In a message dated 4/12/2004 8:53:22 PM Pacific Daylight Time, gwarner2_at_shaw.ca writes: > I'm also looking at the possibility of a carbon fiber paddle. I've > narrowed the choices down to Werner, Epic, or Lightning. If anyone has an > opinion regarding the merits (plus or minus) of any of these I'd love to > hear from you. > > I have a Lendal 4 piece Paddlok. If I want to travel with it it can carry on a plane. The ferrule is very tight and the key system is not an inconvenience as it stays in a pfd pocket. I can change the blades for weight savings or design reasons. A broken blade or tube can be replaced. If I want a shorter paddle I can just buy a tube. I can change feathering if I use it as a spare for an unfortunate person who lost or broke theirs on a trip. (In their dreams! I would first laugh and say, like hell you will! Here, use this old Toksook paddle. Derek Hutchinson still uses one of these things I think. And they would say: but I need a left handI control! To which I would laugh cruelly and say:Turn it upside down then!) I like the Nordkapp blades but will buy the new kinetic blades in carbon layup. A New carbon 4 piece retails for 50 to 100 bucks USD less than the Werner My Wener Molokai is also a 4 piece. The blade is fantastic. My wife's Kaui blade really is sweet, too. At 220cm, its a bit longer than I want. My 4 piece from Werner may be a a one in a million misfire but it is not the same quality as Lendal. It takes in water and one side the holes are not lined up with the maximum length of the ferule. Works fine though. New Werners have the variable feather joint which is sweet. If you break anything you cannot exchange the components. Also, a standard two piece ferrule system wears down and gets wobbly after a few years. Don't overlook the Aquabound paddles. A bit weightier than Werners or Lendals but good blades and high quality control. Cost is a lot less than the Werner. FWIW I've seen wood paddles break at the ferrule before and the wood seems to get soft at the junction of the metal or glass ferrule and the wood and after a few years you hear a very dissatisfying snap that lets you know you will be spending some money soon. Cheers, Rob G *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Apr 13 2004 - 09:57:09 PDT
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:31:14 PDT