sailing newbie - comparison between Outback and Revo 13

I have an old Outback and recently purchased a used Rev 13. I want to explore sailing on both models and like to know if anyone any experiences regarding sailing on these 2 or anything I should learn before begin purchasing equipment.

Welcome!
If you don't have much sailing experience, get the stabilizers (either Hobie Inflatables or Spring Creek). Also, the Hobie sail furler is very much worth it if you are going to do any serious sailing. There are many threads in this part of the forum regarding sailing Revolutions, but I've seen at least one person here with an outback rigged for sailing.

Wear a 3mm wetsuit if going out in the ocean or start on a lake or back bay area. Go out in the late morning when you will have a 5-8 knot breeze and not in the afternoon when you can expect strong gusts of wind.

No real need for the amas to get started learning and better to learn the boats capabilities without them. The important thing to remember is that you can let the main line for the sail out all the way and cut the power from the wind completely. You do not want to have the line cleated down.

The huge advantage of the Hobie is that you can learn to tack and if you screw up you still have the pedals to move the boat along. Lightweight boats are the best type to learn on as any mistakes are immediately obvious.

Flipping over is not a big deal either and after you have done it a couple times you will worry less about it and can focus more on the fun aspects.

I echo Wintersun - personally I would not start out by buying the stabilisers unless you are really nervous about risking a capsize (e.g. due to cold water, sharks, inability to get back on board or w.h.y.). For my money a boat which doesn't lean (i.e. a trimaran) seriously detracts from the sailing experience, plus the outriggers add more weight & drag which you can well do without: these boats are already slow enough under sail.

The big "must-do" set up is to invest in some micro pulley-blocks of good quality to lead the sheet (the rope you use to pull in the sail or let it out) through as these will let the line run very much more freely to instantly depower the sail if you get hit by an unexpected gust (a major cause of capsize on these boats). There are plenty of posts from me and lots of others on these forums about how best to set your boat up if you do a bit of digging.

Then read a how to sail book or two before, on a warm (water) day with light consistent breezes, going out to... well, "learn the ropes" as they say

My feeling is that unlike a bike, if you start with stabilisers you will probably never take them off and for my money (i.e. me sailing in the conditions I find on my doorstep; not necessarily a blanket assertion) the extra difficulty of learning to sail without outriggers will be repaid in the future through a more challenging, interesting and engaging sailing experience over the long term... As long as you have enough light wind days to be able to enjoy the experience: if the winds in your area are strong enough to consistently push your boundaries as regards making your boat lean and you feel unstable/at risk when you sail, then clearly outriggers are probably more justifiable than I find them where I live/sail... but there is also an argument that a lot of it is down to skill, knowing the limits that your boat can take and applying your skill at/near those limits, and your own personal willingness to accept an overcome certain levels of risk.

As long as you sail within sensible limits dictated by your abilities and the conditions - and assuming that you get a reasonable number of days on which the conditions are light enough - you may well find, in the long term, that outriggers are not really as essential as you originally thought they were.

I've sailed my Outback a few times (never purchased Amas). It's not what I'd call "relaxing", like when sailing an Islander, but it IS a lot of fun. Yes, rig with pulleys so your hand doesn't fall off after a half hour.

But the BIG THING is to switch out your standard rudder for the larger Hobie Sail Rudder. Even if you don't sail, the sail rudder gives significantly better authority to your kayak in crosswinds and tracking.

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Absolute kayaking corrupts absolutely.

I agree that the capsizing bit is not to be worried about too much. Make sure everything is tied down then relax and have fun. I heave only capsized my Adventure once and I like to get every ounce of speed out of it so push the boat reasonably hard. My boat is designed to float when full of water anyway. If you set your mainsheet to run forward then back to you it gives you more chance to play the sail and avoid wipeout. Live on the edge a bit and do without the outriggers/sidekicks then the boat is pure and simple as it was designed to be.