Is the Hobie Bimini worth it?

It isn't but it does float! I also bring my Tamron 150-600 with me occasionally in my bigger Pelican case. I usually have a waterproof Lumix DMC-TS5 for quick shots. Other devices sometimes brought are a Mavic Mini drone and a GoPro 8 hat cam. I use a Cotton Carrier to keep the big Tammie under control when pedaling.

I knew Pelican cases float but surprised that it will not sink with all the heavy camera gear. Something about that displacement physics law...

The yellow box in the back is a Pelican case for my Nikon D7500 and 70-300mm Tamron lens. I use a Scotty Bazooka tube with the slip disc setup and a Costco golf umbrella that fits in the tube perfectly. The slip discs allow me to angle the umbrella any which way to block sun or catch some breeze. I leash the Umbrella cause it will sink in a flash if it gets loose.  Otherwise, the tubes make a great arm rest and trolling rod setup. I've hooked some 20lb lings and 27" Steelhead with this setup and it works a treat! If the wind is above 5-6 mph I don't deploy the umbrella, of course.

Thank you for the info. I like your setup and it is much cheaper than the Bimini. The wind usually is not bad where I go, so I not being able to use it occasionally won’t be a big deal. I will just keep the hat on and make sure to use lots of sunscreen.

We have tried both an umbrella (mount clamps to the seat) as well as the actual Hobie Bimini. The umbrella constantly pulls over from the wind, and the bimini has multiple lines that would interfere with fishing, not to mention self rescue, and itself gets pushed around a lot from wind.

It is also frequently out of position to provide actual shade, unless you are pedaling straight into or out of the sun, at mid-day when it is high in the sky. Otherwise it comes in under the awning and you are in the sun anyway.

It makes a fine spinnaker when heading downwind, however.

Not recommendable.

When I bought my first Outback (used), many years ago, it came with a kayak shade. I forget the brand name, have never seen one since. Anyway, when I first saw it, I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Then when I got ot on the water, I realized that it indeed was not. Its cords constantly got in the way, kept me from accessing things behind the seat, rarely cast shade on me, due to angle of the sun, impaired my ability to cast, and caught the wind way too much. After one trip, I got rid of it, and do fine with appropriate clothing, wide brim hat and sunscreen.

I tried the clamp on umbrella type but sent it back for being to flimsy. My umbrella is a fairly sturdy setup and I can position it on either side and adjust it using the Scotty slip discs and pulling the Bazooka tube out to reposition. The umbrella was purchased at Costco and occasionally shows up there. I was extremely lucky the handle just fit the Bazooka tube, I don't know of any others that would work as well. It's a ShedRain model but I couldn't find it on their website, but did find it on an EBAY site for twice as much $.

Scotty slip disks are great.  Can't wrap my head around umbrella or bimini on a fishin yak being a good thing.