Lendal paddle vs. 2-piece Werner or ?

Looking to get a good paddle with bent shaft. The price of the Lendal shaft at $165 before potential 20% member discount at REI seems attractive. Such as this one http://www.rei.com/product/770163



Paired with a plastic set of blades for $125 for a total weigth of 11.6 + 13.4 = 25 oz at under $300 this is not far off and actually cheaper than other relatively light-weight paddles such as this Carbon Werner http://www.rei.com/product/709635.



I’m still deciding on size (both length and blade area). So my question is mostly on the benefits of either system. Besides the obvious advantage of being able to have two sets of blades for different uses with the Lendal at much lower cost than two complete paddles, what are the pros & cons?



I really would not want to spend too much (used is OK) and weight is not the main thing for me. I do short paddles (1-3 hours usually) and as a workout more than anything else, so a heavier paddle is actually a plus for this -;). The bent shaft however seems to be important as I do feel some strain in my wrists and would like to see if the shaft helps on a 2-3 hour paddle (it did feel great in the store but how that would work over time is unknown to me).



My limited experience has been with two relatively low-end paddles of rather different sizes so they helped me get an idea of blade size and shaft length that would work for me. Other than that I’m open to suggestions.



Thanks!

Plastic Kinetic Tour
I have a pair of plastic Lendel Kinetic Tour that I never use. Excellent condition $75.00 plus mail cost. cosloy@comcast.net

Gene

I have Lendal paddles
I have the carbon bent shaft and carbon kinetic touring blades. I have the fiberglass version as a spare paddle. I have not used the Werner. I am quite happy with the paddle. Set at zero degree feather I have virtually no wrist motion, either side to side or front to back. The blade feels very solid in the water with no flutter. Other people I have loaned the paddle to, just to try out, have liked it as well although most don’t want to pay as much for a paddle as you have to to get all carbon. I have had no problem with the locking system. There is a tiny amount of play at the ferrules, but not as much as any of the two piece paddles I have. I think you will probably like the Lendal.

Feather
Thanks for the though on 0 feather. I guess I need to read-up on feather and experiment a little more. I have used only feathered paddles so far and that has worked very well in strong wind. I can’t imagine using a straight blade in these conditions. But in calm days, it might be worth a try. Luckily, paddles are adjustable so that should not be a decision point, just something for me to experiment with.



There seem to be a lot of $200 or so paddles that are straight shaft that would otherwise work well for me (like this: http://www.hudsontrail.com/viewFeatureItem/7/53/6179/) but for some reason I can’t find a bent shaft anywhere near this price…



I will try to find a loaner first to see if the shaft makes that much of a difference at all before spending too much time/$ on it…

Blades
Thanks - I’ll keep that in mind once I figure out what I want…

Lendal
I have three Lendals, and wouldn’t necessarily call the plastic blades lightweight. I have an older plastic two-piece Nordkapp and maybe the newer ones are lighter but it’s a good paddle for a workout…



Check out the fiberglass blades for a good compromise between weight and cost. I have one fiberglass and one carbon shaft, and there isn’t much weight difference between the two.

what length shaft?
you could be looking at two different things here. The Werner paddle you are considering is designed more for ‘low’ angle paddling styles. I haven’t used the Kinetic Touring as a low angle so I can’t comment on how effective it is in that area. I have a ‘high’ angle style and it works well for that.



The Plastic Lendal blades are not light, but they are very durable.



I was an exclusive Werner guy for a while, until I switched to the Lendal Kinetic Tour. The bends in the Werner and Lendal shafts are different. The Werner bends actually hurt my wrist more than a straight shaft.



What length paddle are you using now? And do you have a ‘higher’ or ‘lower’ paddling style?


Feather
I don’t want to start another thread on paddle feather. I only want to comment on your comment about feather helping when the wind is strong. A feathered paddle only helps when the wind is from the front. It hinders when the wind is from the side.

Answers

– Last Updated: May-05-08 3:58 PM EST –

I did not necessarily link to "the" Werner paddle that I want, just the first one that popped-up of similar weight. When looking at overall weight, the Lendal with plastic blades seems to be lighter than many full carbon paddles and it would be similarly priced, that's why I linked to one Werner as an example.

I guess heavier blades would change the balance on the paddle and it may feel heavier than a paddle with lighter blades and heavier handle, but I thought that the plastic-bladed one would not be too bad for a start, especially if I get a used pair of blades, and can always upgrade to "better" blades down the road. In the murky waters of the Potomac where I paddle I do hit rocks occasionally so plastic is not necessarily a bad thing in my view.

Being a new paddler, it's hard to say I have a style, but it seems I prefer a high angle for more active and powerful paddling. My current paddle is a Powerflex paddle from Cobra (check item 920 at http://www.cobrakayaks.com/pricelist.html) 220cm 2 piece aluminum 70 degree shaft with polypropylene blades. Came with my Cobra Explorer SOT. Fairly large surface on the blade and the whole thing is quite heavy. I also have a 230cm slimmer 2-piece aluminum/plastic paddle (forgot the brand) that is considerably lighter than the other paddle and has smaller surface area (thinner and longish blade).

B/w the two I definitely prefer the shorter and more powerful paddle - the thin and longer one just does not offer enough resistance in the water during my regular 1-2 hour paddles. It seems too long for high-angle paddling and while it may be allright if not better for a more relaxed longer duration paddling session, I have no plans for one.

So I suppose I'll be looking for a more powerful and shorter paddle 210-220 cm at the most. 220 seems to fit well and I am not sure if I need a touch shorter or not, but longer than that seems wrong to me. I'm 6'4" with "average" proportions I suppose. The Cobra paddle seems to work pretty well for me, except I wanted to try a bent shaft and lighter weight would not hurt either.

at your height I wouldn’t go shorter
than 215cm, unless you have really long arms.


I Have a Lendel Kinetic Touring…
220, bent shaft, with carbon blades. I love it. Very solid feel, minimal cavitation, and very natural control. I also have the N20 Nylon Nordkapp blades - much bigger blade (maybe too big??) and adds a lot fo weight - I almost never us 'em. I’ll sell 'em to you for $74.00 plus shipping



I’ve used both Werner and ONNO paddles, but have discovered that I do not prefer a dihedral blade.



Lastly, not to throw a wrench, but I bought my wife a Swift mid-sized paddle a couple of years ago, and I REALLY like that paddle. Arguably the best-for-money out there for a straight-shafted paddle.

WARNING!! (Nice paddle, verify weight)
I just purchased a Lendal Kinetic S paddle as a back-up. I bought the straight fiberglass shaft (FG) with the plastic blades (SF). The blades are a little heavy, but the shaft is light… put together it actually feels well balanced and, while not super-light, it is not heavy either.

Here’s the warning, Lendal weights are not as advertised! When I added up the weights for my FG/Poly set-up, I found it hard to believe it would weight less than 30oz as advertised. I ordered through Rutabaga and had them weigh one and confirm the actual weight prior to placing my order. The actual weight is something like 35-36oz. That’s OK with me for a back-up. I plan to use my lightweight paddle for distance/open-water and then pull out the poly Lendal for near shore/surf/rocks.

Also, someone noted play in the ferules. I haven’t experienced any play at all. I took an allen wrench (a key was not included with my paddle)and snugged up the ferules… they are rock solid.

I would guess that the bent-shaft glass/glass set-up will weigh a little more than 30oz.






What size Allen wrench did you use?
When I tried 1/8 inch it was too small and 5/32 was too big. Is it a metric size?