POUROVER
HEART-STOPPING AND BREATHTAKING—
JUST WHAT YOU’D EXPECT FROM A MAMBA PHOTO: MIKE KOBZIK
kayak insider
THE SERPENT RETURNS
DAGGER’S MAMBA SHEDS ITS SKIN AND EMERGES BIGGER AND BOLDER
The old adage “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” is advice many adhere to, while others seem de- termined to prove it wrong. The believers have some pretty strong examples to strengthen the argument—think New Coke or the remake of Psycho—but then something like the new Dag- ger Mamba shows that it is possible to take something great and make it even better. Dagger first launched the Mamba in 2005 as a river runner that was designed to inspire confi- dence in paddlers whether they were learning the basics, figuring out how to spin, or already drift- ing over horizonlines. With three sizes to choose from and a choice of creek or play outfitting, Dagger had a clear winner—so why the change? We spoke with Dagger team manager Andrew Holcombe and he told us the new and improved Mamba “is a little more aggressive for those who want it, has extra safety features, looks sleeker, fits better and is more comfortable for more paddlers—we’re just tweaking an already good boat.” The most obvious change to the boat is bigger
sizes across the range. Increased length and vol- ume accommodate a greater paddler range and the extra volume around the knees makes for a very comfortable and aggressive seated posi- tion. Added volume in the stern keeps the boat floating higher so the ends stay clear of grabby eddylines and boils.
The planing hull is sandwiched between long carving rails that extend almost the full length of the boat, tapering off into the rounded bow and stern. This allows you to aggressively carve across eddylines, wave faces or out of holes and yet still spin, side surf and cross currents without worry of window shading. Other improvements push the capabilities of
the redesigned Mamba towards more difficult whitewater. These include repositioning the ex-
24 RAPID SPRING 2012
isting front safety bar and adding a second bar for easier carrying, dragging and extractions. The creeking outfitting also now features a molded-in stern foam wall mount to boost structural integrity. Charging down steeper class IV–V rapids, we loved how this Mamba handled holes. Although a bit slower than Dagger’s displacement hull creek boat, the Nomad, it carved out of holes that would’ve had Nomad paddlers looking for a rope. The Mamba’s narrow, sleek bow punches holes and deflects smaller, choppy waves so the river doesn’t high five you in the face every few seconds. Boofing is a breeze, although on some higher volume runs we had to aggressively lean forward to avoid surprise stern squirts. Comfortable and easy-to-adjust outfitting means you can paddle all day without needing to get out and stretch every 10 minutes. Spend some time adjusting the seat placement, as slight changes in positioning dramatically affect how the rails work and the boat performs. The tweaks to the Mamba allow paddlers to
charge harder whitewater than the earlier version and we suspect some paddlers will make this their dedicated creek boat. Its responsive han- dling should make it a go-to ride for the big water crowd and its stability and predictability make it a solid choice for developing paddlers. With this Mamba, Dagger could coin a new ad- age: It ain’t broke but we made it better anyway. —Dan Caldwell
DAGGER MAMBA 7.6 / 8.1 / 8.6
LENGTH .........................................7’7” / 8’1” / 8’6” WIDTH ....................................25.5” / 26.75” / 27.5” VOLUME ..................................64 / 77 / 89 US GAL WEIGHT ......................................... 41 / 44 / 46 LBS PADDLER .........120–170 / 150–220 / 175–260 LBS MSRP .....................................................$1,049 US
www.dagger.com
Digital Extra: Click here to watch a video review.
STRIKE TWO.
EXTENDED BOW RAILS AND AN EXTRA GRAB BAR MEAN BUSINESS UP FRONT.
FIRM, YET FORGIVING.
INSET PHOTOS: DAN CALDWELL
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56