Company line: A super fun, river-running playboat with volume for all-day comfort and predictable handling. Winner of the coveted “Gear of the Year 2004” award from Outside magazine.
Outfitting: Necky’s new Recoil system with aluminum backbone provides rigidity to the hull and a mounting point for the seat assembly. The flat seat needs building up under the ham- strings. The self-adhesive foam hip pads didn’t stick, and there’s no water bottle holder. The low-profile aluminum thigh hooks and backband ratchet system are simple and effective. Lots of vertical foot room for your river shoes to press against the pre-shaped cut-it-to-fit foam chunks.
River: River running in the Mission is stable and gentle, rolling smoothly from edge to edge. The incredible amount of rocker eliminates any pearling on ferries and lifts you over reactionary waves. There hasn’t been a boat that backpaddles this easily since the RPM. The Mission brings back home controlled eddyline stern squirts along with crazy stern enders when punching holes and boofing.
Play: Necky bills the Mission a river runner, but it is as much a weekender’s playboat—the return of the long-boat revolution! The super-big rocker keeps the ends clear of upstream green water and there’s no outrageous volume around the knees. Super-fun rails backsurfing. Surfs way faster than small boats. Longer ends grab more water in spins and cartwheels, letting the river do more work and you less “gooning” the boat around. Hole play is refreshingly slow and controlled. Outside might be right.
Specs: length 7’2” | width 25.5” | volume 57gal | weight 34lb | cockpit 31×16” | price $1399cdn/$999us
This article first appeared in the Summer 2004 issue of Rapid Magazine. For more great boat reviews, subscribe to Rapid’s print and digital editions here.
