Questions about Creek vs. Play Mamba

Hey gang- my first (used) Mamba 8.0 was a play model- loved it but found the seat (hangers, plastic pins on wedger) to be kinda rickety, tho it was very comfortable. I bought a new creek Mamba 8.0 becasue I wanted the step-out pillar and more robust seat. I don't run the gnar BTW, just your local class III stuff.

But what surprised me was how much lower/deeper the creek seat was compared to the play. I felt like I was trying to reach up from the bottom of a well when I set-up for my (sweep) roll. I've had problems with my paddle diving on the sweep as a result. I appreciate that the point of the creeker is to really surround the paddler with excellent support, with a lower center of gravity. It is burly (in a good way). But I find my self using the old play model because I'm not comfortable with the creek one. I've considered foaming in a new seat system on top of the creeker seat, to get back some of that height to make it feel more like the play model- thoughts?

Also- can one get the play model with the step-out pillar? Does the play model still use the wedger (I like the wedger, just that the one on mine was not well connected to the track.) I guess I couldn't tell from the Dagger site the full range of differences between them.

Thanks folks!

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Permalink Reply by Adam Ott on December 14, 2010 at 10:25am

George,

If you feel like you are too low in the seat adding foam is an excellent option. It can give you the height you desire and since you like the support the wedge gives you can reproduce the effect with foam as well. Harmony offers a 3/4 inch booster pad called a tech lift if you want a quick self adhesive solution.

The step-out center wall is only available with the creek seat.

The play model does still use the wedger.

If you have any other questions let me know.

Thanks

Adam

Dagger Kayaks

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Permalink Reply by Andrew Holcombe on December 14, 2010 at 6:01pm

Hey George,

Totally in agreement with Adam. Foam that seat out for sure. This is a pretty common thing and raising ones seat a little, especially if you're feeling little swallowed like you indicate above, can really help with that. They're built low because you can always add but its pretty hard to take away:) Hope this helps

be safe

andrew

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Permalink Reply by George Bergantz on January 2, 2011 at 2:28am

I found the perfect solution after trial and error with a variety of foam configurations. I got a Jackson Sweet Cheeks- the '100' size which is the smallest. That allowed me to get the perfect fit on top of my existing Mamba creek seat without having to glue in a lot of foam. Plus because it is adjustable, in Winter when I have a lot of clothing on under my drysuit, I have almost no air in it, and in Summer when I am just in a bathing suit I can inflate the cheeks some. I didn't use the velcro, just the straps that hold it in place. So the existing Dagger seat looks like new still.

It may not be cool to promote a competitors product here- but it is the best (versatile) solution for tuning in the seat.

Andrew Holcombe said:

Hey George,

Totally in agreement with Adam. Foam that seat out for sure. This is a pretty common thing and raising ones seat a little, especially if you're feeling little swallowed like you indicate above, can really help with that. They're built low because you can always add but its pretty hard to take away:) Hope this helps

be safe

andrew