Re: [Paddlewise] Epic Paddles

I have to ditto the comments of Matt Broze.  By coincidence, he and I
both have narrowed paddle choice down to 2:  Epic and Lightning. 
Experience?  I have used one or the other for the past 8 years, and I
paddle almost every day.  My Lightning (about 20 oz) has held up well
despite some scrapes with rocks and oysters in shallow water paddling at
times.  My first Epic was the same as the Active Touring carbon fiber, in
a 2-piece with 60-degree right feather.  It became my favorite paddle at
once, even after trying all the new paddles as they came out.  When I
left for a 1 month paddling trip up to the Great Lakes, I discovered that
the day before I had been talking to the Coast Guard when I landed, and
had inadvertantly left the paddle on the landing float.  Rushed back to
get it, and it was gone.  Left for my Great Lakes trip crushed at the
loss and with my trusty Lightning, but upon my return home a month later,
I had a call from the Marina that they had found my paddle floating in
the harbor.  It had been washed under all the pier pilings all the way
across the harbor area, but was still in perfect shape.  I used that
paddle for about 6 years before breaking it during a bad dump in the
surf.  Again, crushed at the loss, I sent the paddle back for repair
(they reattached the blade to the stock) and ordered a new one as well. 
Kept the old Epic as a spare, and finally sold it to another person who
used it and "had to have it" they liked it so much.  My new Epic Active
Tour is one piece, 218cm length, and weighs 19 oz.  I have a slight
preference for the old original Epic paddle because it had a little
rougher stock material (new one is very slick) and more pronounced
indexing in the stock.  But I quickly adjusted to the new paddle.  Never
have had any flutter with either Epic, but have had the comment from some
paddlers I have loaned it to.  I am a fairly aggressive paddler, average
speed 5 mph with a fairly verticle stroke, but no matter how I paddle
with the Epic, no flutter.  I sometimes get a fluter when I return to the
Lightning, but that too goes away after a little use.  I particularly
like the blade shape of the Epic: enters and exits quickly and quietly
with no splash, and I call the Epic blade my "velcrow  blade" because it
feels like it sticks firm in the water when planted for a very efficient
and fast acceleration stroke.  When my Epic was broken and in for
repairs, I found that I lost about half my enjoyment in paddling while
using the Epic because I didn't have the acceleration to catch waves to
surf (caught only about half the waves I would normally catch).  Was
really delighted to get the new one and the repaired old one back.  Would
say both Lightning and Epic paddles are worth every cent.  If you had
told me I was going to spend $800 on 2 paddles before owning these two, I
would have told you you were crazy....but now I can't paddle without my
Epic!  By the way, I feel the Epic has been more resistant to
rocks/oysters than the Lightning.  I am amazed at its strength and
ability to resist breaks or chips.  The only problem I had with the
2-piece Epic was that the steel button rusted through (Corpus Christi is
tops on the rust scale) but the manufacturer always promptly send
replacements.  Also, the rubber o-ring between the two pieces rotted out
periodically in the Corpus Christi sun...but that too the manufacturer
promptly replaced.  Epic is really an the most indistructable paddle for
the weight.  I have lost count of the number of paddlers who have ordered
their own Epic after trying mine.  Hope all this helps. 

 

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