Hey there

I am just trying to sort out buying my first boat. Well actually I had bought myself a older school playboat to learn in, but quickly realized the error of my ways so now I am looking for something with more volume. I am looking at:

Dagger Mamba
Bliss stick Mac 1
Bliss stick mini mystic
Wavesport diesel

I am a female paddler just starting out. Mainly grade 2/3 low Volume stuff. I am 5'4 and around 140pds. For me ease of roll is essential. Control is the main concern for me. I want to build my confidence and nail my roll. Any thoughts would be awesome! Thanks

I think the Mamba is excellent to start with. I only got into a Mamba 7.5 when I started creeking and kept it for 3 years before I wanted more volume and got a Nomad 8.1. I didn't start paddling with the Mamba (started in a Pyranha I3) but it is a great all around boat to start with and it will take a long time to outgrow it... I sometimes wonder if I should go back to it as the Nomad is so heavy and feels really big lately.
I'm also looking (and would love any advice as well) at the small Burn and the Mini-Mystic. I'm 5'3 and 120lbs.

I've only tried the small Burn once and it felt like a sport car compared to the Nomad, a lot edgier but a lot easier to move around for me and so much lighter! (my backyard run is a great IV+ run with a 20 min. hike in and 150 stairs to climb up at the end), so a light boat is nice!

I haven't got a chance to try the Mini-mystic yet as I only know of one girl having one in my area, but my gut feeling is that it would give me something between the Nomad and the Burn, which is exaclty what I'm looking for...

Sorry if I half hijacked your post but I hope that helps a bit (Mamba is a great boat) and hopefully there is some small girls out there that can provide more comparaison with these other boats, especially the Mini-Mystic.

Nothing wrong with the Mamba, but if playboating is your aim, also think about a Dagger ID. More a playboat, easy to roll, easy to learn the basic playboat-tricks, but not as stable as the Mamba.

for learning a bomber roll, fit is essential. Everyone is different, but in my experience, women often get an excellent fit in Dagger boats (though, yes, Bliss Stick has it's fans as well)...you may find the WaveSport Diesel is stable, but harder to roll & control.

I would recommend the Mamba, or maybe my new favorite, the Axiom (practically rolls itself)...at your height/weight, consider the Axiom 8.0 (Dagger boats work well a ways above their stated weight range, so go for physical fit, not theoretical weight range when choosing...well, within reason, lol!) (btw, if you can find one, the Dagger Juice 6.9 is easy to roll, is extremely forgiving, has good volume distribution (feels like a higher-volume boat) & is just plain fun! I would recommend it over the Mamba, unless you actually want to get into creeking - I sold my Mamba after I got my Juice...)

(btw #2-the Dagger Juice looks like a playboat, but really is a forgiving river runner - if you have the opportunity, give it a chance; I don't think you'll be disappointed...for info: playak.com/article.php?id=1770)

Glad I came across this one.


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Anyone tried the new Mamba?