Opinion on the Mad River Outrage for 5 ft 8 in 175 lb padd

D-Caption · Post by **D-Caption** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 1:38 am

Any input appreciated. D-Caption

Mr.DeadLegs · Post by **Mr.DeadLegs** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 2:40 am

Great boat,try the ocoee as well.

Nessmuk · Post by **Nessmuk** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 2:49 am

I'm just a tad lighter than you, and it fits me fine.

the great gonzo · Post by **the great gonzo** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 2:50 am

Great boat! Love it!
After paddling one last spring while taking the ORCKA Moving Water Canoe instructors Course I actually bought one.

Fast, precise handling, predictable, turns extremely well for a 12ft boat.

TGG!

Nate · Post by **Nate** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 3:15 am

The Outrage is a good boat for its intended purpose. I first started paddling in one and almost bought my own, but ended up with an Esquif Spark. I would not paddle many other boats now. A recent test of a friend's Outrage reminded me of paddling a log--heavy, slow, wide etc. To each his/her own.

the great gonzo · Post by **the great gonzo** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 3:34 am

I didn't find the outrage slow, to the contrary. As far as weight, if the proper configuration is chosen, then it can be light as well, get the wooden gunwhales instead of the vinyl ones and ditch the deckplates, they don't do anything for function and weigh about a pound each.
As dfar as width is concerned, while overall it's with 27.5" wider than a Spark the width at the gunnel is with 25" the same.
I for one paddled the Spark as well and, while it's a great boat, I found the Outrage more versatile. The spark was a bit too much slalom oriented for my liking.

But as always , try before you buy. What works for one person may not work for the next one.

TGG!

MikeOC1 · Post by **MikeOC1** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 6:09 am

go for it, your size sound just right for one, im 6' 192 and I feel I am upper end . I agree w/gonzo at 25" its narrow compared to most oc. My wood gunwaled outrage is very light compared to other roylex boats in 12' range. if you dont like later resale is easy on them.

yarnellboat · Post by **yarnellboat** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 6:45 am

I'm 5'9", 220lbs and have no complaints with my Outrage.

I've felt too heavy in the Spark, Viper11, Solito and others, but I feel OK in the Outrage. I'd much rather paddle it than the OutrageX.

PY.

AJ · Post by AJ » Thu Jan 22, 2009 2:00 pm

I bought one new many years ago in the orange color with wood gunwales, when Mad River was still in bitmess. I found my Outrage to feel light, fast, durable and very forgiving in comparison to shorter more performance oriented boats. At times I wish I did not sold it

. I wish I had it for bigger water paddling days and tripping.

Bill M · Post by **Bill M** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 7:09 pm

I'm working on my third one. I'm 5'6" and about your weight. I find it to do everything well. It's a good big water as well as technical boat. i find it stable as well.
If you get one and don't like it they sell fast too.
Bill

gumpy · Post by **gumpy** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 1:33 am

I'm 5'10" and 170, a wood gunwaled outrage was my first solo boat. Worked out just fine, lots of fun. I ended up with a preference for edgier boats, but still would paddle an outrage. I say go for it, put her on some good water.

Marc Evans · Post by **Marc Evans** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 3:36 am

D-Caption-

The Outrage was my second boat, following a Probe 14. I've since moved on to smaller rigs - a Fink C1 and a Pyrahna Spanish Fly. I like the shorter boats most of the time. But if you need a 12 foot relatively soft chine boat, the Outrage is a good choice. As the Great Gonzo said, it is fairly narrow compared to most other boats in its length range and is relatively fast. Some people even like them for creeking (do a search on Outrage here). Also, you might want to look at Sammer Elias' piece on Jan Detmer's website: http://www.open-canoe.de/open/index.html. Many of the photos in Sammer's piece are of him in an Outrage.

Although I like smaller boats, I still have my Outrage and don't plan on selling it. Still good for solo canoe tripping, not to mention a day on the river.

Marc

AJ · Post by AJ » Fri Jan 23, 2009 3:51 pm

Sammer and I got our boats at about the same time. He basically distroyed his boat paddling class V, but he was fun to watch in it!

I found the boat a little long for creeking, you will be hitting the stern a lot, if you paddle shallower creeks.

Jim Michaud · Post by **Jim Michaud** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 5:12 pm

I'm not good enough of a paddler to handle a boat with hard chines so the Outrage is by far my preferred canoe. I'm a big fan of soft chines and lots of rocker. The Outrage has both.

I'm 5' 11", 185 lbs.