[Paddlewise] Bent-shaft kayak paddles -- pros, cons, and recommendations

Recently I've become interested in picking up a bent-shaft (crank-shaft??)
paddle.  I got interested recently while looking for a 4-piece break-down
paddle for use with a folding kayak.  The Lendal caught my eye, for
various reasons.  Lendal features their bent-shaft paddles rather
prominently.  Recently, as of this year I guess, Werner got into the act
too.  The Werner design, however, is rather different in the position of
the bent areas, and in the relative position of the blades to the paddle
shaft centerline.  I'm unfamiliar with any other manufacturers producing
such paddles.

So my questions are:

1) Are there other manufacturers I've missed?

2) If you tried these paddles, what do you think of them as compared
   to various straight shaft paddles?

3) Theoretically, do you buy the argument(s) put forth for their
   use?

My one experience with a bent-shaft blade was with a Lendal Archipelago
last year.  While taking a BCU course, I opted for the equipment provided
by the firm offering the course (not wanting to car-top my own boat the
five or so hours each way to the class).  I had a miserable experience
with a boat that fit me poorly (despite making supposed arrangements in
advance of the class to make sure that wouldn't happen).  The paddle I got
was a pure fit too.  I eventually borrowed the above mentioned Lendal from
one of the instructors, and was able to maneuver much more easily than I
had been able to earlier.  It took some getting used to, but gave me good
control.  I forget the manufacturer and model of the first paddle, so
maybe I was comparing against absolute crap, but nonetheless it did peek
my interest.

-- 
James Durkin
jwd_at_phonogram.net
  -or-
jwd_at_acm.org

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