Bought recently and used twice on a fast flowing river. As good as floated over the water and was so easy to paddle up stream and super quick down stream. Very very stable and with the skeg tracks straight. Only hard part is pumping up by hand but like anything easily fixed buying a electric pump

I'm a complete beginner, and had recently borrowed a TAHE HP2, and enjoyed it so much, I wanted to purchase my own kayak. The Optimal is every bit as good as the TAHE, but at a far better price. The staff at Sandbanks Style spent plenty of time with me, answering all my queries, and helping me make the right choice of style and size. I went for the Optimal Double, even though most my my kayaking will be solo. My first trip out was solo on the Beaulieu River. The optimal was easy to set up, and I had a great 3 hours out on the water. Very stable (more so than the TAHE), easy to manoeuvre, and comfortable. There are 2 very minor improvements that could be made, and I think Sandbanks Style are already looking at. A footrest and a carrying handle along the side. Neither are necessary of you are always 2-up, but as a solo in a double, they would make a difference. But neither would put me off buying from buying an Optimal again.

Bought this at the boat show it turned up quickly as promised. Taken it out a couple of times and had a great time. Going to experiment with a footrest for shorter paddler! Was really quick to inflate/deflate. Need to make sure it is fitted well into the reinforced bottom of the bag for optimal transport.

I purchased the Optimal Double Seater after doing a lot of research, everything I was reading was pointing to this kayak for my needs.

I took her on her maiden voyage last weekend, only the Monmouth and Brecon canals with my daughter (8 years old) and we were both amazed at how stable and fast this kayak was. We did a round trip of 4.3 miles of leisurely paddling, with myself doing most of the paddling I might add :) Avg speed of 2.1 mph, max speed 7.0 mph!

The kayak is very well made, and the kit it comes with gives you everything you need to get set up, I was up and running in the water in about 15 minutes. It was easy to deflate and pack back up in the supply case it comes with.

I spent quite a while doing my research before settling on this, and I’m very pleased with it and the service from Sandbanks. I’ve only had it a couple of weeks but have used it many times already, both with two of us or by myself. It’s not too tricky to pump up by hand - takes about 7 minutes so it’s not long before you’re on the water. I’ve used it on lakes and rivers so far (not the sea), but it handles well (although I tried it by myself with the skeg on, and it was like turning an oil tanker!). It’s big but packs down relatively small so ideal for putting in a taxi or public transport and then doing a one-way trip.
As others have said, the seats aren’t the best. OK for an hour or so but then gets a bit thin for a big bloke like me. I’ve also fitted my own footrest for when I’m by myself, although you can easily do this with a scrunched up bag.
It feels nice and sturdy. I’m very pleased with it. Looking forward to taking it on the sea, and hopefully some multi-day camping trips!