bentshaft
Well I should be getting my 215 bentshaft Ikelos hopefully by next weekend, or early next week and will tell you what I think about it.
I love my Lendal
I am 5’11", and paddle a 22.5" wide x 18’ Kayak, I love my Lendal 215cm Paddle. It has their crank shaft, which is different from the other brand’s crank shaft. I am also a high angle paddler. I could easily use a 210cm paddle, but the crank spacing of the 210 shaft was too close together for me.
I have the Kinetic touring blades in it, and the entire paddle is carbon fiber.
It is a shame you cannot test paddle different paddles, as you will be amazed at the differences you can feel in them. My final choice was between the Werner Crank with the Shuna blades, or the Lendal Crank with the Kinetic Touring blades.
After test paddling the two, I liked the feel of the Lendal Crank shaft a lot better than the Werner Crank. Again, just my personal preference. I liked the Werner Shuna blades, but I didn’t like the feel of their crank shaft. So the Lendal Crank, with the Kinetic Touring blades work out very well for me.
Best wishes in your search!
We are back in the shop as of today : )
Mitchell???
Franklin, where in N. Fla are you? Ever get to the Panhandle? Anyway, the big boy looks pretty cool. I’m still trying to call Pat. How did it go for you on longer days?
My current AB flutters a bit, possibly due to many things (my fault maybe) but…
Has anyone ever tried the Mitchell Black Magic. It looks cool, but carries a hefty price tag.
Thanks again.
go4ecu - AB Tsunami for Sale
For $180 + ship. Look in “Classified Ads” section of P.Net. under accesories. Posted 4-10-06. Looks to be about the size you need @ 220 cm.
No affiliation with seller.
TheBigYaker
Black magic
Thanks to all who responded. I just ordered a Mitchell Black Magic. I will post a review after I get some solid hours on it.
go4ecu
mitchell
The black magic is a nice paddle, we have one at the shop, and mitchell makes solid quality stuff. However for me the thing that gets me is when i look at the blades and see little pinholes and such in the surface of the layup. This is because they lay their blades out by hand, and I think for a 400 dollar paddle the blades should be vacummed bagged and flawless. Still really just a cosmetic thing, nice paddle non the less
Go4aWing
Your paddling goals sound very similar to mine: QCC700, open water, fitness paddling for 1 - 3 hours.
I was a modern paddle guy with a high angle stroke with modest rotation. My main paddle was a Simon River Sports (215 cm, 75rh feather). I also had a Bracsa IV wing (217 cm, 75rh feather) that I would take out on calmer days, but it scared me in rough water. Then I broke my modern paddle and was forced to paddle my wing full-time. I also switched to paddling with a rudder full time. The combination of wing paddle and full-time rudder was the best thing that ever happenned to my paddling.
Within two weeks of paddling the wing full-time my technique improved dramatically. Every time the wing tried to capsize me was due to a flaw in technique. The threat of a swim teaches one pretty quick. I soon felt comfortable with the wing in all the ocean could throw at me. I swapped paddles with a friend briefly while out paddling. I could not believe how shakey his modern paddle felt (Werner). It did not have the grip and solid connection to the water I had gotten used to with a wing. I felt like an absolute beginner trying to do proper stroke technique with a modern blade with dihedral. The guy with my wing felt just as uncomfortable doing his mostly linear arm stroke with a wing that wants to be rotated outward.
The wing (and rudder) is really amazing. My average paddling speed went from 4.8-5.5 mph to 5.7 - 6.2mph. My range nearly doubled because my technique was so much better. I was focusing most of my energy on the forward stroke instead of bracing and steering with the paddle. Furthermore, my downwind speed increased dramatically because I could catch faster waves and stay on them longer. I could now even jump up from one slower wave onto a larger faster wave including open water rides between 10 - 15 mph when the conditions were right. I also found I could catch smaller waves including boat wakes and stay on them at diagonal angles so my vmg was faster than the waves. All this in a touring kayak!
My overall conditioning also improved. I was using much larger trunk muscles instead of arms. My overall muscle mass increased and my cardio fitness had to increase to keep up with the needs of the larger muscles. Whats funny is how normal my arms look. My arms are simply the linkage between the engine and the blade.
I’ve heard it said that a wing paddle increases efficiency by 10%. That is BS. The force I am able to impart to my kayak for a one to three hour stretch has nearly doubled. My average speed compared to a resistance curve proves this. Its not just the paddle, but everything else that the paddle forced me to improve.
So if you are serious about fitness paddling and want to cover more ground and develop advanced surfing techniques you should commit to a wing with full time rudder. Your QCC700 is up to the task and has the speed potential to reward the improved efficiency of a wing paddle. Plus it is so much fun once your speed potential gets close to the speed of waves. A whole new world of paddling opens up that those with their dihedral blades and arm-dependent techniques can only dream about. I was there. I had no idea. I have now broken through and there is no going back.