Dagger Aon - Sport

The Aon is a collaboration between Palm and Dagger, built in the UK, and it sits in the gap between an old fashioned river runner and a modern performance boat. Sport is the simpler of its two outfitting levels. Palm's own phrase for it is durable simplicity, which is about right: the seat and thighbraces are fixed rather than adjustable, so there is less to set up and less to go wrong.

The hull is the same one the Action+ uses, so the boat paddles identically. Wide and planing, it feels settled under someone still getting used to moving water but carries speed rather than ploughing. The high bow rocker lifts over features instead of burying into them and resurfaces quickly. The stern is wide for stability and holds its speed, and behind a crisp rocker break the tapered tail lets the boat change direction and slice through a wave once you put it on edge.

It makes sense for a club or centre fleet, for a first boat where the difference is better spent on a paddle and a deck, and for anyone who would rather just get in and paddle than spend an evening adjusting outfitting. It also comes in a kilo lighter than the Action+, which counts for something on the walk down to the water.

• 263cm long, 68cm wide, 35cm deep
• 297L volume, 19.5kg
• Paddler weight range 63 to 91kg
• Cockpit 90 x 49cm, takes a size 4 spraydeck
• High density polyethylene, made in the United Kingdom
• Sport outfitting with a fixed seat and fixed thighbrace
• Contour Lite backrest and seat pad
• Full plate bulkhead footbrace, which Palm list as a safety feature
• Four anodised aluminium grab handles
• Gear loops and minicell foam pillar buoyancy

Sport or Action+?

The hull is identical, so both boats paddle the same. The Action+ adds an adjustable seat and adjustable thighbraces, backrest ratchets mounted on the thighbraces, hip pads, a volume adjustable Contour Ergo footbrace and an outfitting kit, so it can be set up tightly around one paddler. Sport keeps everything fixed, comes in a kilo lighter and has less to go wrong on a boat that gets shared around.

Worth checking the cockpit size against your spraydeck before ordering, and we can sort you out with a size 4 if what you have does not fit.

See the rest of our whitewater kayaks.