Cheap-skate
I took to the GP for a number of reasons (most of the ones listed here). But there is one more - as a bargain-hunter/cheap-skate/do-it-yourselfer, how could I resist using an elegant, functional paddle that costs $26 and some sweat, rather than $465 plus sales tax? Actually, the last two boards I bought to carve ran $40+ each, but still reasonable in the grand picture.
I keep my hand in the Euro world for teaching and guiding purposes. Through the year, I probably split my time about 50/50 between the Euro and GP. As much as I like the Ikelos, the GP feels more like home.
Another attraction: it’s so much fun swapping off my GP for another paddler to try. Some don’t take to it, some take a while to warm up to it, some say “where can I get one, right away?!!”
Thus a new pile of sweet cedar shavings accumulates on my shop floor…
Alan
The
fact , that Greenland paddles were for many years un-attainiable for other than the self motivated builder/carver has been for the most part, what’s kept the Greenland paddle as a fringe curiosity paddle.
Now there are people that will carve (for a small fee) a paddle for others and even two producers of carbon Greenland paddles.
http://www.superiorkayaks.com/superiorkayaks001.htm
http://novorca.com/
before …unless You were a home builder, it was very difficult to access one to use.
People that are sponsored , paddle what they can get, so the majority of higher end sponsored paddlers were on a differant wave.
the introduction of comercially produced Greenland paddles is changing the access and the availiability to even borrow to try.
It is also what’s been responsiable in a large part, for the renewed interest in people aquiring and learnning how to use them correctly.
The first paddle a person makes is not always a stellar rendition or even a balanced paddle. so in the past, many , who had paddled with a Greenland paddle after carving their first, had tried a less than adiquite version, and as such didn’t really have a good comparison to paddle and judge between euro and Greenland. The euro they were use to was a many times refined version of a euro…not a home built first try at carving.
So as much as people like to make and use their own…the actual reason that the Greenland paddle is becomming more mainstream, is because of the people that are producing them for sale and still trying to get time to paddle too.
Best Wishes
Roy