Mad River versus Dagger
Pekka Majander
I'm going to by a canoe this spring. I have experience only about
inflatables, so I'm a bit lost here with the selection. Luckily here in
Finland the selection is not as wide as in US, I think.
After going through the catalogs of Mad River, Dagger and Old Town, I've
got a list of
six runners up:
Mad River: Explorer, Revelation and Duck Hunter
Dagger : Passage, Reflection 16 and Venture 17
Now, I'm looking for a kind of allrounder. I'm going to use it for some
fishing and
solo padling in quiet seashore, weekend trips on lakes ans small rivers
and maybe
once a year a weeks trip to wildernes. That will include some whitewater
maybe up to
class II-III. Load will be 2 persons (1 big and 1 moderate).
I know that getting the best of all worlds is impossible, but maybe a
best compromise.
So, if you have experience of above canoes or things to mind of, please
post or e-mail.
Secondly, any experience on R-Light versus Royalex?
And finally, anybody know any online source of test results of above
canoes. My searches were not succesfull.
Thanks,
Pekka
Woolbert Lab
Pekka Majander wrote:
> Mad River: Explorer, Revelation and Duck Hunter
> Dagger : Passage, Reflection 16 and Venture 17
>
> Now, I'm looking for a kind of allrounder. I'm going to use it for some
> fishing and
> solo padling in quiet seashore, weekend trips on lakes ans small rivers
> and maybe
> once a year a weeks trip to wildernes. That will include some whitewater
> maybe up to
> class II-III. Load will be 2 persons (1 big and 1 moderate).
> I know that getting the best of all worlds is impossible, but maybe a
> best compromise.
> So, if you have experience of above canoes or things to mind of, please
> post or e-mail.
The Mad River Explorer is the quintessential do everything canoe, the
Duckhunter is (I think) just a different color. Don't know the
Revelation.
The Dagger boats, especially the Passage and the Reflection 16, will
probably be faster. The Venture will carry a load better.
> Secondly, any experience on R-Light versus Royalex?
No, I don't, but they are both plastics which means you trade off
increased weight and lack of rigidity for the fact that they stand up
to severe impact better than Fiberglass and Kevlar. Except for your
once a year trip (and will you really be running Class III whitewater
with a big load?) I would say you would be better off with a good
quality fiberglass (as made by Mad River or We-no-nah -- a cloth
layup) or Kevlar boat. Both are very strong, and they can be formed
into shapes that are much more satisfying to paddle. Kevlar
especially can be much lighter than Royalex or Royalite, though it
costs more. Both fiberglass and Kevlar hold their shpaes better,
stand up to abrasion better and generally last longer than Royalex,
unless you repeatedly bash your boat into rocks. What about getting a
lightweight boat in fiberglass or Kevlar and for your once a year
trip, renting or borrowing a Royalex boat?
-- Andrew Gooding
> And finally, anybody know any online source of test results of above
> canoes. My searches were not succesfull.
Try Outside Online and Backpacker magazines web sites.
> Thanks,
>
> Pekka
Rick Tjader
Pekka Majander <pekka.m...@ibm.fi> wrote:
>I'm going to by a canoe this spring. I have experience only about
>inflatables, so I'm a bit lost here with the selection. Luckily here in
>Finland the selection is not as wide as in US, I think.
>After going through the catalogs of Mad River, Dagger and Old Town, I've
>got a list of
>six runners up:
>Mad River: Explorer, Revelation and Duck Hunter
>Dagger : Passage, Reflection 16 and Venture 17
>
Pekka:
We bought a Mad River Revelation four years ago. I haven't
paddled the other boats you mentioned...but I can certainly highly
recommend the Revelation. We've taken it on extended wilderness
camping trips in Maine, short daytrips in coastal Rhode Island and
down mellow rivers in Southern New England. It handles very well,
and has great secondary stability.
Good luck in your selection process,
Rick
Timothy N. Schmutzler
I also have a Mad River Revelation (though only for a short time) and
have been very happy with it also. A good allaround canoe.
Tim
Douglas Ackerman
I've had a Mad River Explorer for 4 years: it's been great for fishing,
canoe camping and up to Class III whitewater river running. The only
shortcomings are that it has very little rocker: it doesn't turn well
unless leaned, and if there's only one person (lightly loaded) the wind
tends to blow you around a little. It has been a great all around boat
and I'm willing to lean into turns and sail once in a while for all the
other good things it does so well. I have paddled a Dagger Reflection
and it's very similar, but I prefer the looks and quality of the Mad
River.
Michael Ketchel
The Mad River Freedom is very similar to an Explorer, but the ends have
been brought up to give the canoe a bit more rocker, thus added
maneuverability. A side effect is that the end are also more flared,
adding a bit more dryness. This make for an excellent river canoe, while
still maintaining most of the versatility that makes the Explorer so
well loved.