Bonafide Bonafide RVR119
A purpose-built river-fishing specialist that nails moving water and standing stability, but its weight, lack of dry storage, and narrow mission make it a second boat, not a do-everything one.
Best for: Anglers who primarily fish moving rivers, shoals, and shallow creeks and want a stand-and-fish hull that runs over rocks and tracks straight with a deployable skeg — not a buyer looking for one all-around lake-and-river kayak.
The good
- River-specific hull with a spring-loaded, auto-retracting drop skeg: tracks straight on flatwater with the skeg down and stays maneuverable in current with it up (Bonafide spec page; Kayak Angler)
- Open, flat-deck cockpit that reviewers and dealers consistently call easy to stand and cast from, with high stability for an 11'9" boat (multiple retailer/review listings)
- Kick-rocker bow and upswept stern designed to ride up and over rocks, logs and shoals rather than plow into them - the core design intent per designer Hans Nutz (Kayak Angler first-look)
- Backward-sloped scuppers drain the deck fast, and the hand-sewn NC-made seat slides 4" fore/aft to trim for paddler size or a motor (Bonafide spec page)
The bad
- At 85 lbs it is heavy for an 11'9" kayak; even favorable sources frame the weight as a 'drag it across the shallows / needs a small crew' trade-off rather than a true solo-cartop boat (Bonafide spec page; canoeky; Eco Fishing Shop)
- No sealed/waterproof hatch - the designer deliberately omitted hatches, so dry storage relies on a removable Dry Pod and strapped-on gear boxes; gear that must stay dry has no built-in protected home (Kayak Angler; Bonafide)
- The same open, self-draining deck that aids standing means a wet ride - water comes up through the scuppers in current and chop, which is inherent to the drain-fast design (described across Bonafide/canoeky deck descriptions)
- Narrow mission for the price: at $1,649 it is a paddle-only river specialist, and forum shoppers flagged the cost relative to how single-purpose it is; independent long-term reviews remain thin (bass forum discussion; Kayak Angler 'first look' was renderings-only, not a paddle test)
The RVR119 is a genuine, real product and clearly the most river-dedicated fishing kayak Bonafide makes - the rocker, skeg and flat standing deck are purpose-built and praised wherever it has been handled. The honest caveat is that the public review record is thin and skews promotional: the widely cited Kayak Angler piece was a rendering-based 'first look' (the author had not paddled it), and most other hits are retailer listings, so we have limited independent long-term durability and on-water data. The defensible knocks - 85 lb weight, no dry hatch, a wet open cockpit, and a high price for a single-purpose boat - are design trade-offs acknowledged even in favorable coverage rather than a pile of owner failure reports. If you fish rivers it earns its keep; if you want one kayak for lakes and rivers both, look elsewhere.