Big Water Boat..which one?

[bsjefe]

I'm renting a boat in Idaho during the peak May runoff to paddle down the middle fork salmon followed by 4 days of boise area runs. I currently paddle a Jefe which i love for the southeast but did not feel great in it last year in colorado on the few big water runs i did. I'm thinking about trying a different boat for idaho as I hear everything is big volume.

Would a mamba or diesel be a better choice?? Any other boats to consider??

tia
b

[crowdaroundum]

Mamba 8.5 hands down

[bill]

RPM, fast and will surf the big waves on the fly

[deepsouthpaddler]

You might want to look into a river runner vs. the creek / river hybrids like the diesel or the mamba. The middle fork is prime surfing, and having a barge like the diesel or the mamba would be a shame with all that good surfing. The river runners have enough volume for big water if you want a bit more volume. Lots of folks take playboats down the big water runs too.

[El Flaco]

Self-support MF Salmon or raft-support? That would make a difference in the boat I chose.

[Don]

Check out the Mamba and the Diesel for sure. Those two boats are fast and surf very well. The Mamba has more of a peak to the top deck and will shed water a little better than the Diesel. (Auto resurface on big drops) I think that the Diesel front surfs better, and the Mamba spins a little easier. Both boats make kayaking easier in general. The difference for you might be comfort and outfitting, and only sitting in the boats will tell you which you'll like for those long days on the Rio.

Really either boat will be great, and both will do the job.

[CGM]

Take a playboat, especially if you have raft support. The surfing is too good for a river runner or creeker. Plus the small boats will melt through holes, although there are none on the MF that aren't totally avoidable in a kayak. Nothing on the MF is harder than IV (IV+ at high water), even at the highest of flows. And it doesn't look like the snowpack is enough to trigger an epic runoff up there this year. I will be surprised if it gets over 5-6 ft this year, which is pretty much the perfect level.

[HANSON]

Mamba 8.5 is my choice for sure.