I am finally able to afford a creek boat.... BOOM no more getting raped by big holes on the river while my mates cruze on through.

The boats my mates are paddeling are nomads 8.5 (obviously a great boat tried and tested) and the necky blunt( with no outfitting but great on the river).
The two im interested in as i have heard good things about are the (LL) jeffe and the (riot)magnum 72 but cant get my hands on one the test.
Can i get any suggestions as what your feelings on these two boats are and any other boats you may suggest and why. (Plastic, rocker, edge... holding a line etc.)
PLEASE.

both the Jefe and Magnum have seen a series of broken boats, BUT contrary to what some negative folk would say, I think they were just isolated batches. Should not be an issue at all any more. I've seen both models with lots of hard miles on them, so no worries.

Magnum is a fast boat,so if you like to carry your momentum into the next drop then it's a good boat.

Jefe is a good steep creeker but I didn't like it on big water. (I have very limited experience in the boat)

I import DragoRossi.
The Mafia is great in super steep and tight turny situations and the Critical Mass has saved my butt more than once. It's a big boat that paddles small (turns very well)


Where are you located that you have not been able to demo some other boats?

nice one.... ill have to give the daggarossi a look.

Sorry... located in ireland. where do you import them into?

ScottBarnes wrote:

both the Jefe and Magnum have seen a series of broken boats, BUT contrary to what some negative folk would say, I think they were just isolated batches. Should not be an issue at all any more. I've seen both models with lots of hard miles on them, so no worries.

the magnum nose is really hard to break, i got a 2006 model and pin it three time, one time i sparined my ankle very badly (it was a 3m falls) and another time i lost grip on my boat when i was exiting from a canyon and it falls 4 meter vertical ledge directly the nose on a rock and just a small dent.

in the molding they put more plastic in the nose and in the rail where it broke in the past.

the magnum got enough speed to do that must do ferry and catch that eddy before the class V rapid. it keep it line very well and with it rail it carve when put on an edge.

the only thing i found is the lack of support by the seat for the hip, but it could be resolve simply by ductaping

both th e magnum and jefe are great boats, the hefe especially for expedition boatin, the bliss stick mystic is another great boat that excels at exped. and i've heard great things from all my buddies that've paddled the new wavesport habitat.

i had a much different experience than described above with the mafia, which felt like a deathtrap, but havent paddled the critical mass as all.

how much do you weigh? the habitat has a size range, i don't think the magnum does, or the jefe, and are more suited to bigger paddlers or expedition boaters if you're small, the mystic is bigger too, but is coming in smaller sizes this fall.

deathtrap. I love it! Scared of difference are ya? That's what the old timers said about 3 meter boats about 12 years ago.




I am the U.S. importer. I don't know who brings the DR boats into Ireland. Might be worth asking over on the DR message board. www.dragorossi.net/drboard

ScottBarnes wrote:

deathtrap. I love it! Scared of difference are ya? That's what the old timers said about 3 meter boats about 12 years ago.

whatever dude, i'm not tryin to be hurtful here, everyone that took part in the creekboat test (7 boats, 8 people) that could fit in the mafia (5 outa 8 people) said the exact same thing. deathtrap. the boats a dud, you wanna paddle something like that in a playboat, whatever, no big deal, but in a creeker your life or limbs could be at stake. go with a boat that you can trust.

\and never trust anything an importer or dealer is telling you, take it with a huge grain of salt, he's just trying to sell his product, he didn't even bother asking your size, paddling style, experience or price range (and kayak thats more expensive on principle....well i'm sure you understand...)

yea you are trying to be hurtful. Nothing but negativity coming out of your keyboard.

My signature states that I am the DR importer and I think that people are smart enough to figure it out on their own. I don't try to hard-sell anyone. I let people make up their own minds. It just sucks that the DR boats get a bad rap because they are different and people get scared of them because their friends give them crap about it. It's just silly.

I also suppose that you think the happy customers that I have who are enjoying their Mafias are crazy. Might be true. but they are happy.

The Critical Mass is a different boat entirely. At least you admitted that.

As for \"expensive\" ..... might be worth reinvestigating what you assume. You can get a DragoRossi boat now for less than $800 U.S.

Speaking of the U.S. Note that I am the U.S. importer and someone buying a boat over seas does not effect me at all.

ScottBarnes wrote:
The Critical Mass is a different boat entirely. At least you admitted that.
[/quote]

the critical mass is just a big big gun ,and i admit that the big gun was a different boat entirely

They share the same lineage but the Big Gun and Critical Mass are very different boats. Kind of like brothers. I have alot of time in both of those boats.

ScottBarnes wrote:

yea you are trying to be hurtful. Nothing but negativity coming out of your keyboard.
.

actually, i have a lot of positive stuff said about the jefe and magnum, mystic and habitat, just not the mafia, which as i said, due to my experience in it, and all of my friends who have paddled it, i believe to be a bad boat design. and i said to take anything an importer/dealer says with a grain of salt, not just you, but any, which i think is pretty good advice, whether its you talking about the mafia or a dodge importer talking about their product.

if i'd met some of these happy mafia owners, than maybe my opinion would be a bit different, but the only people i've ever seen in the mafia are th testers i mentioned, whose opinion i've already said, and drago team boaters, one of whom had the same bad opinion. so i think my take on the boat is understandable.

one things for sure, if this guys getting his first creek boat, he's probably going to be a lot better off in a boat that almost everyone who paddles it likes, is known to be an excelently performing boat, and is going to paddle in a predictable manner (learning to creek/buying your first creek boat is prolly not the best time to learn a 'different' style of paddling, whether its worse or better)

don't take it personally dude, you said your opinion on the boats mentioned, and i gave mine. opinions are like that, everyone's got their own. its just fair to the original poster to hear both sides represented.

I haven't tried the Jefe', but it is very popular with the experts who run hair around here. I did try the Magnum and did not like it. Outfitting was poor on the one I demo'ed and it just didn't handle as well as I thought it should. That said, it may have been too small for me. I'm 210, 235 geared up for creeking. Have you considered a large Ammo? or a Burn?

If I get something besides my Savage Skreem, I'll probably look at a Habitat 80, or a Prijon Hercules.

and Nialred, if you check www.nuigkc.com, the galway university kayak club forum, i bet you'll find some people around who have different creekers you can go for a demo in.

Beaverman wrote:
235 geared up for creeking. Have you considered a large Ammo? or a Burn?
[/quote]

you're too heavy for the magnum, you need a bigger boat more volume more length
something like an dagger nomad 8.5 or a big habitat

Cheers lads, as some of you may or may not have heard there has been loads of rain in ireland these past few weeks so i have been able to test a few boats on my local creeks. Tried out the medium burn and well holy shit i loved it... everything, boofing, eddy hopping, speed... loved it. Going to get in contact with a couple of the college clubs as suggested see if i can get my hands on a magnum and am off to the alps to my brother who has a mate who i can test a jeffe in a couple of weeks.
For the record im 83kg and about 87 all geared up. 6ft and a set of guns to match the u.s. aresel. Ill basically paddle anything put infornt of me within reason but am confident on 4s and 5s. Al irish rivers are low volume creeks but i like to adventure to all over doing a bit all over the euro alps.
Has anyone tested the burn and any of the other boats, jeffe or magnum... what do you guys paddle??

Aw man a mate of mine has this hot off the boat, pink pyranha master in his back garden. I could probably arrange a demo.

BOOM, Hook me up. What about the that pink magig bat.

Beaverman wrote:
235 geared up for creeking. Have you considered a large Ammo? or a Burn?

i read on the riot blog that they tested a riot big magnum, didn't saw any picture of it but if it's released it should be on the outdoor show at salt lake city and available this falls:dance: