Im looking in to going a creaker/river runer not sure what to go for ?
I got a play boat so i think i should go for a full on creaker eh?
im looking at E.g.

CREAKERS
solo
habitat
rocker
nomad
jefe

RIVER RUNNER
diesel
mamba
hero

Im 5'9" 74kg

i heard boats like the habitat is really high on the front
i dont want to look small in my boat

Thanks Dan

Just from my opinion, I would eliminate the nomad, habitat, diesel, and mamba because of their plastic. I looked at the Diesel 65, which was a great boat, except for the WS plastic and the thigh hooks felt like they could break. Some people have had trouble cartopping it because of the backband ratchet location, but if you're like me, you can be cheap and put it inside of the car (I can get my 9.5 ft Dagger Zydeco in easily). You may also want to add the LL Remix to your list, because it is displacement with more volume and slightly shorter than the RPM. I have paddled the 59 and loved it, except that the bulkhead adjusting knob hit my shin area, and even though people seem to love it, the outfitting seems like it could easily get snagged. I have the Solo and the outfitting is great, except for the hip pads, which you can fix for very little (Bliss-Stick hip pads are ~$15 USD). The Solo has tons of volume, and tons of great safety features, as well as innovative accessories such as the backband ratchets on the seat pan, and the step, which also reduce the possibility of oilcanning because of the amount of contact provided by the seat.

Thanks for the responce

Yea i have heard alot of bad comments about the plastic so yea that a good point becasue i run some rockey rivers i think i will drop them i dont want my boat to get ripped to shreads.

I really like the look of the solo i need to demo that one i heard good suff about them to .

Dose any one own rocker or jefe and could tell me a bit about them ?

Thanks
Dan

I wouldn't exclude the Nomad or the Mamba (espcially with the Creeker outfitting). The Dagger plastic can take a lot of abuse. At least mine does.
And all plastic will become more brittle when exposed to sun.


Now river runner vs. Creeker depends on what rivers you're going to paddle:

Small creeks = creeker
Rivers with a lot of water where you won't touch the rocks that much = river runner

The best thing you can do is: DEMO

Always demo a boat before you buy, what everyone else says doesn't matter.
How you feel the boat handles and how it fits you is the most important!

Good luck!

Really i have heard bad sutff about dager plastic from a few people.

well river runner vs creaker well i really like the solo atm becasue of the sold out fitting and its hull is in between is semi displacement i like hehe but i dont no what size to go for if i did pick the solo small or med ??
im 5'9" 74ish kg

i will be running rockey river and i want to start doing more rivers with drops
i no demo demo demo i will for sure

Thanks Dan

The Rocker has a support beam going down the middle, which I have seen go off center just in the shop, so I have no clue how it will be on the river. Other than that, Jacksons are great boats, as long as you can fit easily (too big for the sidekick and too small for the hero at the thigh braces). The Jefe has a cool storage area under the seat, as well as a pretty secure water bottle holder built in to the middle of the seat. Of all of these, I would have gotten the punk rocker if it didn't have the bad support bar in it, but I like the Solo better as far as safety features. for the small or medium, I am approx. 5' 7" and ended up putting in the larger bulkhead in because the factory one seems to be made for around 45" inseams at the middle seat position. However, I am maxing out the large bulkhead, but the small bulkhead is way too small, so it is a weird sizing in my opinion. I prefer the WS bulkhead, where (If I remember correctly) you can also add the foam piece for the bulkhead instead of having an alternate bulkhead (like hip shims for your feet).

I'd look at the jefe it's a great boat design, and I think the new outfitting is the best system that I have seen. Your the same size and weight as me so go for the medium version of the solo or the Jefe. I wouldn't get a rocker. My mate had a Dagger CFS for years and paddled the crap out of it. I think that every manufacture has issues from time to time with their plastic.

Have a good look at the footrest when you test the boats to make sure that you can't get your foot jamed under the full-plate footrest. Some brands have way too much space at the bottom or forget to include the block of foam to go on top of the plastic.

Yours,

Neil Newton Taylor

www.swiftwaterrescue.at