Old Town Introduces the NEXT Great Advancement in Personal Watercraft

Old Town, Maine — Old Town Canoes & Kayaks, one of the most storied and trusted brands in the paddlesports industry, today launched a new generation of personal watercraft, the Old Town NEXT. Elegantly combining the comfort and solo-paddling performance of a kayak with the convenience, capabilities and confidence of a canoe, the NEXT is easy to approach, a dream to paddle and built to last a lifetime.

The NEXT is a boat for one, but a craft built for all with bold colors, clean lines and a robust feature set. Crafted using the 3-layer construction technique that Old Town helped pioneer and patent, the NEXT incorporates some of the brand’s newest innovations like the Element seat system and blends them with the brand’s years of expertise to create a boat only Old Town could bring to market.

“The NEXT is a completely different take on personal watercraft and represents the culmination of Old Town’s years of paddlesports experience into one progressive new boat,” said David Hadden, Brand Director for Johnson Outdoors Watercraft. “We’ve poured an incredible amount of consumer research into the NEXT and heard loud and clear that today’s consumer really expresses themselves through the products they align with. While other companies have marketed their spin on hybrid watercraft, we feel the NEXT personal watercraft is a new generation of boat for today’s generation of paddler and we’re confident it’s something our customers will really identify with.”

Lightweight, fun and easy to paddle, the NEXT is built for the adventurous, independent spirit. It has a pronounced tumblehome design which reduces the amount of reach required when paddling; improving paddling ability for both the two-bladed and traditional single blade paddler. The NEXT has a trim profile, sitting low to the water to reduce drag in wind, while Old Town engineers crafted the boat’s hull to include a subtle rocker that provides straight, smooth tracking. 

Key specs for the NEXT include:

Length: 13’

Overall Width: 29”

Seat Width: 21”

Weight: 49 lbs.

Carrying Capacity: 450 lbs.

Material: 3-Layer Poly

MSRP: $999 USD

Built for all day comfort, the Element seat rests in an adjustable track designed to move smoothly forward and back six inches allowing you to maintain level trim when loading kids, pets or gear in the fore or aft of the boat. The NEXT also features adjustable, contoured Glide Track foot braces with an intuitive, easy-to-reach adjustment system and position indicators for a quick custom fit.

At only 49 pounds the NEXT is as easy to maneuver off the water as it is on, making car-topping and portaging a breeze. Ready to get into the NEXT big thing in paddlesports? Join us at www.paddlenext.com.

Old Town® is part of the Johnson Outdoors family of innovative, market-leading brands. The company designs, manufactures and markets a portfolio of top-quality products for the global marketplace across four categories: Watercraft, Marine Electronics, Diving and Outdoor Equipment. Johnson Outdoors’ familiar brands include, among others: Ocean Kayak™, Necky® kayaks, Old Town® canoes and kayaks, Extrasport®, Carlisle® Paddle Gear, Minn Kota® motors, Cannon® downriggers, Humminbird® fish finders, SCUBAPRO® dive equipment, and Eureka!® tents. Visit Johnson Outdoors online at www.johnsonoutdoors.com.

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