Whitewater Kayak Review - 2006

Dagger
Rx
Length: 6' 7", 6' 9"
Width: 26.5", 27.25"
Volume: 53, 58 gallons
Weight: 29, 31 lbs
Recommended Paddler’s Weight: 140-170, 170-200 lbs
Price: $899
www.dagger.com

Dagger designed the Rx to be a playboat that you could paddle downriver. It’s not necessarily an all-around boat, like Drago Rossi’s Stinger. It is similar in volume and rocker distribution to Dagger’s Id of 2002 and its Juice of the last few years. The ends are slicey, good for cartwheeling and blunting. The designers have made some improvements, however. They’ve stiffened and lightened up the hull, which has enormous impact on big-wave and hole moves. They’ve also made the boat substantially more comfortable, an improvement the Id-lover will appreciate.

Todd Anderson: “This boat is fairly wide, with a lengthier hull, making it stable, which would be good for an intermediate playboater learning the new-school tricks. The slicey bow and stern are good for cartwheels, stern squirts, and blunts, but not as much for aerial maneuvers.”

Christian Knight: “It blunts and cartwheels well and easily. The small one felt a little too small for me. It would tend to flush in features that weren’t very sticky.”

Jackson
Super Hero
Length: 8' 6"
Width: 25.25"
Volume: 75 gallons
Weight: 40 lbs
Recommended Paddler’s Weight: 141-240 lbs
Price: $995
www.jacksonkayak.com

Jackson Kayak, like the makers of the Cross and the Stinger, is touting its Super Hero as the boat that can do everything well. You’re not going to win many rodeos in this boat, but what it can do well is negotiate hard whitewater. It’s big and responsive enough to trust on a steep creek. But it also tracks well, surfaces quickly, and rides high, which would make it an ideal craft for big, explosive water. Oh yeah: And it’s fast. Another advantage the Super Hero offers is its capacity to hold enough gear for a multi-day.

Todd Anderson: “It was a very fast boat downriver. It was easy to adjust the outfitting quickly using the rope-and-cleat system. The bulkhead did not feel secure or stable; it felt soft. I didn’t like that. But it didn’t leak.”

Christian Knight: “Seemed like a creekboat version of a slalom boat to me. It was fast, especially downriver. And it surfaced quickly off drops. But it wasn’t one to auto-boof, if you know what I mean. And it kind of drifted into eddies, as opposed to grabbing them. Overall, I thought it was comfortable and stable.”

Josh Bechtel: “It was extremely fast and light. It seemed to track well through rapids and surfaced quickly off drops. I wouldn’t want to piton in it. It had a very sharp nose. I couldn’t get the bulkhead tight and secure enough.”

Dagger
Rx
Length: 6' 7", 6' 9"
Width: 26.5", 27.25"
Volume: 53, 58 gallons
Weight: 29, 31 lbs
Recommended Paddler’s Weight: 140-170, 170-200 lbs
Price: $899
www.dagger.com

Dagger
Rx
Length: 6' 7", 6' 9"
Width: 26.5", 27.25"
Volume: 53, 58 gallons
Weight: 29, 31 lbs
Recommended Paddler’s Weight: 140-170, 170-200 lbs
Price: $899
www.dagger.com

Riot
Astro 54
Length: 6' 2"
Width: 25"
Volume: 54 gallons
Weight: 31 lbs
Recommended Paddler’s Weight: 119-209 lbs
Price: $999
www.riotkayaks.com

The Astro, like the 420 and the Project 52, is another example of a refinement of last year’s playboating technology. The Astro is merely a progression from the Nitro, Riot’s offering of last year, except that it’s a bit less edgy and more stable than their boats have been in the past. It is designed specifically for playboating but is agile on Class IV and big-water Class V. It’s reasonably fast, and its edges have a little forgiveness in them.

Todd Anderson: “For being a small boat, it was stable but not very playful. More like a river-runner than a playboat. It felt better designed for waves than for holes. I did like how I sat high in the boat. That gave me a lot of leverage.”

Christian Knight: “For a big playboat or small river-runner, I thought the Astro was only somewhat comfortable. The ratchet-seat system, which allows you to adjust your seat while sitting in the boat, does help in the comfort category.”

Josh Bechtel: “It was really slicey and felt really balanced for cartwheeling. It felt like it’d loop pretty well. It was super-comfortable to paddle. And it handled whitewater really well.”

Prijon
Cross
Length: 8' 1"
Width: 25"
Volume: 67 gallons
Weight: 41 lbs
Recommended Paddler’s Weight: 120-210 lbs
Price: $1,149
www.wildnet.com

The Cross is another boat in this batch that tries to do everything for everybody. It’s a river-running kayak that embraces “the fantastic elements of both creek boating and play.” But trying to do too much could be the reason why it doesn’t do anything—playboating or creekboating—very well. It’s too big to be considered a good playboat. And it’s too small to trust on a seriously steep creek. Still, the Cross has some qualities that many other creekboats don’t. It is quick, has a planing hull, and is very, very fast. It also has an outfitting system you can adjust while sitting inside the cockpit.

Todd Anderson: “I liked being able to adjust everything—the seat, hips, back band, and bulkhead—while sitting inside the cockpit. It felt a little narrow, which made it fast but not very stable.”

Christian Knight: “For a downriver boat, the Cross was narrow and pointy, with little primary stability. But I liked it, a lot. It was incredibly maneuverable and had lots of hull speed. It wouldn’t be my first choice for a boat to take down a steep creek. But if I had to choose a downriver boat for a steep creek, this would be my No. 1 choice.”

Dagger
Rx
Length: 6' 7", 6' 9"
Width: 26.5", 27.25"
Volume: 53, 58 gallons
Weight: 29, 31 lbs
Recommended Paddler’s Weight: 140-170, 170-200 lbs
Price: $899
www.dagger.com