I picked up a used, like-new Millbrook Outrage this week. When I say like new, I mean no scratches or signs of use on the hull and has not even had kneepads glued down. It has the “factory equipped” foam saddle, hip pads, double thigh straps and air bag lacings, but it looks like the previous owner went no further. He said it had only been on water 3 or 4 times, and from the looks of the hull, it must have been flatwater. It even had a set of older Voyageur bags that hold air just fine. The only thing this Outrage needed is a good gunwale oiling. I will be adding knee cups, toe and ankle blocks, more foam to the hip braces, and will need to decide if I want more than the current 8” of seat height (the comfort vs. stability compromise). From what I’ve read, this Outrage seems to be a bit heavier layup than the standard Millbrook, coming in around 38 lbs. without bags.
I wanted to get the Outrage in water and evaluate the basic handling of the canoe and see how the outfitting should go. I also wanted to keep this canoe in it pristine condition on my first test-drive just in case I found that it did not suit me and I needed to recoup my investment. I had been worried about the suggested paddler weight range on the Outrage (in Mad River’s data it is listed as 180 to 190 lbs. depending on the year you look at), but thanks to some posts on this site, those worries were allayed. I still planned to test it in a deep pool with moving water and a landing site without many rocks.
I couldn’t get any of my buddies to go to the river on Easter Day; for some reason they had to “get together with Family”. Not wanting to miss this beautiful 82-degree day, I decided to go to a nice little pool below a dam that has a nice sandy beach on the road side and a class 1+ ledge on the other side where the water releases. Upon my arrival I realized my error; it was Easter Sunday and the beach where I planned to launch was packed elbow-to-elbow with fishermen. On to plan “B”, the next closest moving water. It was packed with partying teens to the point that the cars were double-parked in the parking area. On to Plan “C”, a small local lake. At the boat launch, the parking lot was empty because the lake had been drained over the winter, then refilled for fish stocking and so fishing prohibited until July. At least I could get the Outrage wet and figure out if I liked what I found.
Instead of moving water, I ended up in a small cove on a lake with a steady 10-12 mph wind and gusts pushing 20 mph. Even with that I was able to play a bit with the foam that I will be adding, check primary and (somewhat) secondary stability, reaction to strokes and body movement, and forward speed and quickness of directional change. There was plenty of freeboard on this canoe with my 185 lb. dressed weight; it’s actually quite a deep boat. Initial stability was good for a round-bottomed whitewater canoe, and my leans were steady even though the hip pad were not touching my hips; a couple of inches of minicell will solve that. I didn’t take the canoe to the “point of no return” in my secondary stability tests, but I could lean it pretty much to the gunwale on a very hard brace; i.e. with the paddle on the lake bottom. The Outrage spins very nicely and sideslips well on draw and pry strokes. The acceleration was quicker than I expected, but I am not sure if that is due to the narrow hull or the fact that I am mentally comparing it to my OT H2Pro which is quite a bit wider. The narrowness of the hull does put my knees closer together than I am accustomed to, but I think with the knee pads glued in as wide as possible I could get used to that. I am also used to a single thigh strap rig, so the double thigh straps felt a bit different. One other item that was new to me on this canoe was the X-shaped crossed thwarts. When getting out of the Outrage, I had to figure out how to get my 34” inseam legs out from around the pedestal without hitting the thwart. This canoe will take a bit of a learning curve but I think it will be worth it.
Overall, I was impressed with the Millbrook Outrage and figure this canoe to be a keeper, especially since my H2Pro is 70 lbs. and this one is low 40’s with outfitting and bags.
Now to finish outfitting the Outrage and hit a river!
I wanted to get the Outrage in water and evaluate the basic handling of the canoe and see how the outfitting should go. I also wanted to keep this canoe in it pristine condition on my first test-drive just in case I found that it did not suit me and I needed to recoup my investment. I had been worried about the suggested paddler weight range on the Outrage (in Mad River’s data it is listed as 180 to 190 lbs. depending on the year you look at), but thanks to some posts on this site, those worries were allayed. I still planned to test it in a deep pool with moving water and a landing site without many rocks.
I couldn’t get any of my buddies to go to the river on Easter Day; for some reason they had to “get together with Family”. Not wanting to miss this beautiful 82-degree day, I decided to go to a nice little pool below a dam that has a nice sandy beach on the road side and a class 1+ ledge on the other side where the water releases. Upon my arrival I realized my error; it was Easter Sunday and the beach where I planned to launch was packed elbow-to-elbow with fishermen. On to plan “B”, the next closest moving water. It was packed with partying teens to the point that the cars were double-parked in the parking area. On to Plan “C”, a small local lake. At the boat launch, the parking lot was empty because the lake had been drained over the winter, then refilled for fish stocking and so fishing prohibited until July. At least I could get the Outrage wet and figure out if I liked what I found.
Instead of moving water, I ended up in a small cove on a lake with a steady 10-12 mph wind and gusts pushing 20 mph. Even with that I was able to play a bit with the foam that I will be adding, check primary and (somewhat) secondary stability, reaction to strokes and body movement, and forward speed and quickness of directional change. There was plenty of freeboard on this canoe with my 185 lb. dressed weight; it’s actually quite a deep boat. Initial stability was good for a round-bottomed whitewater canoe, and my leans were steady even though the hip pad were not touching my hips; a couple of inches of minicell will solve that. I didn’t take the canoe to the “point of no return” in my secondary stability tests, but I could lean it pretty much to the gunwale on a very hard brace; i.e. with the paddle on the lake bottom. The Outrage spins very nicely and sideslips well on draw and pry strokes. The acceleration was quicker than I expected, but I am not sure if that is due to the narrow hull or the fact that I am mentally comparing it to my OT H2Pro which is quite a bit wider. The narrowness of the hull does put my knees closer together than I am accustomed to, but I think with the knee pads glued in as wide as possible I could get used to that. I am also used to a single thigh strap rig, so the double thigh straps felt a bit different. One other item that was new to me on this canoe was the X-shaped crossed thwarts. When getting out of the Outrage, I had to figure out how to get my 34” inseam legs out from around the pedestal without hitting the thwart. This canoe will take a bit of a learning curve but I think it will be worth it.
Overall, I was impressed with the Millbrook Outrage and figure this canoe to be a keeper, especially since my H2Pro is 70 lbs. and this one is low 40’s with outfitting and bags.
Now to finish outfitting the Outrage and hit a river!
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