About the reviewer

good fella

Test environment

north queensland

Review

good boat for my size, the minni is narrow and i think this is good for must make ferries. its short and moves well in the tight area's u dont want to breach or pin in. it resurfaces so well....when u go that way you didnt want to go and it keeps u on top. ive dragged it through the bush and up the ocasional road . our local river is basalt so the plastic cops a flogging. its holding up well for almost 2 year old. the cockpit is narrow which took some getting used to. it carves so well....i love it...the kiwi's made a winner.

Conclusion

its good for me....

About the reviewer

Been paddling for over a year, paddling grade 3-4. Started in a necky switch, tried a variety of boats before selling my necky and getting the mini mystic.

Test environment

Variety of rivers including kaituna, wairoa, tongariro, mokau, manganui ao te ao (in flood), etc.

Review

This boat is simply awsome. My first time paddling it it felt weird seeing as i was coming from a playboat/river runner, i wasn't used to the speed and different handling of the creek boat. However after paddling it a few times and getting used to it, i find it wicked on all rivers. It is easy to manouver, boofs really easy, holds a line, snaps into eddies etc. really nicely. Being a smaller paddler this boat is ideal as it doesnt feel huge like alot of the other creekers out there.

I also tried a variety of other boats such as the Huka. The Huka i found you had to work really hard to make it go where you want and it can easily be pushed off line. It also doesn't snap into those micro eddies. As well as this, although its a similar size, it didn't suit my size as well. The mini mystic did all that the Huka could'nt and more. Outfittings really nice aswell.

The only thing i can think of to complain about is that sometimes the screws holding the footblock come loose and sometimes can fall off. This can obviously be easily fixed.

Conclusion

Awesome creek boat for the smaller paddler.

About the reviewer

Grade 3/4 Paddler, Have 3 boats 1 for surf, 1 for playhole and one for creek.

Test environment

Surf, Variety of grade 2-4 rivers in NZ

Review

Moving from a river-running boat I immediatedly noticed the added bouyancy, forgivingness and EXCELLENT COMFORT.

At first I was a little disapointed with performance as it did not seem edgy enough. However as my paddling developed I have learned to paddle the boat - which responds better as flow increases. I enjoy the security that this boat gives on the eddy line and on the edges of holes. This boat punches through holes like a beast!

Most recent trip on grade 2+ boulder run I enjoyed eddy hopping and playing in holes and waves. On a couple of occasions spending more time than some playboaters on a feature.

Only negative is that it is quite heavy especially once loaded with splits and other safety gear - so not ideal for long portages in "indian country"

Conclusion

This is a great all round boat for someone looking to progress towards more challenging runs and creeking. COMFORT is excellent!!