.02 Worth
Bob does not usually advertise blems for the ZRE’s, but if you drop him an e-mail he might screw one up for you 
I have the ZRE Rec paddle, a ZRE racing paddle and a couple Foxwork paddles, both bent & straight shaft. I love 'em all for different reasons. Jack L is right: Once you get bent, you’ll never go back. They work very well in twisty, winding little areas as well as more open water.
Dale Fox makes some great wooden sticks and wood has always felt better in my hands than carbon fiber. If budget is an issue, Dale can “blem” a couple for you as well.
I don’t give advice, but thru trial and error I found a ZRE bent shaft is the best paddle money can buy and worth every cent.
Interesting thread ya got going here
I put a note on a local club message board about breaking my paddle, and out of the blue, somebody emailed me and offered to sell me their ZRE bent shaft for $70. I jumped on it, and it has become my favorite paddle (but I don’t have many–so limited competition). It is my first and only bent shaft. My boats definately go faster when I use that paddle.
For ww, I don’t use the Zav for two reasons. I can’t stand the feel of the Zav on rock. And, in a rapid when things start happening quickly, I don’t want to have to think about which way my paddle is facing.
I switch sides when I paddle, but not hit n switch, just switch for a change of pace or maybe the wind is blowing from one side and if I paddle on the other side it sort of self corrects. I use a j stroke, and on flatwater, it used to be a thumbs down j. But with the bent shaft, I’m finding a thumbs up j seems to offer more correction with less lost momentum. It also takes less time, meaning your overall stroke rate can increase.
Thumbs up immediately puts the bent shaft at an angle away from the boat, and I find I just need to give it a little pop away from the boat to produce a strong correction. I think it is less effort and faster acting than the old j I used with a straight shaft.
That is just my subjective impression, and I do not consider myself a paddling expert. I’ve had little formal paddling instruction, so I could be all wrong. But I think you should get a bent shaft, paddle with it for at least 50 hours, and make your own judgements.
I say use it for 50 hours because my experience is that it takes some time and experience using a piece of paddling equipment to uncover its nuances. Perhaps it doesn’t take that much for more skillful paddlers.
I also recommend trying a straight, long-bladed, thin, light, oval-tailed paddle. That’s another paddle I’d only want to use if I knew I wasn’t going to be grinding on the bottom. I don’t own one, but have used my friends and found it quite different and relaxing. The flex in the paddle gives it a little kick. I’ve been wondering if the flex gives it some of the same dynamic as a bent shaft. I want to use one some more (about another 47 hours worth) before I come to any conclusion on it.
Thanks for posting. I am enjoying the thread.
~~Chip
Important with light weight?
Yes, for the feeling of the water. The lighter the paddle the better you feel what the paddle does in the water, and the more fun you have paddling(in my opinion. Better feeling also improves the tecnique. These are the reasons that I recomend everyone to go for the light weight paddles. A lot of rec paddlers buy Zaverals after having tried one of mine, and they don’t do it for speed, but for the feeling. Medium weight Zav is the best when you consider durability, but ultra light is a joy to use unless it is blowing to hard.
Paul
Get in touch with me.
Email me at onepaddlejunkie@yahoo.com. You can come by the house in Dover AR and Take a look at a paddle or two.
Don’t forget the werner bandit
If you are not a sit and switch paddler you may really like this straight shaft paddle available in fiberglass or carbon
Used a friend’s
I used my friends Bandit on a 4-day Adirondack trip and liked it very well. I’d be happy to own one. But that was before I had a zav! ~~Chip
Ye might want ta try…
– Last Updated: Nov-30-07 5:25 PM EST –
paddlin' Canadian Style in yer Arkansas swamps... really, no foolin'. Then ye would want ta go wit a straight shaft. Give it a try, yer jus' might like it.
FE
Thanks!
Hey Roy - thanks so much! Email has been sent.
Who better to advise me than OnePaddleJunkie!!!
Light weight canoe paddle
I have two Zav’s and love them but I find myself paddling more and more with a balsa paddle by Brad Gillespie. It is almost as light as the Zav’s with the flexibility and warmth of wood. When putting in tons of miles I find it easier on the joints then the Zav’s.
Thumb down
Is the thumb down on the hand nearest the water? And is this only for a bent paddle? Your description of the method is very good. Especially “scooping” under the canoe. Thanks, a new comer.
Why not a double paddle? That’s…
…what many of us use in solo canoes. Mine is a 9’ carbon fiber-light as a feather. Carry a ZRE for a spare.
great paddles
made by Ron Sell at Unadilla Boatworks. Lightweight but still wood, which places less stress on joints and just plain feels better. the one he made for me is my favorite of about 20 I own.
Contact him at: unadilla@worldnet.att.net
Two straight shaft models
have become my favorites on the slow, coastal river where I mostly paddle. A carbon blade from Wenonah is my favorite. I also frequently use a wooden “West Branch” from LL Beans. I bought the latter for use by guests, but it has a real nice feel to it. It weighs only 2 oz more than the carbon, and it costs almost 80 percent less!
How much does your double blade weigh?
Between
straight and bent, you will find that either works for any stroke. The catch angles can be adjusted with your arms. Sitting of kneeling has nothing to do with bent vs straigh shaft. It can have a differance in paddle length if anything.
the big differance ,I find is if you do WW. I prefer a straight shaft for WW because you don’t need to worry about where the power face ends up during fast side switches.
In flat water they both work egually well, depending on the experiance of the paddler.
and a J stroke, a Canaidian stroke or Indian stroke are all doable with either…it’s all in the paddler , not bent vs straight
I have many of both. I have been using a hand made bent shaft for the last 10 years or so for flatwater more because I was at the top of Quetico , (in Aticokin) and wandered into the XYZ company and Don Meany just happened to have a particular blade style I liked, and it happened to be a bent shaft made from Wisconsin white cedar.At the time I prefered a strait shaft paddle because I thought there to be a big differance in usage…I was wrong…they both work fine. So I bought the blade and love it.
I still use a straight shaft paddle anytime I do WW…mostly use a kayak these days tho…use to do a lot of canoeing both WW and tripping and some racing back in the dark ages. 
Best Wishes
Roy
7 degree bent shaft
gives twice as much push as straight shaft. Do you find that true?
http://redrockstore.com/paddles/7degree.htm
no
I don’t find that to be true.
It’s about the paddler and the way you paddle with each style paddle.
some people just prefer a bent shaft because of the style of paddling they have developed.
I grew up with straight shaft paddles and paddled with straight shaft paddles for over 30 years before I ever tried a Bent shaft.
Neither is better that the other (IMO)the latest trend is to exalt the bent shaft as a cure all for any paddling…not so. You still need to learn how to paddle properly no matter which paddle you chose to use.
most racers today prefer bent shaft. But for flatwater paddling both are exceptable if the paddler is proficient it’s more in the blade style itself than whether it’s bent of straight (again IMO)
Best Wishes
Roy
it is about sitting vs kneeling
While you can adjust body mechanics a little, a sitting paddler will not get an effective forward stroke with a straight paddle. The recovery will be too late and lift water.
The kneeler is apt to push water down on plant though may recover while the paddle is still vertical. Its quite hard to remember to plant your blade angled a little back to make a vertical approach.
Wish Charlie Wilson would chime in… Its not (I think ) that I took my instructor cert course from him and his picnic table where we measured angles with several people to come to this concusion.
listen
– Last Updated: Dec-03-07 5:04 AM EST –
the words Apt and hard to remember to plant etc tell you more what I'm talking about....the differance is the paddler and the paddlers technique....not the paddle.
I don't find the differance sitting or kneeling ....but more in your adaptive stroke management and years with any particular paddle.
a persons body is very capable of moving properly to acomadate either paddle
They both work fine and for me , equally well
I chose by the blade shape more than by if it's bent or straight.
YMMV
Best Wishes
Roy
this bent vs straight is a lot like crankshaft vs strait shaft arguements for kayak paddles.
or wing vs euro vs greenland blade, shapes of all of them and size of all of them....
each to their own :) they all work
Why does sitting or kneeling
– Last Updated: Dec-02-07 9:15 PM EST –
make any difference? Keening is like sitting, but on your ankles, isn't it? Kayamedic?