ONNO
I’ve got two of Pat’s paddles, a Wing and his Feather paddle that I use for kids and guests. The wing is incredibly light and stiff. Pat’s a carbon fiber Artist.
Andy
the word on Bracsa
I like my Bracsa IV min, but it’s the only wing I’ve used much, so I don’t have a basis for comparison. When I showed it to some ambitious racers, one of them tried it for a couple of minutes, then came back and said solemly, “You have bought the best paddle in the world.” With his eyes he said, “And you will never, ever deserve it.”
– Mark
Braca paddles
– Last Updated: Jun-12-08 1:00 PM EST –
I've seen them and they're very nice. I met Lars Linde recently at a race and he's the Braca rep here in the US. But Pat's are better priced.
Andy
Have
a Bracsa VIII and a DB Designs. The Bracsa is a great paddle on flatter water, discovering I’m becoming not so fond of it on rough water in the surf ski-the longer blade seems to ‘catch’ on wave tops. This is a unique design for them; the IV is more standard. The DB paddle is a workhorse-it takes a licking and keeps on ticking-heavier though.
That said, my next paddle (Soon!) will be an Onno. One friend just received his and it is a thing of beauty.
turbo
Turbo wing paddles are basically indestructible. Solid carbon…won’t delaminate (like my Fenn IV did).
Epic mid
My only experience is with the Epic mid wing. I’m really happy with it. If I were to try others I’d try an Onno, and a Lendal Kinetiks.
I’m looking for a reasonably priced 4 piece wing, for travel, if anyone has an idea where I might look.
I’m with JackL
– Last Updated: Jun-12-08 4:25 PM EST –
I have two Epic wings (sprint and mid) and one ONNO mid (custom built just for me. He built me a brick. So stiff and heavy you could pound nails with it. It's still lighter than my Epics). I love my ONNO and heartily recommend them...just be prepared to be patient. He is VERY popular and builds them all by his lonesome! But it's worth the wait.
Good luck
Franklin
Back to original post…
… I’m in the ONNO camp and would suggest you get an ONNO wing. Two ONNO wings to date and they are both light, stiff and efficient.
However, re-reading the OP and looking at your profile I would be concerned about your choice of a “sprint” paddle. All wing’s are the high impact flavor of paddling equipment. Some elite (ski) paddlers choose small wings for marathon type distances. If you want a sprint wing I am hoping that you are looking at K-1 500m to 1k sprints… hard, all out, leave nothing behind efforts, or you are built like Arnold S…
A mid/small wing at a reasonable cadence will have you moving six to seven plus mph. A sprint wing would be good if you are looking for 7-10 for a minute or two.
If you are looking to paddle two plus km then look at Onno’s mid wing, or small if you are small.
The new cam lock two piece is nice for fast dialing in of length and feather. My first onno was a one piece and I am wanting to shorten it 5cm.
Paddle ONNO hard
Stephen
ONNO Rules
Does’nt get any better than ONNO Pat makes the best wing on the market and the price is right.
love my turbo wing
5 years old with 1,000 miles per year and still going strong. Very rugged for rocks and surf launches. Won olympic gold in athens in 2004
Puzz;epax is right
The blade on the sprint may be too big for an extended paddle. Call ONNO and get Patrick’s advice.
Onno Wings are Excellent
I’ve owned an Onno mid sized wing paddle for almost a year now. It was the best decision I’ve made. All my other paddles are now gathering dust.
size
Don’t get a large wing - it’ll be too tiring after 15 min. These will only give fractions of a mph to very strong paddlers in ICF K1’s when at 10+ mph. Below 9 or 10 mph, the best size for virtually everyone is the small, small-mid, and for some, a mid-size wing if you like a slow stroke rate and a bigger blade to brace with.
Lots of good brands. Lightweight is worth the extra. The Epic small-mid, Onno small or small-mid, Bracsa 7 min, Bracsa FW, Fenn1, Fenn3, Jantex small or med . . . . Quickblade Proton, lots of good choices. Just avoid paddles with too strong a catch and too big a blade area.
Thanks kindly!
One thought about the “Sprint” size…in reading Pat’s website, he specifically mentions the large size as also being very appropriate for general paddling. This, to me, makes a great deal of sense, especially as I have no interest in marathon-type paddling.
If the paddle reportedly works great for 10/10th paddling, and it also works well for 2-3/10’s paddling, then why would it not also work OK for everything in between. If so, then I cannot lose. In other words, I guess perhaps I’m trying to say that I want to be getting tired when paddling for exercise… 
Thanks again!
blade size
I don’t know about the Onno paddles specifically but in general large blades are overkill for size needed to get maximum grip on the water. Unless you’re paddling sub 1:50 500m then a large wing is useless. Actually 1:50 might be a little slow as sub 1:50 is definitely doable with a mid wing unless you’re pretty heavy. You’d likely get plenty of workout from a mid wing with good technique.
think of it like a bicycle
You do not want to be in your highest gear all the time. And you can spin a loweer gear faster to get the same results as a high gear.
A mid blade will put less strain on your wrists and shoulders and will give you PLENTY of exercise!
You’ll get plenty tired with any paddle
The smaller/mid blade ones will let you exercise longer and have less downtime from injuries.
For general paddling - in something like a fast sea kayak, give me a small to mid size parallel edge design (vs. the now predominate tear drop shapes - which I suppose I’ll learn to love someday). One of my favorite paddles currently is a hybrid somewhere between this sort of “recreational” wing and an Aleutian paddle.
All the recommended paddles are good. I’ve only seen two ONNO and used one just very briefly (JackL’s) and it was pretty damn sweet. I have and EPIC mid myself - also very nicely made - but it doesn’t quite sing to me. Maybe if I actually used it more regularly…
OK, thanks!
Think I’ll defer to your collective expertise. Be well, and thank you all once again!
All are variations of Brasca IV
Wing paddles are complex beasts with a number of design shape parameters that standard paddles do not get anywhere near. Twist, Real Dihedral, camber depth, draft location for example are unique to wing paddles.
Despite all these variables, it appears the most popular seakayak/surfski wing paddles are quite similar to or nearly identical knock-offs of the Bracsa IV (it came first) blade shape. Beyond that, the various brands may offer more significant differences in area, construction methods, shaft locking mechanisms, shaft stiffness, etc…that you might find appealing.
It does not matter to me what brand of wing paddle you buy. I just think a little credit is due to Brasca (or however they spell it) for developing the popular wing paddle blade shape that many other manufacturers have started from in their own designs. Based on comments from others, I’m not sure anyone has improved upon the Bracsa IV blade shape.
I am curious to try the Bracsa VII (I think?) because it appears to be Bracsa’s next evolution of their IV.
I also hear great things about Onno’s wings, if you are patient enough to wait for one. I’m told Onno’s new lever lock system is the best out there because it is the only one that will allow a quick change of feather or length on the fly. I am a one-piece paddler so have not yet convinced myself that adjustability is something I would appreciate. However if I went two piece, then Onno’s new lever lock system seems to be the fastest most reliable mechanism yet.
Lendal?
Has anyone tried them and compared to others? I have a carbon straight shaft sitting in my garage and I’m debating if I should not add a set of wings for it.
I tried a friend’s Epic wing and it felt great for the short time I had it - it kind of guides you in the stroke and tells you if you’re not doing it right.
What I am looking for is using it as touring blade on a touring boat so a full race wing might not be for me. Lendal Kinetic Wing seems to be designed for this (http://www.rutabaga.com/product.asp?pid=1010045. Though looking at the close to $400 price tag of a set of wings in CC I’m not sure I want to do that…