Re: [Paddlewise] Paddles You Use

On Wed, Feb 25, 1998 at 02:09:45AM -0800, Dave Kruger wrote:
> The thread on boats people paddle has been a useful one for me --
> learned a lot about different craft without even getting wet!  I'd be
> interested in hearing what others use to paddle their boats, and how
> their paddle choice has evolved.

My first paddle was a club: a Mohawk beginner's kayak paddle.  Then I
switched to a Perception RIM, which at least had dihedral blades and gave
a bit more grip on the water; then I upgraded to a Perception fiberglass
model, whose name I don't recall -- but I still use it for a lot of
general-purpose river running.

Then I picked up a used Schlegel slalom paddle: carbon fiber, and *very*
stiff.  I used that for two or three years, and last year bought my first
Mitchell paddle.

Oh, what a joy!  It's a carbon shaft with wood blades covered in carbon
and edged for abrasion resistance.  It flexes very little, but *just*
enough to make it easy on the joints.  And unlike the Shlegel, when
I plant it in a duffek and throw my entire body weight into the stroke,
it doesn't budge an inch: no flutter, no slip, *nothing*.  I really like
this paddle (can you tell)?  I'd say that it took 2% off the time of
all my slalom runs, easy.

My first C-boat paddle was Dagger Quintus, but I've since upgraded to
Mitchells for that too: I have an all-wood paddle that I use when paddling
stern in the C-2, and a wood shaft/carbon blade that I use when paddling
solo C-1.  (It's a bit shorter because I don't need quite the leverage
and because I can't handle the longer one yet -- it's that cross-bow
thing that messes me up.)

So the bottom line is that the three paddles almost always found in
my hands are Mitchells.  They do *great* work and they handle repairs
as well -- one of my friends just got back a refurbished all-wood K-1
paddle that looks brand new.


---Rsk
Rich Kulawiec
rsk_at_gsp.org
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