But I did stumble on a heavily discounted (and discontinued) Werner Compulsion Outrigger Canoe Paddle that I use from time to time in my kayak or surf ski. That thing weights next to nothing and that makes a nice difference. It does not strike me as a very durable paddle (foam core, thin outer layer) but for open water use it is great.
Lighter is better as far as paddles go ;) (unless you need them for something other than paddling and the added weight could be somehow useful)...
Retail is $260 or so, but at half price I thought it was totally worth it ;). Mine came with carbon handle, not ABS as listed at NRS.
Zaveral ZRE Great paddles. They make a “whitewater” model - or did years ago - that is just a tad more rugged and still incredibly light. I use mine for tripping and also up to class 2 whitewater if I have nothing else along.
I have a mohawk bent I don’t know if you can find them anymore but I like mine. It is really really heavy though. I think Harmony makes a good mid grade bent shaft paddle. When you are getting to paddle more than 20 miles a day a lighter paddle makes a big difference. Less than 10 miles a day and it makes almost no difference to me.
I’ve got one of their “Guide” models and love it. Well made, lighter than the BB Special or the Grey Owl each of which are solid paddles, just not as light and sweet as the Foxworx.
MudbrookWoods Quality outrigger racing bent shafts, made by Dan Bublitz in Wisconsin of popple and other attractive laminations, are offered new from time to time on ebay in the $60-$85 range. Or by phone. Large blades, small blades, single bends, double bends.
I like the mohawk I have had one around for over 20 years with a nice assortment of “nicer” bents. The geometry of the Mohawk is good, the grip is comfortable, the blade is a bit small. It weighs about the same as other rec paddles. It is a good way to try a bentshaft without being influenced by light weight. The reason I use this paddle a good deal is its durability. I paddle upstream frequently in rocks and gravel and it is practically indestructable.
If you like it and want something lighter, wider, prettier you will have a tough back-up that doesnt mind laying in the bottom of a wet boat.
2nd 2nd the fox paddles. I love mine. I also have Wenonah Quetico bent shaft paddles that I believe Grey Owl made for them. Good paddles, but a bit heavies than the fox.
They are there are two kinds of bent shaft paddles. One is for general touring from a seated position.
The smaller blades are designed for higher cadence paddling as in NATT.
The OPs aims seem to point at a small blade high cadence paddle. And I forgot FoxWorx completely which is unforgivable since I have a FW bent for my RapidFire.
FoxWorx does make a small blade bent. Its small because it is 17 inches long. Most blades are 20 inches.
just visit the websites after Googling “bent shaft paddles”, then contact the mfrs to see if they sell factory seconds. I started with a Bending Branches (heavy, but durable) then went to a Mitchell double bent outrigger paddle (fun except catches a lot of wind), then got a Fox (best lightweight wood paddle), then went black (carbon fiber) and I’ll never go back.
Found a blem Thanks for the tips everyone. It was a great help. After reading through the Foxworx website, I found they had a blem Guide in my size for a very reasonable price. So I snatched that up. Cheaper than the BB and much nicer than Mohawk. I think it’ll do nicely.
Now I just have to think up a justification to the wife for buying a paddle three days before Mother’s Day. Hmmm. Maybe I’ll give it to HER and then borrow it when she’s not using it.
LOL! Yeah, you could be right about that. Not only does she not paddle, she’s never forgiven me for taking her too far out in the middle of Lake George in a canoe when we were both in college. Actually we weren’t that far from shore, but that’s not how she remembers it. You know what they say about ‘divorce boats’.
Bent purchases The best bents are carbon: GRE, Grey Owl, Wenonah, Werner and Zaveral, are ~$250 and nuanced, so better to wait a while.
Bending branches, FoxWorx, Grey Owl, Mitchell and Sawyer all make good wooden bents with glass over the blade. FoxWorx seems to have the best low priced units, but I’d go with whatever the local dealer stocks due to " Hey, I need a shorter one" issues. Ready exchange after a test long enough to tell.
Get a 12 dg bent. 20,00 marathon racers are not likely to be wrong. In a perfect world we want an ~18" by 8x5" blade with rounded tips.
Fit it by getting a good grasp on the top grip and invert the paddle in front of your body with the grip down, careful not to let the hand slip around the grip. For Bells, Mad Rivers and most Swifts the throat where shaft and blade meet should locate at the bridge of the nose. For Wenonah’s, Sawyers, Swift Keewaydins and other low seated boats use a shorter shaft locating the throat at the tip of the nose.
Remember, the stroke is shorter and close to the body, catch just in front of the knee, recover before the hip.
Put in some stick time before going carbon if bents are new, you’ll gave length, blade size and shape dialed in before dropping $500 for two.
The Mohawk is almost unusable; you’ll never develop paddle sensitivity with such a poorly shaped club.
Quick followup I had a chance to paddle with the new Foxworx Guide this weekend. It is a really nice paddle. I see the black mark on the shaft that is probably the offending blemish, but other than that, I sure can’t tell its a second. It feels nice on the water. J-strokes didn’t work very well, which I expected. Goon strokes and sweeps were fine. My seat-of-the-pants-o-meter indicates that it does, indeed, get the boat moving faster than my straight shaft paddles while hit n’ switching. I don’t know if that’s mainly attributable to the bent shaft, the nice wide blade, or my imagination. Or a combination of all three. But whatever it is, I love the paddle. Thanks again for the recommendo.
