A 64 year old runner wants to purchase a distance touring paddle made of carbon. Please let the wisdom flow to my awaiting ears. I am in pretty good shape for my age.
Check out the paddle fit wizards
There is one on Werner’s site, and probably others. Fill in info about your paddling style, boat and size and the paddle fit utility will suggest which blades and length are best for you. It matters whether you are a low or high angle paddler, that kind of thing.
Talk with Patrick at ONNO paddles
that is if the Tsunami didn’t bother him.
He is a great guy to talk with and will lead you through the whole process.
Cheers,
JackL
All carbon is not carbon graphite
It seems that there is a lot of stuff called carbon these days. I saw a Werner Skagit refered to as a carbon paddle. I can tell you that the shaft is much heavier than the shaft of my Werner little dipper and the weave does not look the same. Also the blades of the Werner Skagit are a plastic that is clearly not carbon fiber.
I’ve seen this in stores with other brands too. aparently if there is any carbon ion the paddle anywhere the stores will sell it as a carbon paddle.
Second the ONNO
Pat is awesome, great paddles.
Take a look
At the Werner Kalliste. A great paddle in my opinion, not cheap, but well worth the price.
I like Epic Relaxed Tour full carbon
with length lock and burgundy shaft. The length lock allows 10cm of length adjustment. The burgundy shaft is their flexier shaft. http://www.epickayaks.com/products/paddles/relaxed-touring
Very expensive but relatively easy on the joints, compared to most other paddles out there, including some of those already mentioned above.
Onno!
– Last Updated: Feb-28-10 5:19 PM EST –
My wife and I both own his touring paddles and I also own his wing. All are great. The touring paddle is so light, forgiving and efficiant. If I bought it first I likely would not have bought the wing. At my level I feel I am nearly as fast as with the wing.
I almost responded to a previous post about noisy paddles. One thing I like about the Onno touring paddle is how quiet they are. They just make a slight whir as they hit the water. They also balance themselves to correct my stroke mistakes. They require such little correction that I barely have to grip the shaft.
I could go on and on but I won't. I also own a Aqua Bound carbon, a Bending Branches carbon and a wood paddle. The Onno makes the others feel like a piece of iron pipe with plastic scoops on the end. There is no comparison.
ONNO! (nm)
cautious…
If you have half a chance try and borrow some from a friend or two.
Over the years my wife and I bought some nice carbon paddles. We can adjust them to most any angle in either direction.
Yet after a while we realized we like to use them straight with no offset. Could have saved a few dollars, but we thought they were the best thing in the world when we bought them.
Now here it is a few years later and we seldom use them or else we take them along as spares. (mighty expensive spares at that).
We now do all our paddling with narrow wood paddles…mine I bought used for $100.
So the point is… just keep in mind that when spending the big money, your preferences might change quicker than you might think.
When I go paddling with other people many of them own multiple paddles…sometimes last years favorite becomes this years spare that they might part with for way less than they paid…maybe you can pick one up that way…wish I had.
good luck
So…
That might be a suggestion to check out a Superior carbon greenland paddle? Or some of the other GP brands that come in carbon? -
I personally would not mind one of these but they ain’t $100, unfortunately, even used (I presume) - never seen one used, I guess people like theirs.
It’s nice to have a couple of different paddles at hand to choose from, depending on conditions, so as long as the first choice is not totally wrong, it can still get some good use…
I’m a big fan of the Werner Kalliste and
used one for touring until I switched to a Greenland paddle.
Well, if you insist on carbon…
…scroll down the page to find the carbon GPs…
http://superiorkayaks.com/superiorkayaks2009_004.htm
Carbon? Yes, and you don’t have to use one of those silly Euro paddles!
Melissa
ditto werner…
Werner Cyprus or Ikelos
With all due respect to Pat at ONNO and his superb workmanship, I almost never use my mid-tour anymore. In part it it too long (my fault as I moved down from a way too-long paddle) but mainly because I don’t like the shape for slicy strokes. It has a great catch and is really light.
Currently my main Euro paddle is a 205 cm Cyprus. I think for me it would probably be a better paddle at 210 or perhaps a 205 Ikelos would work. The times I’ve tried an Ikelos it felt too big but the Cyprus feels a tad small. That obviously is a personal thing. The foam core and smooth back on the blades make for a really nice feel.
one of the best kayaking purchases
I have made was getting a superior cf gp. tough and light.
Epic
Epic
ONNO again
I’ve got 2 wings and one of his “Feather” paddles.
AT
The AT Exception Tour should not be forgotten.
I am older than you
And have been around the block more times than I care to count. I have paddled most of the brands and types of paddles except wing paddles (which I intend to remedy). Right now I have a Superior carbon two-piece GP, a Superior one-piece wood GP, a Lendal bent shaft WW paddle, a Lendal Kinetic sea kayak paddle, and an AT bent shaft WW paddle. I have used and sold a variety of other paddles including Werner. My judgment is that paddle brands are quite different and in ways that cannot be anticipated. I thought my Werner WW paddle was great until I used an AT. I thought my AT was great until I tried a Lendal. None of them is bad. They are different and you can adapt to any of them. Right now I am very happy with my Superior carbon two-piece GP, although my aging arms seem to prefer the wood version. But when I am sea kayaking I carry some version of the Superior GP and the Lendal kinetic. When I do WW I use the Lendal with hand paddles as the backup. But I would never tell you what will work for you. Only you can decide that after experience and spending more money than you want. But if I had to make a choice I would use the wood Superior GP (or equivalent) with the carbon as a backup. Sponge off your friends as long as you can before you spend anything.