Dragorossi DRX - Test Drive on the LW

As many of you know I am the Waka Kayaks distributor for the USA and have been since 2015. Our beloved Waka boats are made in a factory outside of Milan, Italy by the same people who make Dragorossi Kayaks. In the last 2 years they have finally come out with a design that has peaked my interest so I decided to order a few to sell and demo here in the PWN.

Trying to be a least biased as possible I will do my best to give you guys some information about this kayak. As a side not I am super used to paddling the OG and Steeze as my main kayaks...but I have Demo'ed every other modern creek boat on the market.

(***There are things I like and dislike about every boat including every waka design ... Let's always remember it is the archer not the arrow, the Capitan not the ship ) With that said not all kayaks are created equal...

The DRX their latest creek/river runner is a cool blend of different style designs. At first look I don't love looking a the deck of the boat while sitting down. It seems like a round and not very rocker'ed out profile from paddled POV. (I was wrong) Immediately once you're floating the Hull does its job...it feels fast, controllable, and somehow amazingly loose when you need it to be (rare for a 9 foot design).

The DRX is a fast easy to paddle 9 foot creeker with plenty of rocker to give you that effortless feeling the OG/Scorch/Nirvana/Code styles provide. The edges are softer than OG/Sco, so I never once felt any type of catch or grab. I normally feel more catchiness in newer style when I am learning them...I didn't feel it at all in this boat. One thing that I did feel...is that the DRX is not as sexy to catch eddies in lacking that hard edge. Also something to note is that the boat didn't sit quite as flat and stable in the water as a Waka...it loves to kind of bounce edge to edge especially while skipping out of boily spots. (However on edge it's very very stable, so it doesn't feel tippy)...I just noticed this being a difference from being able to sit so flat and or hold a perfect hull carve for longer in an OG or Steeze

The magic of this boat is the Hull. There is a slight secondary edge on the hull (almost similar to the Nirvana) that makes the Hull paddle more narrow than it actually is...IE giving the boat more speed especially in flat or easy water. The boat has plenty of rocker in both the bow and stern...and when looking at the hull there is a good amount of actually hull in the water and then ton of rocker right at the bow and stern...I have a sneaky suspicion that is what keeps the boat faster but still easy to boof. Landings were soft and skips were beautiful, fast, and very controllable.

Overall I found the kayak to be incredibly easy to paddle and a lot of fun. Especially for a fully new company/design and new outfitting contact points to my body. This is a big thing for me. I get really used to the position of my legs and contact points of the hips pads, back band, and even cockpit. The DRX has a lower more narrow contact set up compared to Waka/Dagger/Pyranha...Maybe felt more like a Nirvana if I had to compare it to something. 2-3 more laps and you get accustom to that and it feel like the new normal.

The Outfitting is more bulky, sturdy, & heavy...one could say, Dagger style. More weight and more plastic holding everything in place. There are pros and cons to this for sure...But it all felt really solid, safe, and easy to adjust. I think that paddlers who love really sturdy outfitting and appreciate those features will like the Drago outfitting. I tend to lean more on the light weight and simple side, but I was happy with what I saw and felt in this boat.

Size wise, the kayak felt maybe a tad bit smaller than the OG in volume. But 5-6" longer. At 165 it felt great and seems like it will support up to 220 and down to 145 pretty easily.

I will have a demo that will travel between the Columbia Gorge and Leavenworth this spring/summer. email if you're interested in trying it out [email protected]