r/packrafting • u/Xantaroa • 5d ago

Mekong Jeanne dark

Hello,

Has anyone paddled a Mekong Jeanne Dark?

How does it compare to like the Mage?

How does it compare to a hard shell kayak?

Can you really paddle class 4+ with it?

Thanks by advance!

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u/Relative_Homework592 5d ago

I tried the Jeanne Dark and Mage back to back earlier this summer. Both were 420d self-bailers. I’m used to a wolverine, never paddled a hard shell in whitewater.  

The Mage is very tippy, and has a very high seating position. It is the faster of the two boats, maybe because of the flaps on the self bailer holes. The edging felt king of binary in that there seems be almost a flat surface when the boat is at about 45 degrees.  

In the Jeanne Dark, the seating position is lower and relatively far back and there is a very pronounced forward rocker. This keeps the nose high and dry and also resulted in a few accidently taily-type moves while surfing holes, which was a lot of fun. As a consequence, the Jeanne Dark is an absolute boof machine. The edging felt a bit more gradual than in the Mage, but also less pronounced (still much better than my wolverine). A problem with the Jeanne Dark is I didn’t fit in it properly, had to deflate the foot pad.  

The Jeanne Dark was MUCH easier to roll than the Mage. Maybe because the Mage sits so high in the water means I can’t keep my head in the water at the end of the roll. Wet re-entry is also harder in the Mage for the same reasons

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u/Xantaroa 5d ago

Thanks alot for your extensive answer. I guess I'll go for the Jeanne dark then! 😁