Dagger Stratos

This week I got to paddle the Dagger Stratos 14.5.  Dagger touts the Stratos as "A playful, sporty touring boat that makes open water, rock gardening, and ocean surf fun and exciting.  The Stratos has been available in the UK for a little over a year and is scheduled to be available in the United States in 2016.  It is 14.5 feet long and is available in 2 sizes - small and large.  It has 2 bulkheads, 2 hatches, perimeter lines, and a drop down skeg.

Dagger Stratos 14.5L in the rock gardens of the Mendocino Coast of California

I think that Dagger may have found the missing link in the kayak industry.  As ocean rock garden play has been gaining in popularity so has interest in shorter more maneuverable sea worthy kayaks.  There have been a few other shorter sea kayaks on the market, but they miss the mark in different ways.  As a result, sea kayakers have been looking toward the newer longer whitewater kayaks for ocean rock garden play.  The industry has responded by putting bulkheads, hatches, and skegs in their long creek racing kayaks (11-12 foot range).  Many of us have enjoyed the stability and forgiving nature of these kayaks but found them to be lacking in performance.  The Dagger Stratos is designed to be a playful sea kayak.  After my test paddle, I think that Dagger has the playful sea kayak that many of us have been looking for.

Jeff Laxier rock gardening in the Dagger Stratos on the Mendocino Coast of California

Review of Dagger Stratos
I got to paddle the small Stratos for an afternoon in the rock gardens and surf on the Mendocino Coast.  I also got to see both the small and large sizes perform side by side in the capable hands of Jeff Laxier and Ben Lawry.

Ben Lawry having fun in the Dagger Stratos

First Impression
Two words describe my impression of the Dagger Stratos - Nimble and Responsive.

The Stratos maneuvered like a whitewater kayak but with better tracking.  For those that like carving edged turns, it carves nicely on both inside and outside edges.  The kayak is nimble yet quite stable in chaotic water. I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly it accelerated to catch waves, ride surges, and punch out through waves.  Here's a short clip of Jeff surfing the small sized Stratos.

Fit
The small Stratos fit without any custom outfitting.  The Stratos is equipped with adjustable sliding plastic foot braces and adjustable thigh hooks.  I adjusted these and hopped in and paddled it comfortably.  I am 5'4" and think that the small Stratos could easily be adjusted to fit smaller paddlers.  My only complaint is the long cockpit which seems to be a trend these days.  For a small paddler, this creates a dilemma - Do I wear a looser fitting spraydeck that I can easily get on myself or do I struggle and sometimes require help from a teammate to get a properly snug spraydeck on?  At 5"11, Jeff enjoyed the performance of the small but preferred the roomier fit of the large.

Dagger Stratos 14.5S surfing on the Mendocino Coast of California

Conclusions/Recommendations
Paddlers who are looking for a playful plastic sea kayak for ocean rock garden and surfzone play should definitely put the Dagger Stratos on their radar.  Look for opportunities to demo them as they come out in 2016.  Size choice is likely to be a personal preference as opposed to manufacturer recommendations so demoing them is going to be key.

I am ordering mine this week and plan to be teaching rock gardening classes in it at Paddle Golden Gate.  Stay tuned for more . . .