re: Looking to buy a Kayak..

Depends on how often you want to go. Year round, just in late spring/summer, want to get serious about it or recreational, will you be solo or with friends the majority of the time?

I tell people to rent first and then seriously put the pen to it and see if buying one is the way to go. If you are going with a group then shuttling won't be an issue.

If you are an one vehicle group, most outfitters will shuttle you and your yak for around $25-$30. Renting a kayak/canoe with shuttle costs $38-45 roughly and all of the wear and tear of the craft is on their equipt, plus they are out the expense of shuttling/gas.

If you are going to float lakes, then this isn't so much of an issue.

I know this didn't address the "what's a good kayak to buy question" but answers to those questions will help in determining what type/brand to buy.