The 2019 Hobie Outback: Rebirth of a Legend
- screamindesigns25
- Nov 7, 2025
- 4 min read
It all started in college and it would take me across the country and to parts of the world I never would have imagined. Fishing and adventuring had already been a large part of my life, but seeing a few folks catching big stripers on kayaks and not having anywhere to keep my boat during college in Boston sealed the deal. I would get a kayak. And not just any kayak, a Hobie Outback, a boat that in it's few years on the market had established itself as a go anywhere do anything platform and the ultimate fishing tool. From there, I became obsessed, kayak fishing became my favorite activity and the sport grew with me. My senior design project was even an evolution of what I thought the outback could be after doing deep research into the market.
At 30 years old, after years of cutting my teeth learning the ins and outs of injection and blow molding, DFA and DFM from some amazing engineers and real world industrial design practice and patents from a great mentor at Perimeter, the time came to make my move. I manage to land my dream job at Hobie designing accessories and components for kayak fishing.
A year in, it came time to update the seats and as usual, design time at Hobie was short. Because they were implementing the new seat across the entire line, management had decided to just make the new seat pan fit and leave everything else. For me as an Outback user, that would not suffice. I grabbed another designer and I said "there's more to be done." We spent our own time after hours revamping the handles, cup holders, pockets, improving draining, making the transducer mount easier to use and the deck wider and easier to stand on. When we were done, the improvements could not be denied and management relented.
Five years later, when the time came to design a whole new Outback, I was chosen to lead the team. I had been thinking about it a lot already which is good because we were only given 7 months! A new hull was needed to fit the demands of the widest variety anglers; shallow water fisherman demanded a quieter ride to improve stealth, offshore fisherman demanded more drainage, bigger guys needed capacity, everyone wanted improved speed and handling and a kickup rudder. On the deck side; dual steering, more storage, built in mounting options, a wider seat and standing pads were in demand. All this needed to look like the old outback had taken a jump forward, we already had our overall dimensions, so I began sketching.
Admittedly, I went a bit too far adding a reverse bow and overly aggressive lines. I still think it would have looked amazing, but this is where it helps to have a great team. My engineering partner Elizabeth jumped in and helped dial it back a bit so as not to scare more casual customers and maybe shed its earned codename Megatron. From here, component assignments were handed out. I took on the track and tackle storage and new dual steering systems sharing responsibilities on the hull with my engineering partner Elizabeth and our amazing prototype master Leo. Leo was busy with another project so Elizabeth and I got to work with shaping the first prototype. While the rest of our team worked on the new vertical and bow hatches and seat.
The biggest challenge was creating the H-Track Deluxe storage and mounting system. Maximizing the amount of useable storage and mounting options, while not interfering with the deck space and other features was a major task requiring numerous iterations and painstaking detail considerations. What started out initially as a separate track and rail holder over a handful of prototypes evolved into a modular, upgradeable system encompassing tracks, H-rails, leash systems, tackle storage, tool holders and lash points. Combining these components allowed for reduced part count and maximized the amount of useable space. These features are key to the Outback's success. Anglers demanded quick, easy customization and I was proud to create a system that delivers in every way.
Even after the parts were all designed, the plug was built and the tooling ordered, the work was not done. At Hobie, when you were lead on a project, you owned it from sketch to production. Standard operating procedures had to be written, bills of materials created, assembly teams had to be trained, parts had to be qualilfied, fits had to be adjusted in the rotomolds, testing of components, hull geometry and performance all needed to be done. Elizabeth and I spent countless hours in the factory making sure everything was ready for production.
In it's debut at the Paddlesports Retailer show, the new Outback won best fishing kayak! It also won the whitewater "fishing" contest as I piloted it down the whitewater course scooping up rubber ducks with a net. It went on to set sales records for Hobie. major fishing publications like Florida Sportsmen and Kayak Angler have called it the best all around fishing kayak and the Swiss army knife of kayaks. Just last weekend, though I don't fish tournaments generally, I qualified to represent California in the national saltwater kayak fishing championship in August aboard my Outback.
Though my time at Hobie has come to an end, I am so grateful for the experience, friendships and learnings gained from that experience.
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