Modern creekers, old school style?

[auldfella]

So after a long hiatus in which I raised a family and followed the mad hatter down a rabbit hole on a mtb I'm getting back paddling again.
I was a confident grade 4 paddler who would happily hit one or 2 sections of five mid river on a good day.
Looking to get back to do some 3-4 and probably steer clear of those biblical flood days

I've dug out a Topolino and a prozone from the shed and decided a new boat is the kind of a mid life crisis I can afford.
I've moved to the opposite side of the country from my old crew, most of who no longer paddle anyway and there is a global pandemic both of which make it difficult to try out boats.

I had kind of narrowed it down to a Mamba 8.6 or a Diesel 80 steering clear of the new race creekboats, I'll be rusty enough and certainly don't want to have to "drive aggressively" through every rapid. Even when I was on the top of my game the back ferry was a technique I used and don't want to have to learn a complete new style of paddling.

Am I over reading marketing jargon and can some of these boats be paddled lazily enough?
I've seen a crackin deal on a second hand Waka OG and that new Dagger Code looks cool.

Feed back much apricated!

[purelandexpeditions.com]

As a paddler that still uses my topo on steep not deep rivers and have moved on to many different boats over the years. I used a diesel 80 in Chile and India lots, along with a mamba - I like them they are dated, but fine. I enjoy the the ACE of SPADES and I love the recon, again the latter a dated boat. The OG is a whole new breed, and in a different class from the mamba/diesel.....lets not even compare the topo to the OG. Code has yet to be seen in any real sense. I am quite a lazy paddler - but driving a boat does make it perform better. I do float lots in my 9ft boat, but it is superior when I am proactive (Royal Flush). The back ferry is almost obsolete on the river, positive blade....

I expect you pay your money and make your choices. Boats like the Diesel, Magnum, Mamba are a decade or more old in design, but cheaper than an OG, Code etc

Boats to consider (that you have not mentioned). Lettmann Rocky, Dagger Nomad,

What boat you choose, its going to be amazing seeing you smile again on a river.

DAZ

[Strad]

I would say get to somewhere like Cardiff WWC and try a few demo boats in a day. Personally I like the playful boats like the Rewind, Ripper, etc, that said I currently paddle a Juice, it was a present from my lovely lady when I decided to get back to paddling after my child hiatus.

[auldfella]

Nice one Lads!

The Mamba and Diesel are boats I could see working for me, for want of a better term "I understand" them

I'm questioning will a newer style boat make my learning curve steeper than something I'm more familiar with, is this something that will be worth it
I can see myself paddling local runs almost exclusively
I mostly ran everything in playboats back in the day apart from proper Spud work
I expect to be as sharp as a massed banana so will avoid anything slicey for the time being

Only one way to find out I guess.

Strad, sounds great, I live in Ireland and we don't have such facilities
I can take demo boats from my local shop whenever they are back in stock and the shop is open again
It's just patience is a virtue I don't possess :)

Oh yeah, what is it with the size of modern boats

[auldfella]

I guess another way of posing the question

If I took a break from Downhill mtb from 2000 until now, it's so easy to see the benefits of the improvements over the years.
For someone coming back into the sport everything is better, more stability, faster and come with better brakes, modern geometry has made them more user friendly, it's win win

Is that going to be the case with an OG or similar style boat?

[purelandexpeditions.com]

To answer the question I going from a topo/prozone to a mamba and OG will be a leap. In truth the OG is so much a better boat. You can float it without driving. You will not fall over the tail when its loaded - if its a good deal, just do it!!! Like I say I use a much older boat but the OG is an amazing boat and will certainly give confidence.

[purelandexpeditions.com]

If the size of the OG seems daunting you could look at a tuna or similar - as for size - wide = stability, big rocker profile = ease of boof, I could go on, but I don't need to as I am sure you have done your research.

[purelandexpeditions.com]

is a good honest review - of the OG

[purelandexpeditions.com]

Mamba is likely to be overtaken by the code - but hey this is a review -

[purelandexpeditions.com]

I like this review
'If you are a dib dab paddler it will smash you...'

[auldfella]

Cheers Daz, yeah to much time to be doing research at the minute, that's my problem!
Very familiar with Alex and Wade at this point

At 95kg I'm pushing the recommended weight on all but the biggest boats and everything (particularly online) is pushing me towards the bigger sizes

The OG is a friends boat who couldn't get on with it, went back to a Burn that he was familiar with, he's a much smaller guy though, maybe 75kg

Will take it out on the water whenever we can travel to a river I guess and see what it feels like for myself

Cheers for all the input, good to be talking boats again!

[clarky999]

I guess another way of posing the question

If I took a break from Downhill mtb from 2000 until now, it's so easy to see the benefits of the improvements over the years.
For someone coming back into the sport everything is better, more stability, faster and come with better brakes, modern geometry has made them more user friendly, it's win win

Is that going to be the case with an OG or similar style boat?

Same thing - modern boats are far better. I guess you could think of modern rocker profiles in a similar way to slacker MTB head angles. Nose rides over everything and skips on forwards.

[auldfella]

I guess another way of posing the question

If I took a break from Downhill mtb from 2000 until now, it's so easy to see the benefits of the improvements over the years.
For someone coming back into the sport everything is better, more stability, faster and come with better brakes, modern geometry has made them more user friendly, it's win win

Is that going to be the case with an OG or similar style boat?

Same thing - modern boats are far better. I guess you could think of modern rocker profiles in a similar way to slacker MTB head angles. Nose rides over everything and skips on forwards.

I hear you, makes sense

[Neptune]

You need to demo a Dagger Nomad, probably the Large which has a weight range of 77 - 120 kg. It is a fantastic kayak with plenty of volume both front and back to balance it out and stop you back flipping when running drops and holes.

Peter

[Rae1]

"I would say get to somewhere like Cardiff WWC and try a few demo boats in a day."

No more demo boats at CWWC, the shop has shut for good.

https://www.canoeandkayakstore.co.uk/bl ... re-cardiff

[Mark Mulrain]

Where exactly are you based?

Demoing is 100% the way to go here. I'm certain that there will be plenty of events popping across the country up once people are vaccinated and life starts to regain some normality. You might be lucky to have some people near you with cool boats that you could borrow too.

[auldfella]

I'm in Ireland and close to good paddling.

Picking up a demo boat next week, will have to try out on a weir or 2 as thats all thats within my 5k limit, but its a start

The Spud will see some action yet!