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Articles
KingPin by Dagger - Gear Review - by Chrisj
The Kingpin by Dagger is a poppy, corky, tuned up version of their earlier GForce- with some nice changes. The outfitting features a quick-to-adjust seat, inflatable hip pads, a backband with good support... and a bow pillar that simply does not give. At all.
I enjoyed paddling the KingPin. At the same time, it had some surprises for me. I thought I knew what I was getting into... but I was wrong. If you're not careful, it could have some fun things to teach you, too.
Before we start going over the details of the boat, a bit about me for perspective- I'm 6'1", with a 32" inseam and size 9 (US) feet. My legs are scrawny and flexible for someone my height, and I'm used to weaseling into and out of playboats. I'm a fan of steep creeking and boats that carve and slice. The demo sample I had was the largest of the three sizes- the 6.3- and to my surprise, this is boat really has a lot of volume! I used the whole stack of foam that came in Dagger's goodie-bag of pre-formed footblocks, which meant that although I was snug, I also had plenty of footroom to give.
Another thing I had plenty of was room under the thigh braces... which brings us to the topic of outfitting.
Outfitting
The details of this boat's outfitting are simple, mostly well-thought-out, easy to adjust without tools, and allow the paddler to adjust things like hip pad snugness and backband support quickly and easily. The real story here are the hip pads, which inflate by virtue of a 'squeeze bulb' in front of the seat, and deflate by pushing a button on the bulb (think: blood pressure cuff squeezy bulb and you're there).
The backband adjusts by means of two cam straps with adjustment points on the thigh braces. The ends of the strap are gusseted and the assembly thoughtfully supplies a small bracket into which the extra strap fits.
Underneath the thigh braces was enough room that for demo purposes, I took a couple 2"x3"x4" minicell blocks and stuck them to the bulkhead, just to keep my legs up and in the thigh hooks. Bigger guys won't need to do this.
The front pillar is, as with recent dagger boats, integrated with the footblock, and Dagger has elected to stay with the 'peel-away' footblock model seen in their other recent playboats. What's new for the kingpin is the solid plastic pillar that goes from the seat rail up to the underside of the cockpit rim- this is a strong, solid piece of plastic. Curious, I stood on the deck, on the cockpit rim, bounced up and down... it didn't budge.
In fact, the internal construction seems to have gone another extra step- the seat rail assembly is bolted directly to the hull, with slightly recessed screws accessible in the middle of the hull. The result is that this boat is pretty stiff, the outfitting doesn't wander, and there isn't a hint of moosh in the hull- clearly, this boat is meant to pop and bounce.
The result is that the front foam pillar appears to be an optional item for those of you out there with longer legs and/or bigger feet- and your bow will still be supported, and more importantly, removing the bow wall won't result in your seat sliding back and forth.
...but where the Kingpin giveth in terms of footroom, it taketh away in the sense that the hip pads, though inflatable, are set by default in a setup that prevented some of our larger test pilots from getting into the boat. In order for the big guys that the big version was made for to get in, they'd need to remove some of the foam behind the inflatable pads. Bigger guys will want to take note of that.
Handling
As you might have expected, this boat is wide, short, and when in displacement mode, slooooow. It turns effortlessly, and for those of us with loose hamstrings, crossbow draws can turn into on-side sweeps without taking the active blade out of the water.
One thing that I didn't expect was that for as low as the top speed of this boat is in displacement-mode, that speed can be reached in one or two strokes- and as an added bonus, the KingPin planes up in a heartbeat. The result was that although catching longer/faster waves (where higher displacement-mode hullspeed aids in catching the wave) was marginally more difficult than in longer craft, catching shorter/steeper waves was made remarkably easier.
By dint of it's highly voluminous bow, the bob rate on this boat is very fast. At my weight, it made flatwater work into, well... work. As with any corky boat, the idea of 'slicing' into the water is a little off- instead, you smash these ends through oncoming water and by dint of sheer blunt force, bounce from end to end... and in terms of bounce, this boat has lots of pop.
In the hole
This high bob rate meant that with even marginally retentive holes, I could play aggressively and stay in the hole where longer boats would flush doing similiar moves- I could link, roll, throw any direction, this boat likes to dip down to the trough, then bounce up on the pile so fast that it really takes some effort to flush out.
The short length and steep rocker profile meant that maneuvering in tight quarters was quite manageable, and when moving around in front of the pile, the ends tended to auto-blast, raising the upstream end of the boat.
One artifact of the long planing section of the boat (the rocker is nearly all at the ends) is that although there's a large, forgiving, loose hull, those corners at the edges transition abruptly and take a little getting used to.
Finally, this boat is designed to pop and loop. We were lucky enough to have a variety of holes and waves at our disposal for test purposes, and it's up to the task- the high bob rate made for corky bounces, the stiff hull made for good bouncing pop on faster waves, and frankly I'm intrigued by what this boat has to offer- there's definitely things this boat does well that stand to open up a whole new arena of skills to explore, moves to have fun with, and air to get.
On the wave
The Kingpin has a wandering, skidding quality on the wave- there's a sense that with only subtle movements you'll be able to initiate a spin, but in order to carve you've really got to edge the boat over and engage the rail. By virtue of the short rail length, the boat wants to skid and slide- which is fun, but at the expense of zippy carving and down the line speed.
The boat planes high- once on step, there's a sense that the bow is a foot out of the water- which took a little getting used to, but once I got that sorted out (that, and the feeling that this boat is just hilariously short) everything came together pretty nicely.
One thing that surprised me was the quick acceleration and quick lift this boat has- I was able to catch waves I would've thought I couldn't, and this boat definitely opens up surfing on shorter waves- I didn't find too many waves that were too steep or too short to not only catch, but surf in any direction I pleased.
Pros:
Thoughtful outfitting- The inflatable/deflatable hip pads, easily adjustable seat and backband, and all-around good support mark a definite step forward for Dagger. On top of all that, this boat was comfortable.
Rigid engineering- A definite step forward in terms of performance.
Forgiving- This boat does quite a bit on its own, and that means if you want to surf in any direction or all at once, this boat will make you look like you know what you're doing.
Retentive- Because it's corky, short, and has concentrated volume, this boat can tumble a dozen different ways and if you're intent on staying in the hole, you can do that.
Made for Air- The stiff construction, concentrated volume, and adjustable outfitting go a long way toward opening up air moves in the hole.
Surfs short waves well- There is almost no such thing as too short a wave for this boat to catch and surf- and on the big ones, it's got a few things to show off too.
Quick- Quick to turn, quick to spin, plane up, this boat is plain quick about everything it does.
Cons
Slow- Forget about attaining, this boat feels like it's towing a sea anchor... until you get up on step and start planing. At that point, it's a different story... but in displacement mode, it's slow.
Tough to carve with- The same features that make this boat loose and forgiving make it tough to get good down the line speed. It's definitely an improvement in this regard over previous designs, but still not a carving boat.
Screws in the hull- This may not be an issue, ever, but if you're inclined to abuse your hull like I am, you may experience the dreaded 'stripped screw head' that prevents you from adjusting (or tightening) that screw.
Stats:
For more info, visit http://www.dagger.com
Before we start going over the details of the boat, a bit about me for perspective- I'm 6'1", with a 32" inseam and size 9 (US) feet. My legs are scrawny and flexible for someone my height, and I'm used to weaseling into and out of playboats. I'm a fan of steep creeking and boats that carve and slice. The demo sample I had was the largest of the three sizes- the 6.3- and to my surprise, this is boat really has a lot of volume! I used the whole stack of foam that came in Dagger's goodie-bag of pre-formed footblocks, which meant that although I was snug, I also had plenty of footroom to give.
Another thing I had plenty of was room under the thigh braces... which brings us to the topic of outfitting.
Outfitting
The details of this boat's outfitting are simple, mostly well-thought-out, easy to adjust without tools, and allow the paddler to adjust things like hip pad snugness and backband support quickly and easily. The real story here are the hip pads, which inflate by virtue of a 'squeeze bulb' in front of the seat, and deflate by pushing a button on the bulb (think: blood pressure cuff squeezy bulb and you're there). The backband adjusts by means of two cam straps with adjustment points on the thigh braces. The ends of the strap are gusseted and the assembly thoughtfully supplies a small bracket into which the extra strap fits.
Underneath the thigh braces was enough room that for demo purposes, I took a couple 2"x3"x4" minicell blocks and stuck them to the bulkhead, just to keep my legs up and in the thigh hooks. Bigger guys won't need to do this.
The front pillar is, as with recent dagger boats, integrated with the footblock, and Dagger has elected to stay with the 'peel-away' footblock model seen in their other recent playboats. What's new for the kingpin is the solid plastic pillar that goes from the seat rail up to the underside of the cockpit rim- this is a strong, solid piece of plastic. Curious, I stood on the deck, on the cockpit rim, bounced up and down... it didn't budge.
In fact, the internal construction seems to have gone another extra step- the seat rail assembly is bolted directly to the hull, with slightly recessed screws accessible in the middle of the hull. The result is that this boat is pretty stiff, the outfitting doesn't wander, and there isn't a hint of moosh in the hull- clearly, this boat is meant to pop and bounce.The result is that the front foam pillar appears to be an optional item for those of you out there with longer legs and/or bigger feet- and your bow will still be supported, and more importantly, removing the bow wall won't result in your seat sliding back and forth.
...but where the Kingpin giveth in terms of footroom, it taketh away in the sense that the hip pads, though inflatable, are set by default in a setup that prevented some of our larger test pilots from getting into the boat. In order for the big guys that the big version was made for to get in, they'd need to remove some of the foam behind the inflatable pads. Bigger guys will want to take note of that.
Handling
As you might have expected, this boat is wide, short, and when in displacement mode, slooooow. It turns effortlessly, and for those of us with loose hamstrings, crossbow draws can turn into on-side sweeps without taking the active blade out of the water.
One thing that I didn't expect was that for as low as the top speed of this boat is in displacement-mode, that speed can be reached in one or two strokes- and as an added bonus, the KingPin planes up in a heartbeat. The result was that although catching longer/faster waves (where higher displacement-mode hullspeed aids in catching the wave) was marginally more difficult than in longer craft, catching shorter/steeper waves was made remarkably easier.By dint of it's highly voluminous bow, the bob rate on this boat is very fast. At my weight, it made flatwater work into, well... work. As with any corky boat, the idea of 'slicing' into the water is a little off- instead, you smash these ends through oncoming water and by dint of sheer blunt force, bounce from end to end... and in terms of bounce, this boat has lots of pop.
In the hole
This high bob rate meant that with even marginally retentive holes, I could play aggressively and stay in the hole where longer boats would flush doing similiar moves- I could link, roll, throw any direction, this boat likes to dip down to the trough, then bounce up on the pile so fast that it really takes some effort to flush out.
The short length and steep rocker profile meant that maneuvering in tight quarters was quite manageable, and when moving around in front of the pile, the ends tended to auto-blast, raising the upstream end of the boat.
One artifact of the long planing section of the boat (the rocker is nearly all at the ends) is that although there's a large, forgiving, loose hull, those corners at the edges transition abruptly and take a little getting used to.
Finally, this boat is designed to pop and loop. We were lucky enough to have a variety of holes and waves at our disposal for test purposes, and it's up to the task- the high bob rate made for corky bounces, the stiff hull made for good bouncing pop on faster waves, and frankly I'm intrigued by what this boat has to offer- there's definitely things this boat does well that stand to open up a whole new arena of skills to explore, moves to have fun with, and air to get.
On the wave
The Kingpin has a wandering, skidding quality on the wave- there's a sense that with only subtle movements you'll be able to initiate a spin, but in order to carve you've really got to edge the boat over and engage the rail. By virtue of the short rail length, the boat wants to skid and slide- which is fun, but at the expense of zippy carving and down the line speed.
The boat planes high- once on step, there's a sense that the bow is a foot out of the water- which took a little getting used to, but once I got that sorted out (that, and the feeling that this boat is just hilariously short) everything came together pretty nicely.
One thing that surprised me was the quick acceleration and quick lift this boat has- I was able to catch waves I would've thought I couldn't, and this boat definitely opens up surfing on shorter waves- I didn't find too many waves that were too steep or too short to not only catch, but surf in any direction I pleased.
Pros:
Cons
Stats:
| Kingpin 6.1 | KingPin 6.2 | KingPin 6.3 | |
| Length: | 6' 1" (1m 85cm) | 6' 3" (1m 91cm) | 6' 5" (1m 96cm) |
| Width: | 23.5" (60cm) | 24.75" (63cm) | 26.25" (67cm) |
| Weight: | 30lbs (14kg) | 32lbs (14.5kg) | 34lbs (15.4kg) |
| Volume: | 46gal (174 liters) | 50gal (189 liters) | 54gal (205 liters) |
| Cockpit: | 34" x 19" (86 x 48cm) | 34" x 19" (86 x 48cm) | 34" x19" (86 x 48cm) |
| Paddler weight range: | 80 - 140lbs (36 - 64kg) | 100 - 180lbs (45 - 81kg) | 140 - 220lbs (64 - 100kg) |
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