2012 Dagger Mamba Creeker Review

WeStroke Team Rider Ben Ghertner brings us a quick review of the 2012 Dagger Mamba 7.6 Creeker. While the Mamba has been a very popular river-runner for years, the creeker version really helps step it up in the safety department for Class V boaters. Read on for Ben's Impessions. 

I started paddling the Mamba 7.6 creeker a few months back switching from my Villian s. The mamba offers an all around strong paddling experience that I found rivaled by few other boats. For beginners the mamba offers stability, control and forgive-ability on rivers like the Nantahala and Ocoee while still being aggressive and powerful in races and on Class V.

It has a shorter seam line than other competing boats like the Remix making it easier to control for a first timer; however this does compromise some carving ability for the more experienced paddler. That being said the Mamba is still a very strong boat for running everything up to class V. I have been very happy with the way my Mamba has preformed on all kinds of creeks and rapids ranging form the Cascades on the Nantahala to Gorilla on the Green.

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On the topic of Class V a huge concern for many paddlers looking to move into the realm of Class V creaking is safety. I can personally say from experience that, with the Mamba, Dagger offers one of the most durable boats I have ever seen on the market. When I ran Oceana on the Tallulah for the first time this past November I was unfortunate enough to miss the line and plummet straight into “the thing,” which is a huge rock outcropping on the slide that makes up Oceana. I came out at the bottom luckily unharmed other than a bloody nose but immediately thought about my boat. I was sure I had broken my two month old boat but upon further inspection I relized my boat had hardly taken a scratch and even better it had protect me completely from the huge impact I had just taken.

The Mamba also offers a fast and dynamic hull that will definitely make someone coming from a playboating background feel at home in a creek boat. I stared my kayaking career as a playboater and even now that I am a serious creeker I still have no more trouble turning my Mamba 180 degrees in the middle of a rapid than I do turning my playboat. All of this doesn’t subtract from it speed too. I recently took my mamba 7.6, a smaller boat for me at 155-160 lbs., on section IV of the Chattooga. During the flat-water section I quickly took the lead to set the pace with my friend in a much larger Stomper 80. I was pleasantly surprised at how well my Mamba tracked and sped through the two mile flat water paddle. I am looking forward to putting my Mamba through its paces this season in some more class V along with some creek races.

The main draw back I have experienced with the mamba though is that it has a pretty low volume and that causes it to squirt out coming out of large drops. This could be that I am paddling the smallest mamba and am at the top of the weight range (160 lbs.) but it does have low stern volume.

For the 2013 Mamba, Dagger has replaced the old outfitting with the new Contour Ergo system. Click here to take a detailed look at it with Dagger Designer Snowy Robertson.

2012 Dagger Mamba 7.6 Creeker Specs: 

Length: 7' 7" / 231 cm
Width: 25.5" / 65 cm
Deck Height: 13.5" / 34 cm
Cockpit Length: 34" / 86 cm
Cockpit Width: 19" / 48 cm
Boat Weight: 43 lbs. / 19 kg
Paddler Weight: 120 -170 lbs / 54-77 kg
Volume: 64 gal / 242 L

Head over to Dagger.com to check out more about the Dagger Mamba Creeker. 

Ben running the Green River Narrows in his Dagger Mamba.

Here is another video where Ben runs the LRC Falls Double Drop in his Mamba.

Click here for more from WeStroke Team Rider Ben Ghertner.