Jumping in pretty late here, but: Looks, warmth and (maybe, to a degree) flex are all good reasons to use wood, but one of my favorite qualities is the potential for thick blades. I haven't seen any wooden Euro style blades that have the thickness of a Greenland paddle, but many still have enough thickness and airfoil shape to be significant. Some feel to me as if they work well in wing-paddle mode, which is fun, but I couldn't prove that it is an advantage from a performance standpoint. OTOH, there is a clear and obvious advantage of a well airfoiled blade when sculling or sweep rolling. Rather than separating off the back of the blade, the flow can remain well attached, giving excellent lift. Initiation of the sweep with the blade immersed also feels much easier than with a dihedral blade dragging a huge wake. Since I started using my Bending Branches, I don't think I have missed a roll, even in about 20 flips while surf kayaking, and I'm not known for strong rolling or grace under panic (not that moderate surf is that threatening). I wrote a review of 9 paddles for SeaKayaker, which went to the printer a week ago today, so I don't want to say much more now, as they might not appreciate me scooping them here! Coming soon to a mailbox near you, if you subscribe... Mike Wagenbach "When I hear post-modernist jargon, I reach for my pistol." -me *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Jun 06 2000 - 18:42:48 PDT
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