Stratos 14.5 L

It’s worth the hype. I did a little seat adjustments to make it a lil more comfortable for the long haul but that’s it. It’s a highly sturdy kayak that can take a beating. I’ve never felt I was even close to tipping and I’m not a “pro” kayaker by any means, though I have owned quite a few. It’s just a solid kayak that will suit almost any need beyond that of the extreme niche kayakers . If you are looking to own only one kayak to fill a variety of different roles, or looking for a kayak that will offer the versatility your current kayak lacks, this is the kayak you should consider buying.

It is THE kayak. You're not going to head to a kayak race with this boat. You're not going to head out camping for five days in this boat. Although...you can. It's just not what is best suited for.

It's best suited for absolutely everything else. For most, it's the best "one boat quiver" contender that ever existed. And I can firmly plant that flag because I have owned many of the other "one boat quiver" boats and they didn't even hold a candle to this kayak.

THIS is a kayak in its own category. It's the only kayak I could put a newbie in and feel confident that they will feel confident. And yet....it's the only kayak I would put a thoroughly advanced paddler in and say, "yeah, right there....you see what I'm talking about!?!?"

And....they will. They will feel it. They will know it's real good. If not superb.

It is the "nearly everything" kayak. It's the "nearly one kayak quiver" kind of good. If I meet paddling people and they don't own one of these or have paddled one, I will feel that their advice is suspect.

I now know that I NEED two kayaks. A Stratos and maybe a composite touring yak for those long treks. I'm working on obtaining the longer trip kayak now, but I rarely feel the need to paddle anything other than the Stratos.

It's JUST that GOOD.

This is my first Sea kayak and I purchased the Stratos for kayaking in the open ocean and touring around offshore Islands which will include overnight camping trips. Immediately after I purchased this kayak I visited a local lake to test it. Quickly after getting the kayak in the water I noticed that the Kayak was stable and very easy to paddle. Tracking was very good with the skeg deployed and there was little to no variation in heading. One thing that was obvious is that turning the kayak with the skeg deployed is not an easy task. After a few hours of kayaking around the lake I felt comfortable enough with the performance of the Stratos to take it out in the ocean.

I planned a 15-mile day trip off the coast of Portland, Maine around some of the Casco Bay Islands. The weather conditions were very good in the morning with less than 5 MPH winds and seas were less than 1-2 feet. I paddled most of the day with the skeg down and paddling was efficient and easy. As the day progressed so did the wind and the size of the swells but this had minimal effect on the performance of the Stratos. I found the kayak to be very predictable, stable and easy to paddle. When adjusting my course lifting the skeg was quick and easy and this kayak turns very well simply by using the paddle as a rudder or by adjusting the type of stroke.

As perfect as the Kayak is and as well as it performed there were still some things that I wish the Stratos had. I wish the bow had a little more rise as this would help eliminate the amount of water coming over the front of the boat when paddling through swells. As far as sea kayaks are concerned, I think the front end of the Stratos is on the low side. The Stratos uses a skeg system instead of a rudder and this is new to me, but I think for sea kayaking a rudder would have been easier to use for tracking. Although it was nice to not have to deal with foot pedals that move, and this made paddling more efficient. Jury is still out on whether I prefer a skeg to a rudder or vice versa and the Stratos tracked as well as any kayak with a rudder would have in my opinion. Others have commented on the comfort of the seat but to me it felt somewhat flimsy and didn't provide much back support. Even after making several adjustments I still couldn't find a sweet spot. Lastly, if the Stratos were available in a 16' platform I would have purchased it over the current length. For a boat in this size category it performs very well but different length options would be nice.

The list price for my boat was $1299.00, but I was able to find mine on sale for $799.00 and that's an absolute steal for this kayak. At $1299.00 I probably would have been looking a little harder at some of the Wilderness kayaks. I had the pleasure of paddling a Perception Carolina in the same length and the Stratos gets the nod for performance and stability. This is simply a fantastic kayak.

I purchased this boat nearly a year ago after several recommendations and absolutely love taking it out. I tried several other more expensive yaks and didn't feel them worth the extra money. If you're not a 'professional' you'll love the Dagger as much as I do.

I’ll use Dagger’s mission statement as the yardstick. It’s a maneuverable pocket sea kayak with a nod to stability, that’s at home in surf and rock gardens. It fills the bill very well.

You can check all the boxes this entails: thigh braces, skeg, deck lines, hatches and a rockered hull. It’s easy to turn, roll, draw, etc.

It’s a good value for the price, but not the optimal product. If you’re going to tout it for the rough stuff then drop in whitewater-style outfitting, as P&H does with their Delphin and Hammer. The hull is heavy duty enough to take the punishment, but maybe too much so. The boat requires a beam to keep the hefty boat rigid. It would be better to use a layered molding for a lighter rigid hull. While you’re at it, shave an inch off the width to make it faster and edgier.

Now, let’s talk about quality control. When I got it home and unwrapped, I found some nuts rattling around in the cockpit, which was not the first time I’ve encounter loose hardware in a Dagger. It leaves you wondering if it fell out of an installers pocket or is something unfastened. There were also a few grommets (or rubber washers) on the floor of the cockpit behind the seat. I went to pick them up but couldn’t because they had evidently been glued in when the bulkhead was installed. There doesn’t appear to be an adequate level of care or quality control.

While not perfect, the Stratos beats out most of the boats in this genre and price range.

I am fairly new to paddling, having only paddled low-end recreational kayaks before I cannot compare this boat to anything else. When I went to purchase this boat I was looking for something that I would be able to use on larger water than what I could confidently or easily paddle in my recreational boat, would have room for overnight trips and still work on the smaller rivers around me. I was also hoping to find a boat that I can advance my paddling skills in. So far I'm very pleased with this boat. at 6 foot, 170 lbs, a 34 inch inseam, and a size men's 11 foot this boat fits me very comfortably and allows me to achieve a very firm fit. I sat in several other boats in the same size range but this one felt the most comfortable for me. I was able to test paddle one at the mouth of one of the rivers feeding the Chesapeake Bay and fell in love with the boat. Since my purchase at the end of July I've had it on several of the lakes around me and on one of the smaller rivers and am very pleased with this boat's handling and feel, it also handles the winds on the lakes nicely. I am very excited to get this boat back onto the rivers after their levels come back up to recommended paddling height.

Had the Stratos for a couple months now and have had it on flatwater, class 2/3 rivers and some really windy lake surfing days. I am a mid level sea kayaker. 5'10" 220lbs athletic Marine type. Previous boats include WS tsunami, WS tempest, WS focus, dagger alchemy and fenn surf skis. I bought this boat to be a mid sized river and play boat. Plus I row with my wife most of the time and shes really slow so speed wasn't a concern for this boat.

The bad first, bear with me it gets better.
I knew getting into it that it would be a bit slower with the rocker profile and length, but wow, it is slow. Definitely not the "lets go crank out 20 miler on flatwater" kind of boat. I can keep it around 3.5mph comfortably. So set your own bar on speed. In comparison my ws tempest (given...with 2 more feet of boat and 4 inches skinnier) holds around 4.8mph for me. So i guess its not that its bad, its just not that good unless you are ok with 3mph... Secondly, the seat... This is my 2d dagger. My previous being the Alchemy. Alchemy had same seat. Horrible to spend any more than a few hours in at a time. Once again, if you get our of your boat all the time its too bad, but for me the seat causes butt/leg numbness that no amount of adjustment makes up for. And the backband never really feels supportive. It just digs into my lumbar. Dagger could learn a lot from WS on both the seat and backband systems. In comparison i can sit in my tempest and except for bio breaks i dont need to get out of the boat all day. In either of the daggers I'm 2-3 hours tops without getting out and stretching.I am going to find a way to fix this. Maybe a new band and resurface the seat pan with some foam or something. Also, after using a phase 3 seat in all my boats i hate the way these adjust. Really Dagger, go buy a WS phase 3 airpro off a shelf and steal that seat design.

The good.
OK enough bashing. All that said i love rowing this boat for the kind of water i bought it for. It is especially fun on nasty water. Very stable, I find myself doing things in it that i would shy away from in my other boats unless i just felt like practicing my bracing and rolling skills lol. Turns great but skeg settles it down when its time for going straight. The deck height is like 16 inches. After coming from low profile boats it feels like i could do flips inside it. Lots of room to move legs around. The seat does hold you in really good and the braces are decent for a RM boat. The pedal adjusters are a bit finicky for me but not too bad. Hatches stay dry. Rolls easily. The skeg rope mechanism works very well and it removed the skeg slider that rubs my leg wrong on the alchemy. To me this boat was what i wanted from the alchemy, but it just never seemed to pull off. Build quality is good, no blemishes or weirdness to speak of. And ebing 14 feet i can still load it in back of truck or jeep top it if I don't feel like breaking out the kayak trailer.

All said, i still gravitate towards my longer boats when i have to cover miles or I'm rowing with a faster crowd. But if any kind of craziness is in the forecast then I don't pass up the opportunity to play in this boat. Chattahoochie flooded or enough wind for lake swells? Grab the Dagger! Very niche, but it does that niche extremely well.

Construction was fine, the deck hatches were really tight and as such never leaked. The seating area was pretty tight but the back band never really gave me any support. I am around 100kg and around 6 foot.

The boat has a fair bit of rocker and so it can turn on a six pence which is great for exploring all the nooks and crannies in the local lochs. However, if you want to chew up some miles then you will need to use the skeg I suspect. And like all skegs, it works just fine although it would slip out when stored.

My average cruising speed was about 3.5mph on a 12 mile paddle, so it is not too bad. Stability was great and gave me confidence in spades. I took many a photograph when out on the water in this boat.

I think it would be a good choice for someone looking to get into loch/lake and estuary/sea paddling. And possibly suitable for someone looking to play in the waves, something I never did try.

I have been paddling both canoes and kayaks for 23 years. My first experience in a kayak was a five day expedition that covered about 150 miles. My paddling in the early years involved long distance multi-day expeditions. Most of these expeditions were solo and unsupported beyond having someone pick me up at the destination. In recent years I started participating in organized paddling events such as Watertribe's 300 mile Everglades Challenge and local paddling club excursions. Through paddling with others, my skills and enjoyment of different styles of paddling have increased significantly. Likewise, my understanding of different boats and their capabilities has also expanded.

My thoughts on the Stratos are that Dagger really hit it out of the park for a great all around boat. This boat does everything well. In the following paragraphs I go through the design to show why I believe this is one of the best boats on the market. The key points are price, bottom profile, hard chines, stability, speed, tracking, and most importantly, comfort.

The MSRP for the Stratos is around $1250. The boat is well equipped with deck tie downs, lifelines, carry handles, foot pegs and an extremely comfortable adjustable seat. It has two bulkheads that seal the fore and aft cargo compartments. There is also a stiffening beam along the cockpit floor. After paddling this boat, I think you will agree that Dagger is providing an incredible boat for the money.

The Stratos has a V shaped bottom with hard chines. What this means is the boat heels over and hits a point where the righting moment increases significantly. A paddler can heel the boat over to the point at which water touches the cockpit combing very comfortably and without feeling unstable. The beauty of the Stratos' stability is readily apparent when putting the boat over on edge for maneuvers. The hard chines or sharp angled transition from the sides to the bottom of the boat allow the boat to turn when heeled over or leaned. This is called edge turning. Put this boat up on edge and it will respond by turning. A paddler can keep a steady forward paddle stroke and turn the Stratos to the left or right by simply leaning the boat to one side or the other. Because of the stability of the Stratos, the boat will provide confidence for beginner and intermediate paddlers who are first learning skills involving edging. For an expert paddler, the carving edge turns, responsiveness, maneuverability, comfort and sea kindly ride keep this boat fun to paddle. Dagger gets an A+ on stability profile and responsiveness to edge turning.

The Stratos is not a slow boat. In fact, the cruising speed is surprisingly fast. What you need to know is I can comfortably keep up with true expedition touring kayaks on a day paddle. I think the reason for this surprising speed is the stiffness of the Stratos. Dagger uses an internal stiffening frame in the boat. This causes the boat to deflect less than most plastic boats when moving through the water, thus improving efficiency, speed and handling.

What is the difference in cruising speed between the Stratos and my 19 foot expedition kayak? Nothing. You may think I am crazy, so I will say it again. There is no significant difference in cruising speed. The cruising speed of the Stratos is about the same as cruising speed of most touring kayaks. The key difference between the Stratos and my 19 foot expedition kayak is glide, not cruising speed. The sleeker and longer hull of my expedition boat allow the boat to glide further and hence hold its speed longer between paddle strokes. In the expedition boat I pause between paddle strokes and take advantage of the boat's glide. My pause between paddle strokes in the Stratos is shorter to maintain cruising speed. In the Stratos there are more paddle strokes per unit time to keep up with expedition touring kayaks cruising at 3.5 to 4 knots. This loss of glide is expected with the Stratos' hull being 5 feet shorter and 4 inches wider.

The effect of having a shorter and wider boat is more paddle strokes per mile, and hence less rest between paddle strokes. Keeping up with touring boats for a few hours is no problem for the Stratos, but the increased number of paddle strokes will take a toll after a long day or on a multi day trip.

On a side note, the shorter length and high stability of the Stratos may be an equalizer in certain conditions. A longer and less stable boat often requires diverting energy into maintaining course and bracing with the paddle to stay upright when the wind and chop pick up. In the Stratos, I spend less energy fighting stability issues or fighting the wind to stay on course. I can put more energy into moving forward.

What the Stratos' design gives up in glide, it gains in maneuverability and capability. The Stratos can turn on a dime with the combination of sweep strokes and edging. The Stratos has a good deal of rocker which helps turn, smooths out the ride in chop and improves stability in rough water. In a surf zone the Stratos rides over waves well and surfs like a dream. The high volume of the bow keeps the nose of the kayak above the water when surfing.

The Stratos tracks well and very little energy is lost keeping this boat in a straight line in crosswinds, tailwinds or headwinds. With the skeg up and without paddler input, the Stratos does exactly what a well designed boat should. It points its nose to the wind. This is a safety feature that allows a paddler to keep the bow into the waves and prevent being blown up on an inhospitable shore. Automatically pointing to weather is indicative of good design. With the skeg down the boat can go any direction relative to the wind and handled cross winds well. There is very little increased resistance with the skeg deployed.

The seating system and cockpit comfort of the Stratos gets an A+. I spent about 2 minutes playing with the seat and foot brace adjustment prior to the maiden voyage. The first paddle of this boat was just under 6 hours without stopping to get out of the boat. The boat was comfortable and paddling non-stop for 6 hours would not be possible with any significant comfort issue.

In other notes on comfort, there is plenty of leg and foot room to change positions and prevent numb feet or pain from constant pressure on the back of the heels. To put cockpit room in perspective for others, I have a 30" inseam and a size 11 shoe.

I am glad Dagger specs a back band rather than the high rigid seat back in most Confluence boats. The back band allows laying back on the deck of the boat and gives more freedom of movement for advanced maneuvers. The high seat back on most Confluence boats interferes with the spray skirt seal and doesn't seem to add anything in comfort.

I hope this review has been helpful. If you are considering a day touring boat, an ocean play boat or a weekend warrior expedition boat, I encourage you to find a Stratos to test paddle. The Dagger Stratos is a fantastic boat with great stability, great handling and decent speed. This boat is perfect for the beginner due to excellent stability. The handling, responsiveness and rough water capabilities of this boat will keep a paddler excited about the Stratos from first learning to paddle to the expert level. This boat is the real deal and Dagger pulled off the impossible with this design. I give it a 10, especially when one considers the very reasonable MSRP for such a fantastic boat.

On a closing note, I judge a boat by whether I could do the Everglades Challenge or a similar expedition event in the boat. The answer for the Stratos is a resounding yes with a few minor modifications to the boat and float plan. The boat modifications would include installing a small sail rig and some additional deck fittings for storage of spare paddles. The float plan modification would be obtaining additional water at each checkpoint to avoid overloading the boat with cargo weight. The Statos can carry supplies for about three days without being overloaded. A week long expedition is no problem as long as there is opportunity to resupply along the way.

Do I plan to use the boat in the Everglades Challenge? Not my Stratos. I like my Stratos too much to start drilling holes in the deck.

Is it out of the question that I would do the EC in a Stratos? Not at all. There are many places on the EC course where the Stratos would be a great boat choice. I believe the Stratos would handle rough water in Tampa Bay, Charlotte Harbor and the Gulf of Mexico more comfortably than my expedition boat. If Dagger wants to supply a Stratos for me to drill some holes in the deck, I will take the Stratos on a 300 mile adventure from Tampa to the Keys by way of the Everglades Wilderness Waterway. This is a very comfortable boat with exceptional rough water capabilities.