Hi everyone,

I'm trying to decide on a boat. I am just starting out, I have paddled flatwater boats for a few months, and tried a Dagger GTX a couple of weeks ago and loved it, except that it took some getting used to as it was the first WW boat i had paddled, but got the hang of it within about half an hour (this was on flatwater, with a motor boat going past a few times, catching its wash where possible).

I am 6' 4"/194cms and weigh around 110-115kgs/245lbs

I am wanting a boat that I can throw around a fair bit, will track well (or well enough) in flatwater, can go at a reasonable pace (or fast if possible).
I would like to be able to do a few tricks with it, but nothing too fancy or anything. Im not planning on paddling high class WW anytime soon, just some recreational stuff for fun.

I have been looking around, and here are the boats that appeal to me the most so far:

Liquid Logic Remix XP9 or 10 (I am thinking the 9 as it is quite a bit shorter than the 10 and, im guessing, easier to throw around)
Liquid Logic Remix 79
Dagger Mamba 8.5

at the moment, i am thinking that the LL Remix XP9 would be the best for what i want it for

I was also looking at...
Fluid Solo Large
Dagger GT Max
Dagger Green Boat

But after talking with a few people they have sort of drifted out of the picture

If there are any other boats that i should also consider, please let me know
Thank you for any help and guidance that you can give me

If you mean throwing it around like a playboat, the only boat that might have a chance would be the Remix 79, because of the fairly flat ends. Look into the Liquid Logic CR 250 or a Wave Sport Fuse 64. At your weight, it can be hard to find a boat that fits, and even then, it may constantly submerge. Also, the Jackson Super Fun would be a great option, since it is one of the few boat companies where as the weight ranges increase, the cockpit rim size increases.

Large Fluid Spice? Give one a demo if you can. You might like it. Good boat to learn the basics in..

Read through this:

adrian.playak.com/index.php?option=com_c...=view&id=93&Itemid=5


Might help a little with your decision in choosing a boat. Good luck! Any questions, shoot

sounds like you're looking for an all rounder but you're considering creek boats...hmmm?

I would tend to agree with Adrian, the Fluid Spice is an ideal jack of all trades, master of none type boat. It s got some speed, lots of agility, can play, can rodeo, you can even play kayak water polo with it. Its fun to surf, although don;t expect the waveskiers and surfers to like you much. you can move about on teh face of the wave but it slides out a bit early on anything over 5ft.
I tried it and it's also pretty stable. not as stable as a creek boat but stable enough for a beginner.
Lovely boat for a beginner who is not sure what type of kayaking style they want to settle into but can only afford one boat.

The Creek boats are no fun on waves, unless sliding down sideways is your idea of fun

Thanks heaps guys.

unfortunately I wont have much time this year (and a lot of next year) to do much WW runs, so an important factor for me is the boats ability to track in flatwater, which is why I am currently thinking that the LL remix xp9 would be ideal for me at the moment, with its dropdown skeg.

The Fluid Spice seems a good idea too.

Thanks everyone

The reason that we were recommending playboats was because you said "I am wanting a boat that I can throw around a fair bit". If you are looking for a boat that is a good hybrid, I would get the Remix 79, because even though it might not track as well as the XP10, I would feel much more comfortable in it in whitewater, and it is most likely easier to roll, since it is much narrower. The Dagger Green Boat would be another good option, purely because of its length, which would make it a good bit faster than the Remixes. Your other option is to get a used whitewater kayak and an inexpensive rec kayak (Dagger Zydeco, Wilderness Systems Pamlico 100, etc). Just my .

im also looking for a new boat. im 6,2' 185cm bout 110kg 16stone with all paddle gear and kit included and am looking for a creeker for padling grade iv/v in the alps this summer any help much appreciated.

cjcc wrote:

The reason that we were recommending playboats was because you said "I am wanting a boat that I can throw around a fair bit". quote]

sorry if what i said was missleading, but I meant to be able to throw it round enough for a bigginer to be happy with.

I will look around for 2nd hand boats it did come to mind, i just never got round to looking.
Thank you

ps. jaqualung - I dont feel it is good manners to highjack someone elses thread

You are both really comparable in specs, but I think that since you seemed to be looking at creekers, it's not really hijacking your thread. I would definitely take the Remix as my first choice, followed by the Dagger Green Boat, Prijon Chopper, and other relatively long boats for your requests. If you try to find a really old boat like a Perception Dancer, since it would probably be one of the faster boats, be aware that the plastic will most likely be brittle. Also, what kayak brands are popular in Australia? I would presume Bliss-Stick, but any others that are really commonplace? If there is a really popular brand of kayaks, that most likely means that there will be lots of used kayaks from those companies on the used market, which will help us determine what is right for your specific needs. One more note: the XP9's weight range is 100-220 lbs, which could pose a potential problem. You may want to also look at the Fluid Solo L/Expedition, depending on if you want a hatch. I hope that you understand my point:) .

thanks cjcc for the help and im sorry if i offended u bbear i just saw an article on the same lines mof the thread i was going to start

jaqualung wrote:

thanks cjcc for the help and im sorry if i offended u bbear i just saw an article on the same lines mof the thread i was going to start

For you, I would recommend the Prijon Hercules, Prijon Embudo, Eskimo Salto, LL Remix 79, LL Jefe Grande, Fluid Solo L, Bliss-Stick Mystic, Jackson Mega Rocker, Pyranha Burn L, and maybe the Dagger Nomad 8.5. I would presume that you are experienced in whitewater, so just demo and try to find the boat that you like the best. You could probably demo one kayak that has a similar design to the other (Fluid Solo and Eskimo Salto) and get an idea of whether or not if you like the boat. Also, what is more important to you: speed or manueverability?

im realy looking for somthing with both speed and manouvarability that is quite stable, ive been paddling grade iii and low iv in a playboat so im used to low speed but high manouvarability. thanks

Based on what you want, get the Remix 79. Also, a river running playboat can have decent speed (I could keep up with my dad when I was in a Pyranha S:7 /2 that was too big and he was in a Dagger Zydeco). If it has a long waterline and is a displacement-hulled kayak, it will probably be faster. Your other option would be a Dagger Green Boat or a Dragorossi Reaction, which are longboats, but still very capable for running whitewater (LL Remix 100, WS Momentum, and Prijon Tornado are also good options, but are pretty hard to come by). A Prijon Chopper would be your next best option.

I am so not qualified to spout too much on this. But I do love my XP9.

I reccomend either a pyranha Inazone or prozone (prozone is more playful where as the inazone isnt)
the liquid logic Hoss is brilliant at tracking but slightly harder to roll (because its a tank)

Either way just try out as many boats as possible to get a feel for the market and type of boat you'd like

One of the dragorossi's for bigger paddlers