Howdy, After renting for a few seasons, I finally bought my own boat. At the time I bought the boat I noticed a nice-looking paddle in the barrel of used paddles at New England Small Craft in Rowley, MA (highly recommended, by the way). I have to admit I mostly bought this paddle because I liked the way it looked -- it had what I recognized as a "touring blade" shape -- long and narrow, but not too narrow. Another nice feature was that it was a take-apart paddle that allows you to adjust the degree of feather, and I like to play around with switching between 90 and 60 and flat. Also, the price was right, and since I didn't have a lot of experience with different paddles, I didn't want to lay out a lot of money for a paddle I wasn't sure I'd like. I figured that since this was a take-apart, I could always use it as a spare paddle and replace my really crummy "use only if no other option" spare paddle that I put on my stern deck. It's not the lightest paddle in the bunch -- it's not carbon fiber, but fiberglass -- but it was so much lighter than the rental fleet paddles (mostly Aquabound AMT) that I had used before that it really felt like a big difference. I can't really compare it to an ultralight paddle, because I haven't been fortunate enough to get my mitts on one yet. In practice there are a number of things I like about it. I really like the grip. On the control hand, the ovalization is pretty dramatic, and I like that. The ferrule, when fully screwed in, provides a convenient place for me to attach my paddle leash. I note that some people have reported problems with take-apart paddles not coming apart, but I haven't had any problems, even when the paddle has gotten a little dirty or been stored awhile in its one-piece configuration. The threads on the joining "bolts" are wide and deep, rather than thin, and I think this probably contributes to more hassle-free operation. I feel that the blades are big enough to provide good acceleration when I need it but not so big that they are tiring to use at a cruising pace with a nice high cadence. I have only noticed fluttering once, when I was trying to cross a channel at top speed. I noticed if I changed my stroke a little so that the blade wasn't so close the the boat at the end of my stroke it went away. I also appreciate that it's a sturdy paddle, because I do sometimes find myself in a predicament where I am using my paddle for something other than pushing water. When launching from a beach, or pushing off from something, I'm never worried about blade chips, for example. So far I've been very happy with it and haven't felt the need to buy another paddle, so I think I certainly got a good deal. My experience of different paddles is pretty limited, however. Over time I'd love to try more different paddles just for fun. Lisa ______________________________ lisa_at_cadence90.com bikes, books, internet radio *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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