Dagger Nomad 8.1 Review

by LuLu

Nomad: People who have no fixed home and move according to the seasons from place to place in search of food, water, and grazing land.

By definition the Nomad is seen as a boat and boater constantly on the move to follow the flows of whatever is running.  Often defined as the ultimate creek boat Dagger’s Nomad is one of my favorites for increasing confidence and proving itself over and over again.

When I finally decided I needed to step up my boating skills and start creeking more I knew I would need a new boat, and I knew where to get it.  The only question left was, which one?  With plenty of demo boats available at work I figured I would first try the ever so popular Wave Sport Habitat 74.  In short, it was comfortable, maybe even too roomy and I felt like I ran half the run backwards.  After a few runs of trying to perfect that I switched to the Nomad 8.1.  To me the difference is night and day!  With a 5’8″ 155lb frame I found the Nomad fit perfectly with all the room necessary to be comfortable even with big shoes.  It’s easy to get in and out or tighten up for that big drop with their Flip-switch backband adjustment.  All I had to do was move the seat to the forward position, add some hip pads and presto.  The Nomad soon became my favorite boat and one of the most popular in our fleet at work and among friends.

It's mostly Nomads

Since they all own one, I asked my friends to tell me three characteristics of paddling a Nomad.  They all mentioned the same three things; Predictability, Stability and speed.  Right off the bat I noticed that the Nomad felt a lot easier to keep on track.  Adding to its predictability the well-distributed volume helps the boat to resurface quickly so you have time to prepare for the next big drop.  This boat is just so easy to paddle.  It turns when you want and tucks into small eddies when you need them most.  The displacement hull also lends a hand to absorbing impact from bigger boofs taking the pressure off you back.  All I can say about the stability is that it’s super good.  I’d put my mom is this boat! As far as speed goes it definitely has an advantage over other creek boats.  The increased hull speed and great resurfacing come in handy for plowing through big holes and getting out the other side.  All these characteristics allow the Nomad to excel at skyrocketing confidence among paddlers of all levels.

Recently I’ve been using the Nomad a lot.  I really enjoyed having my Nomad on the Upper Gordon and Cameron Creek a couple weeks ago.  Cameron having some tight turns and great boofs along with a little wood felt great with the Nomad’s stable platform and easy maneuvering.  Thanks to its rounded hull and rocker I feel like the Nomad turns on a dime, not that much more difficult then if I were in a play boat.  Maybe it’s just me but it gets me to where I want to be.  On more challenging runs the Nomad makes me feel safe and definitely more confident.

Cynthia McHale and I dropping some height on the Ash River on Vancouver Island.

With the Nomad available in two sizes, 8.1 and 8.5, it fits the small and the big.  Smaller paddlers will like the fact that the boat is not too deep and allows them to get a stroke nice and tight to the boat for more power.  Furthermore, outfitting at the hips is easily adjustable to accommodate someone with a narrow figure.  For the larger paddlers the benefit will be lots of foot room and an easy to adjust seat for getting in and out.  Plus, it has plenty of volume for getting the heavier guy or gal downstream.   Both the small and the big will appreciate the Nomads ability to punch through almost anything.

If you’re looking for a full-on creek boat look no further because the Nomad is it.  If you’re looking to challenge yourself with more difficult rapids and drops then the confidence inspired by the Nomad can’t be matched.  If you haven’t tried one you’re missing out.

Cynthia McHale on the Upper Gordon

Kevin Henderson on the Upper Gordon