanks for all the feedback… The Pungo's hull design makes it a bit easier to lean in turns. To sum up, for me and my style of paddling, I will choose the loon. Since I bought the Loon, I can follow-up with an on-the-water of that if folks are interested. However, I would gladly give up just a tad of tracking for more stability and maneuverability. I would say, from my experience, the Loon is definitely more stable, and turns quicker as well. Jenna from Kayaks.net reviews the 2010 Wilderness Systems Pungo 120 kayak. However, for me, this is an advantage. It will probably cost a bit more money, but the quality of paddling will be exponentially greater.
I don’t know if it’s a weight thing, or paddling style but as I said, it left me feeling unsettled the whole time, not much fun. Enjoy whichever kayak you choose. For me, it is very possible that current USB technology will die out before I'm ready to move on to another kayak, and to be stuck with it seems silly. I've had both when I began my paddling adventures. I found it much easier for me to attempt on the water seat adjustments on the loon.