Speed: Now this is a relative term considering we are in paddle/pedal craft that have no motor and how fast you go is mostly dependent on the person in the seat. When I say speed in regards to a kayak, I am looking for it's acceleration from a dead stop, how easy it gets up to hull speed and around 4 mph on a GPS (4 mph is a nominal speed for a kayak IMO). Acceleration and 4 mph on a GPS is easy to understand, the other term, hull speed needs some more explanation. Hull speed is the speed at which if you were to paddle any harder you would get minimal gains. It is a speed that you can feel when you are paddling/pedaling in a kayak and the drag on the boat and the energy you are exerting seem to be slowing you down even though you are trying to go faster. Determining hull speed is best done on flat water and zero wind.
Stability: The wider the boat, the more stable it will be. At a certain width, the kayak is going to become a barge and extremely difficult to paddle. Lately kayak designers have been unveiling some crazy wide boats pushing 36 inches and more. I prefer to stay around 33-34 inches as I personally think once you go past that, you are entering barge territory and regardless of the design, the kayak will be difficult to paddle and that extra width will make the boat too heavy. Stability doesn't solely have to do with just width. How high the boat sits in the water as well as seat position/height also play major factors.
Comfort: Many factors to consider here, but for the most part, the seat is the first place to look. The lawn chair style mesh seat is all the rage these days and for good reason. If you are out on the water for 4-6 hours, a normal fishing day for me, then you will surely understand why a lawn chair seat is important. I am not trying to say the on the deck seating can't be comfortable, but you will definitely need a cushy seat, probably one you will have to buy aftermarket, to be all day comfortable. Some other things to consider are leg room, cockpit space and foot pegs.
"Fishability": Obviously a made up term. When I say it, I am using it to describe the features that a manufacturer has added to help the kayak angler. The term covers everything from hatches, rails, rod holders, GoPro mounts, paddle holders, transducer scuppers, battery bags, mounting plates, storage pouches, tackle pods, etc.
This is by no means an all inclusive list of every area you should look at when you are considering a new kayak, but it is at least a start. There are so many cool features these days and it is easy to sucked into thinking that Kayak "X" has everything you need. Consider these 4 categories on your next kayak purchase and try your best to get to a demo day to see what you like best first hand.
Check out my YouTube Channel for some recent fishing kayak reviews that I did at the Austin Canoe and Kayak (ACK.com) Demo Day in Austin, TX this September.
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