Chuck says: <That used to be the case, but I heard a couple of months ago that We-no-nah had bought out Current Designs... Remember, this is hearsay.> Chuck hearsay and my earlier comments are correct. On August 1, 1999, Current Designs became a division of Wenonah Canoe. CD will remain largely unchanged and will continue its operations in BC. This is just one of many consolidations going on in the paddlesports industry (as in the world economy as a whole). -Andy Knapp Minneapolis *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I've been using a Lendal bent shaft for a number of years and prefer it to a straight shaft. The benefit is not dramatic but it does seem to be a bit kinder to wrists and tendons. The paddle is somewhat self aligning as you pull through the water. The down side is that you have fixed hand placement. You can purchase the shaft and blades from GRO and build it yourself, to your own specifications. Price is in the $300 range last time I looked. --Have any of you tried the ergonomic bent shaft paddles like the Current Designs and the AT Xception paddles? The AT in particular is way steep (over $400), though several of my whitewater paddling friends have the whitewater version and can't stop raving about it. Do the bent shafts help with carpal tunnel or other wrist flexing problems from paddling a feathered blade? Any reviews, reports, feedback would be greatly appreciated. Paddle on, Steve =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Steven Jarvis sjarvis_at_dicksonstreet.com Fayetteville, Arkansas USA =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> >Have any of you tried the ergonomic bent shaft paddles like the Current >Designs and the AT Xception paddles? The AT in particular is way steep (over >$400), though several of my whitewater paddling friends have the whitewater >version and can't stop raving about it. Here are the paddles I have and had, and used extensively: Werner San Juan, Werner Little Dipper, Eddyline Windswift, Descente racing paddle, (all Graphite), wood Greenland by Superior Kayaks, and the AT Xception Tour. The AT is far and away the best, well worth the money. Here are the reasons: 1. The compound bend in the shaft is natural and takes no getting used to. The straight shaft forces your wrist into an unnatural position and is hard to go back to. 2. The oval grip combined with the bend give precise control of blade angle. Sculling and bracing are easier and more forgiving. 3. My roll has improved dramatically. Don't know why. 4. On my usual 2 hour, 8 NM paddle I am significantly less tired than with any of my other paddles. This is based on many comparative tests. I don't go any faster with any one of these paddles but the AT is clearly more efficient. Don't know why. 5. The construction appears great. The shaft and blade are made together. There is no joint. 6. The only negative is that the blade is easily scratched on rocks. >Do the bent shafts help with carpal tunnel or other wrist flexing problems >from paddling a feathered blade? Never had these problems. But probably yes, since you pull and push with a more natural grip. I never tried any other bent shaft paddle but I believe that the compound bend on the AT is different. In other words, not all bends are the same. Jerry *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I use a Lendal crank, with which I'm very happy. The bent shaft does reduce wrist flexion to a degree. If you use a fairly vertical forward stroke, you need virtually no wrist flexion at all. >Have any of you tried the ergonomic bent shaft paddles like the Current >Designs and the AT Xception paddles? The AT in particular is way steep (over >$400), though several of my whitewater paddling friends have the whitewater >version and can't stop raving about it. > >Do the bent shafts help with carpal tunnel or other wrist flexing problems >from paddling a feathered blade? > >Any reviews, reports, feedback would be greatly appreciated. > >Paddle on, > >Steve > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 3/16/00 3:47:05 AM, bobvolin_at_bestweb.net writes: << I use a Lendal crank, with which I'm very happy. The bent shaft does reduce wrist flexion to a degree. If you use a fairly vertical forward stroke, you need virtually no wrist flexion at all. >> Hi Bob, Are there any tradeoffs to the crankshaft? Are scull strokes more difficult? Does one need to grip the paddle tightly to scull? I normally hold my paddle with just my thumb and first finger so I can't see how a straight loom forces your wrist to flex. (dry paddling now...) OK I guess it does flex. But is this a bad thing for healthy wrists? There doesn't seem to be any strain when I dry paddle.... Thanks in advance Jed *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Hi Jed.. > Are there any tradeoffs to the crankshaft? Are scull strokes more >difficult? Does one need to grip the paddle tightly to scull? ....Hard for me to say, since I'm just now beginning to skull for support (body in the water) and when I do, it ain't pretty. So I can't say what I might have done with a straight shaft. But I don't have a death grip on the crank shaft when I skull, or any time else (well, maybe in surf and other "conditions" that intimidate me). >I normally >hold my paddle with just my thumb and first finger so I can't see how a >straight loom forces your wrist to flex. (dry paddling now...) OK I guess it >does flex. But is this a bad thing for healthy wrists? There doesn't seem to >be any strain when I dry paddle.... ....There will be more force on your wrists when you paddle for real, and of course you'll be doing that for hours (which I assume you don't spend at dry paddling). My understanding is that it's the chronic repetition of stress that eventually causes the injury. Having said that, I firmly believe that you can paddle feathered paddle with a straight shaft without developing wrist problems. One of the keys would be to adopt a more vertical stroke -- perhaps not 100% of the time, but for a good proportion of the day. As you go to a more vertical angle, the need for flexion decreases. On the water SOON! Bob *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
If it's not wrists, it is shoulders. Some folks develop shoulder problems with a more vertical angle. There are some impringement problems. People are built differntly. Robert Bob Volin wrote: > Having said that, I firmly believe that > you can paddle feathered paddle with a straight shaft without developing > wrist problems. One of the keys would be to adopt a more vertical stroke -- > perhaps not 100% of the time, but for a good proportion of the day. As you > go to a more vertical angle, the need for flexion decreases. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
This is worth serious study: any physiologists on the list? Anybody know a physiology or physical therapy student in need of a research project? Robert wrote: >If it's not wrists, it is shoulders. Some folks develop shoulder problems >with a more vertical angle. There are some impringement problems. People >are built differntly. > >Robert > > >Bob Volin wrote: >> Having said that, I firmly believe that >> you can paddle feathered paddle with a straight shaft without developing >> wrist problems. One of the keys would be to adopt a more vertical stroke -- >> perhaps not 100% of the time, but for a good proportion of the day. As you >> go to a more vertical angle, the need for flexion decreases. > > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I saw the bent shaft/plastic blade that you are referring to but it felt clunky. I have a Lendal carbon bent shaft with glass blades (the carbon blades broke and are no longer in production) One of the issues in comparing weights is that the total paddle weight can be misleading. Making a strong but light shaft and heavier blades may weigh the same as a paddle with a heavier shaft and lighter blades but will paddle very differently. I also find it strange that a company can all a blade carbon if it is actually a thermoplastic with carbon fibers mixed in. Lendal is guilty of the same sin. <Have any of you tried the ergonomic bent shaft paddles> Those of you interested in the bent shaft concept may want to take a look at the paddles from Cadence, a new company associated with Wenonah Canoe Company, (owner of Current Designs). They have introduced a series of bent-shaft touring designs with reinforced thermoplastic blades. The fiberglass-shaft bent model retails at $199 and the graphite shaft bent goes for $250- price points that may broaden the market for bent-shaft kayak paddles. Weights are comparable to all but the lightest of the graphite models out there. Information may be available at www.wenonah.com. Disclaimer: I have been using a demo graphite model since November, and was on the focus group at Wenonah last summer that designed the blades. -Andy Knapp Minneapolis We just had the earliest ice-out dates in history- now no excuse to go paddling. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Bob Denton wrote: > the paddles from Cadence, a new company associated with Wenonah Canoe > Company, (owner of Current Designs). Hi Bob. Just a minor correction. Wenonah Canoe is a licensed manufacturer and distributor of Current Designs kayaks, they don't own them. Both the CD web site and the Wenonah web site say this. Unless, of course, this has changed since they last updated their sites. Mike Looking forward to trying new paddles and new boats this spring. -- Paddling along through fog so thick that only one's thoughts are visible, your reverie is abruptly shattered by the ancient cry of a great blue heron as she lifts uncertainly from the brilliant blue of a mussel-shell beach witnessed only by the brooding, wet spruce....your passage home seems as much back through time as it does through space. Mark H Hunt *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
That wasn't my quote.. BTW, the actual Current Designs paddles with Real carbon blades look very nice. The store didn't have any bent shafts though. -----Original Message----- From: owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net [mailto:owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net]On Behalf Of Michael R Noyes Sent: Monday, March 20, 2000 11:08 AM To: 'paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net' Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Bent shaft paddles? Bob Denton wrote: > the paddles from Cadence, a new company associated with Wenonah Canoe > Company, (owner of Current Designs). Hi Bob. Just a minor correction. Wenonah Canoe is a licensed manufacturer and distributor of Current Designs kayaks, they don't own them. Both the CD web site and the Wenonah web site say this. Unless, of course, this has changed since they last updated their sites. Mike Looking forward to trying new paddles and new boats this spring. -- Paddling along through fog so thick that only one's thoughts are visible, your reverie is abruptly shattered by the ancient cry of a great blue heron as she lifts uncertainly from the brilliant blue of a mussel-shell beach witnessed only by the brooding, wet spruce....your passage home seems as much back through time as it does through space. Mark H Hunt *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Bob Denton SAID: >>I saw the bent shaft/plastic blade that you are referring to but it felt clunky. I have a Lendal carbon bent shaft with glass blades (the carbon blades broke and are no longer in production)>> I picked up one of the first new carbon/plastic bent shaft paddles from Current Designs at the PT Symposium last fall. Nice blades, nice shaft (with its ovalized grip and no heat-shrink cover to abrade off like the Lendal type). However, they equipped the bent shaft with these long, skinny blades, requiring a lower stroke, as opposed to the bit higher style of movement normally employed with bent shaft paddles. Didn't like it, even though I got it at cost. Returned it for a "new" Lendal the company had used to "model" their CD bent shaft (so that's how these guys do research :-)) The Lendal is the one Bob indicates above. It is very light and there is no "give" in the blades like the nylon ones I also have. I only use my "new" paddle for light-duty touring (an oxymoron for me, is that last part of the sentence!). About the best paddle I've seen up in my part of the world for price, stiffness, strength, lightness and durability are the Aquabound carbon/nylon paddles. I like the Tsunami in a soft dihedral. Try it, you will like it. Gotta go...studying for First aid/CPR re certification. BC'in Ya Doug Lloyd *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
>> Hi Bob. Just a minor correction. Wenonah Canoe is a licensed manufacturer and distributor of Current Designs kayaks, they don't own them. Both the CD web site and the Wenonah web site say this. Unless, of course, this has changed since they last updated their sites. Mike Looking forward to trying new paddles and new boats this spring. >> That used to be the case, but I heard a couple of months ago that We-no-nah had bought out Current Designs, supposedly in a pre-emptive strike to prevent a competitor from buying CD and lifting We-no-nah's license. Remember, this is hearsay. I couldn't find anything about it on the We-no-nah site, but the CD site did refer to a merger between the two companies last time I looked. Chuck Holst *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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