re: Hobie Mirage Drive 180

I own a Slayer Propel 13 and I have seen videos of the Hobie 180 drive. Like someone else said, don't limit yourself to those two options. Watch videos of ICAST 2016 for other companies that have pedal drives.

Here are my thoughts on Hobie vs Native:
Hobie is a better kayak in terms of fit and finish. I don't know if the quality of the Native matches the Hobie. Not that it's bad, but I think Hobie sets the bar.

For the reverse drive performance, I would give the Native the edge. It's so easy to instantly go from forward to reverse hands free. When I hook a fish close to the bank, I automatically start back pedaling to get away from brush, etc. When I'm standing up and fishing, I can use one hand to bend over and spin the pedals forward or backwards. Having a mechanism that switches between forward and reverse just creates the opportunity for something else to break.

If I had to choose between Hobie and Native based on the ability to go in reverse, I'd choose the Native again. However, you have more choices now than just those two. You'll probably be happy with either kayak, to be honest.