Paddled a medium down the sky once. Felt good, responsive and sporty. Was wanting a large though (primary boat was large villain at the time so big volume difference). I'm 165 but like more volume.
Own a nomad 8.5 now, will say this about dagger in general; the new outfitting is amazing. Never felt so in control and comfortable at the same time before. Seriously, worth it just for that.
I've owned the original Mamba 7.5 since 2006 and think it's a great river runner and an okay creeker. (The boat was kind of sold as being able to do both.)
When Dagger updated the design of the Mamba line (in 2011?) they added a lot more volume to the stern and a little more to the bow. This made it more of a creeker and less of a river runner, which isn't what I wanted when I was looking to replace my Mamba 7.5 after I busted my boat on Ingalls Creek. (After that experience, I decided I needed a dedicated creeker with real volume, not 57 gallons!)
It's hard to find the original Mamba series anymore (as a used boat) since the people who have them, seem to like them. It was interesting to me when Jackson came out with their river running Zen series. To me, these boats have a lot of similarities with the original Mambas. If you're looking for a true river runner, I would give the Zen a try. If you're looking for something more like a creeker, the new Mamba series might be more to your liking.
Thanks, that gives me more to think about. I only weigh 125lbs. so the old mamba might be OK. I've heard the new mamba is harder to roll. Is this true?
And I mostly like bigger volume rivers and do only easy creeks- no harder than 4.
I've been in the new Mamba 8.6 for a little over a year now and I love it. I would just demo one and decide for yourself. Everybody fits a little differently.
If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.
I have the Mamba 7.6, I guess that was last years model!? Anyway I love it! Super responsive, turns sharp, and has great buoyancy compared to my last boat. I don't have the brand new outfitting, but I hear it's quite nice
“A strong person and a waterfall always channel their own path.” -Unknown
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