Anyone use *front* float bags in Mamba or Nomad?
I'll a tallish guy but there is still lots of acreage there forward of the bulkhead. I could imagine stuffing a couple of the smaller float bags in there. Does anybody do that? Or put stuff up there on self-support trips (would be kind of a pain to retreive). Maybe float bags are moot because you all never swim anymore ;-)
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Permalink Reply by Brad Ludden on -
GOOD QUESTION! I can say that you're safety boater friends won't be complaining if you have front float bags but can also say you don't need them. I run a program called First Descents and we offer kayak programs to beginner kayakers with cancer. Needless to say, like any beginner program, we have a lot of swimmers. We have never used front float bags and have found the rear ones to be sufficient, but, again, it wouldn't hurt to put them up there. I used them when I swam more frequently (I was 9 and in a dancer xs) and they seemed to be pretty handy because I swam A LOT! Either way, good luck and have fun on the river!!
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Permalink Reply by Chris Gragtmans on -
Hi George,
Definitely something worth thinking about. As Brad said, front float bags could never hurt, and could mean the difference between your buddies saving your boat after a swim or it running that extra rapid and getting beaten up. As far as the front storage goes... my preference in the Nomad 8.5 is to just keep loading up the stern! That boat likes to be driven from the stern and in my opinion only seems to paddle better the more gear you stash back there. This comes down to personal preference of course, but the mannerisms of the boat and the fact that taking out the bulkhead every night is a pain lead me to store in the back only.
Cheers,
Chris
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Permalink Reply by George Bergantz on -
Okay- I ran the experiment. I got some small float bags and put them up front in my Mamba 8.0. This weekend I swam, and as the boat and I headed downstream (it was too rocky to hold the boat) I noticed that it floated higher for sure, and one of the safety boaters was able to flip it with a 'hand of god' move even after a good 100 meters of down-river travel. So I'm glad I did it. Now- to stop the swimming.....
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Permalink Reply by Chris Gragtmans on
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Haha! The eternal dilemma...
George Bergantz said:Okay- I ran the experiment. I got some small float bags and put them up front in my Mamba 8.0. This weekend I swam, and as the boat and I headed downstream (it was too rocky to hold the boat) I noticed that it floated higher for sure, and one of the safety boaters was able to flip it with a 'hand of god' move even after a good 100 meters of down-river travel. So I'm glad I did it. Now- to stop the swimming.....
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