Kayaks Comparable to Dagger Animas

After a well thought out search, I bought a second hand Dagger Animas a couple of years ago. It has been a great boat, and I plan to keep it.



The next boat I desire would have more volume behind the seat for camping gear. The boat should also be able to handle the load of the gear (up to 50 lbs) without too much of a performance hit. It should track as well as the Animas, and be easy to roll like the Animas.



I’ve looked at the Dagger Green Boat. That one seems to be a good candidate, although it is fairly long.



I’m open to suggestion. Given what I’ve described, what would you recommend?



Thank you for your help!



cdun2

What type of water do you plan to run

– Last Updated: Mar-31-11 12:18 PM EST –

I like the Animas too. It is reasonably fast, predictable, and easy to roll.

If you plan to run more than Class I or straightforward Class II water, the Dagger Green Boat might be a very good choice. It has plenty of volume, is capable of tackling any type of whitewater (having been designed to compete in the race on the Class IV-V Green River narrows), and with an 11' 9" length and a length/width ratio of 5.8 it should be even faster than your Animas.

I haven't paddled one, but I have been told they are fast and easy to roll.

But if you are not paddling more than Class I water, I wonder if you wouldn't be better served by one of the roto-molded 12 - 14 foot "transitional" designs offered by Wilderness Systems or Current Designs that have bulkheads and hatches that make loading and unloading gear more convenient.

If you don't want to give up any speed, you are going to have to go with something fairly long. If you go shorter any boat with enough volume to float you and your gear is going to have to be significantly wider than what you have.

It would also be highly desirable to be able to pack one or two heavy items into the bow in order to trim your boat if you plan to carry 50 lbs in it.

slightly different boats
Pyranha Fusion. Venture Flex 11 is similar, but not quite what you seem to be interested in.

Liquid Logic Remix XP 10



I know some bigger paddlers use them for what you mention. Can’t discuss ease of rolling - I can tell you that Dagger Animas rolls, so does Pyranha Fusion, LL Remix, and I am way under the weight for any of these.

Remix has very pronounced “indexing” in it’s roll.

Pyranha Fusion
The Fusion rolls very nicely and is pleasant to paddle on flat water. It is three inches shorter than the Animas and an inch and a half wider and might be a tad slower, although the presence of the retractable skeg might make up for that on flat water. I know at least one guy who has run one down the upper Youghiogheny River (Class IV+) so it is quite whitewater capable.



It has a volume of 81.5 gallons as opposed to the Animas’ 69 gallons, so it would no doubt float 50 lbs of gear OK and it does have a rear compartment with hatch. No front compartment, but it might be possible to shove something rather small and heavy, like a couple of gallon water jugs up into the front past the foot pegs to trim the boat, if need be.

Loved my animass
We almost died together more than once trying to roll in water too shallow. I tried flatwater racing in it. Seda glider was much faster but would not turn. I was short on cash and sold it. Too bad. Flatwater racing is safer

Reason for all WW boats?
Just to ask - since you have the Animus to handle WW, would a more touring type boat with sealed bulkheads work better for your second boat? Or do you always camp from moving water so need another WW boat like the Green boat?



Granted used WW boats can be gotten cheaply, but if camping is your goal there are boats that’ll make the storage f stuff easier.

More detail on my paddling
Most of the paddling I will do will be on class I & II. There are occasions when I get into class III. I don’t anticipate getting into IV and V anytime soon. I like the suggestion of the Fusion (I’ve had a chance to look into that one).



I like to have a boat I can roll so that I can cool off, and so that I can go into more white water environments.



Camping is not the main goal with this boat. I’ll have to check the volume of my backpack. Just about everything I pack goes into compression sacks.

crossover kayaks
The Pyranha Fusion is a so-called crossover kayak, intended to appeal to those who want a kayak that can handle at least moderate whitewater, is not too painful to paddle on flat water, and has some internal “waterproof” storage capability.



They also have retractable skegs to make tracking on flat water, or paddling in a cross wind a bit easier



Similar boats are the Liquid Logic Remix XP10 (already mentioned), the Dagger Approach, and the Jackson Roque.