I'm amending my previous…
I'm amending my previous review. This canoe is outstanding. No oil-canning at all, paddles almost as well solo with a leaning J or a C as it does tandem. Great, great canoe. If you see one, buy one.
Just picked this up for West…
Just picked this up for West Michigan rivers after doing research and reading reviews. Paid $450 used in R-Light with two large cold-crack repairs evident near the bow. Tracks extremely well, turns fairly well and has excellent initial and secondary stability. My daughter remarked that, from the bow seat, it seemed to be more stable and comfortable than my We-No-Nah Fisherman 14. I found it to be a nice complementary canoe for the family.
I had purchased a Reflection…
Submitted by:
guest-paddler
on 3/21/2019
I had purchased a Reflection 16' 4" royalex canoe back in 2012, for $850.00.
I have had this canoe in the Boundary Waters twice for 14 days each time.
Its been down a long trek on the Mississippi River and on numerous smaller rivers
and lakes. This canoe might not be the fastest or even the lightest, but to me,
it does everything well, from cutting through 3 foot waves, to doing well in
class 2 whitewater! Carry's huge loads and just flat out is a good all around performer.
I have been canoeing for over 45 yrs, having had 6 prior canoes and this a keeper for me! Jake D.
Just bought a '94 Dagger…
Submitted by:
Taz
on 7/31/2018
Just bought a '94 Dagger Reflection 16 Royalex. After doing alot of research and reading reveiws on paddling.com I decided to grab it before it got snatched up.It's in excellent shape for its age, was well cared for and stored properly. Took it to a local lake on a solo trial run and it is a very easy boat to handle, light, easy to load and unload alone, easy to paddle, tracks well, turns on a dime. Can be a bit of a handful in the wind but overall a great all around boat. I'm very pleased and the price was right, $400 with two beautiful Sawyer paddles. Mostly going to use it on flatwater, slow moving rivers and some light rapids. Overall extremely pleased with the boat.
I traded for a very used…
I traded for a very used Dagger Reflection 16 royalex canoe a couple years ago and I must say this canoe is absolutely the most versatile and best designed tandem boat I have owned... and I have owned many! The quite narrow entry bow has significant flare so it rides well over waves and swells... yes I have paddled the ocean with 8 foot swells with it! The middle tumblehome makes solo paddling a pure pleasure since I added a third seat. NOTE: This canoe is asymmetrical so you really don't want to sit in the stern seat backwards and paddle stern first... it is a beast that way!
I am selling my Penobscot 16 RX, My Old Town Scout, and possibly even my Wenonah Argosy because this canoe does about 90% as well in any category that these others perform at there best. I can paddle class III whitewater because of its good rocker and bow flare as long as it has GOOD flotation. It does well in flatwater and doesn't have excess freeboard to catch the wind. It may look ordinary but its subtle design features make it an excellent paddling canoe.
I have a Dagger Reflection 16…
Submitted by:
paddler233198
on 6/29/2009
I have a Dagger Reflection 16 I bought used around 2000. It had almost no use on it and was stored properly outdoors under a solid deck cover, no sun exposure. I stored it the same way, but after one winter (Denver, CO area) I noticed some long cracks originating from the gunwales and extending down towards the bottom. I called Dagger when they were still making canoes, and was told after much discussion, the reason for the cracks was the aluminum gunwales expand and contract at a different rate than the Royalex of the hull. I haven't used it since, although I've inquired about repair materials to bond and fill in the cracks with looking unsightly, but I never get any satisfactory information on it, so I've hesitated repairing it. I've considered removing the gunwales, elongating each rivet hole in the Royalex slightly, then riveting the gunwales back on if & when I repair the hull.
I purchased a Reflection 16…
Submitted by:
paddler232197
on 7/20/2007
I purchased a Reflection 16 in the spring of 2007. The person I got it from had never had it in the water and had it stored properly inside. Thus, it was virtually brand new. The canoe is definitely 'tippy', although, it takes a lot to actually tip it over (great secondary). The aluminum framing for the gunwales seems very weak, compared to most canoes. Last spring, it took me a week or so to find the original dagger canoe manual online, so, I book marked it and have looked back on it several times. This morning, I tried to open the Dagger manual bookmark and a Dagger kayak manual opened! I tried it several times... same thing. So, is Dagger so ashamed of their past canoes that they had to get rid of the only piece of Dagger canoe manual history on the internet?? Tick me off! The canoe tracks very well & speed is good. But don't expect Dagger, Wilderness Systems, Mad River, or whoever they are these days, to be of any help concerning Dagger canoes.
I've had my royalex…
Submitted by:
guest-paddler
on 11/2/2005
I've had my royalex Reflection 16 for about 10 years. The early Reflection 16 is a good general use plastic boat. It is stable, paddles easy enough, and is light enough to handle. It is asymmetrical, if paddled backwards in whitewater it can handle moderate waves. Its major problem is the flat bottom plastic hull. (The newer models may be different) It flexes even when paddling on flatwater. I would caution any royalex buyer to look for a shallow V or rounded hull to help stiffen the royalex. I think its better than many plastic boats, but not the best.
After doing some research, I…
Submitted by:
paddler229797
on 7/15/2002
After doing some research, I set off to a local canoe shop with the thought of buying a used Wenanoh Aurora canoe made of Royalex, but after seeing the condition of the mere two month old canoe, I immediately decided against it. For a two month old canoe it was beat and battered. There were deep scratches and dents and flaws in the inside surface of the boat compared to a one year of Dagger Reflection boat. I was let down by the condition of the Wenonah. The Wenonah is noticably a bit lighter weight than the Dagger. However, maybe they shaved the weight by using thinner material and thus the greater wear and tear. I found the Dagger has good initial and very good secondary stability. Because of the rocker angle I found it easy to turn and handling. Very easy to paddle. The web seats are comfortable. Can't say how quick water performance will be yet, but I'm expecting decent performance. I'm very happy and impressed with this canoe.
Great overall tandem canoe.…
Submitted by:
paddler228229
on 8/10/1999
Great overall tandem canoe. Fast for plastic, good glide. Good initial and secondary stability. Carries a heavy load without problems, but can be soloed okay as well. However, you have to be very sure that it is balanced, as relatively small problems with balance can cause major changes in handling characteristics. Hard to beat as a do-everything canoe.
I have abused and used my…
Submitted by:
guest-paddler
on 4/8/1999
I have abused and used my reflection 16 on moderately heavy whitewater and it has not yet left me go to the bottom. It is light enough to comfortably solo portage and with two people and traveling gear it rides quite well. It is trackable enough for extended flatwater also. The layup takes a good beating and gives enough to absorb the pointed stuff. I solo paddle it alot also.
If you paddle mostly…
Submitted by:
paddler229212
on 4/6/1999
If you paddle mostly flatwater there are a myriad of better suited canoes, in my opinion. It is not very efficient design (needs sharper entry at the bow)and a stiffer hull (mine was in R-lite and the bottom was not rigid enough to hold it's shallow arch shape on the water -- in fact it was flat or even concave; it would probably be better in royalex for sure due to the increased rigidity of the heavier material). From a stability standpoint it was fine. The bow is more rockered than the stern and the canoe bow turns nicely and is fun in light rapids. It will carry a load but as the blunt bow comes down into the water with added weight it pushes a lot of water and you lose the little effiency you had unloaded. I actually enjoyed mine more solo paddling.
