That is not much if you have not used a paddle that weighed less. Your body will get used to it.
When I started racing I could only find a Carlisle Speed Wing paddle. It weighed less than the AquaBound pita I was using and seemed fine.
Then I found an Epic paddle, from before they were Mid wings, Small Mid wings, etc. I used it for a couple of years, and then did the Wild Hog race again.
I didn’t want to trash my Epic, so I packed up the Carlisle. The thing felt like it was made of concrete, even though I was in much better shape at that time.
Weight is a relative thing, if red fibreglass turns you one, get that. It might make a difference in how often you get out, and that is more important than an ounce.
Why do you want a four piece? What happens if you lose one of the pieces? Even for a spare paddle I’m planning on a two piece, just far that reason. Two pieces should be easier to keep track of than four.
Also, for me a paddle is purely for utility; I’m not looking to buy one because it’s pretty. Although a visible blade color like white or yellow could come in handy when it comes to people in motorboats bearing down on you.
I have the Werner Camano and it too is a piece of art. I paddle a bright green kayak, which aids in visibility. My wife’s kayak is bright blue and may not be as visible, so I bought her the AquaBound Sting Ray highbred, carbon fiber shaft with white blades. They show up like crazy as she’s paddling!
Alby, what’s that bit about diffrennt strokes for different folks? Maybe a kayaker first said that. Maybe on this message board.
I’m getting a four-piece paddle because I’m traveling. Given my druthers, I’d take a one-piece paddle. It’s lighter and you’re not always fooling with grit in the joining mechanism as I did with my Werner Shuna, which long ago with a piece of black duct tape I made into a one-piece paddle. No duct tape needed for my Greenland carved from Western cedar, beautiful in its simplicity.
The snake is on a Zaveral straight shaft and the mean fish is on a no-longer-available Black Bart bent shaft. The Zav is 9 oz and has absorbed a lot of punishment over the years.
Broke my 12 year old Zav Rec (13 oz) just before Christmas. Red Cedar was VERY low & I had been doing a fair amount of ‘poling’ around Potter Park. Hit some soft clay going up through a tight spot around some wood when it felt funny. Pulled it up, saw the crack, and switched to my old Cricket wood paddle.
Came home & dried out the paddle and started to prepare to put a patch on when I saw the the edge seam had split. It was wet & felt sandy inside but I think some of that ‘sand’ was disintegrated foam. I dried out the inside & removed as much of the sand/foam as I could. Filled it with some filled epoxy & clamped the sem to seal. Put some scrap carbon cut on the bias over the crack & the paddle should be good for another 10 years. It is about 2 oz heavier now though.
I’m very pleased with my Gram 2-piece 9000D paddle. Outstanding quality and very lightweight. My wife has a Northern Light 3-piece GP that is white and it’s much more visible than I expected.
One OZ I wouldn’t worry about it. it’s more or less meaningless.
Unless you plan on doing 15+ mile races where you are outputting 50% of you total output or more along the entire duration.
Then the additional weight will be notices as the fatigue will set in much sooner.
If you are leisurely paddling that same distance you won’t really notice it since you won’t be continually paddling and would be taking short breaks every now and then and just coasting.
if you are a High Angle paddler, then yes you’ll notice it within 3-5 miles in quicker fatiguing.
The biggest difference is how is that weight distributed.
I have an Accent Kuiai paddle, and an Aquabound Whiskey Paddle. Both weigh the same, and I have both in 220cm and 230cm however they distribute their weight differently.
The Aquabound Whiskey carries its weight in the paddle shaft, whereas the Accent Kuiai, carries its weight in the blades.
This difference causes the Accent to have a greater rotational weight. This causes quicker fatigue and a feel that it is heavier over time. Since you basically have to exert more force to move it forward and then rotate it back, a heavier weight once moving has higher inertia to overcome. So if you have an opportunity to swing both paddles I would highly suggest this because it’s not just the weight that matters but it’s distribution.
But if none of this applies to you then get the one you like.
Thanks for bringing this up. It seems right that a paddle with more weight in the blades will require more work (force x distance) per stroke versus one with more weight near the midpoint of the shaft, even if they have the same total mass.
I recently bought a Werner Ikleos, which is even lighter than the Whiskey, it’s about 1 maybe 2 oz lighter, but it’s better balanced in that the blade weight is even less than the whiskey so it’s time to fatigue (TTF) is much much longer, so I recommend actually handling any paddles, the lightest isn’t necessarily the lightest felt when in actual use especially when the weight difference is within about 5-10% of the paddle weight.
if you’re within this zone (5-10%) static weight difference, a slightly heavier paddle with center shaft weighting will have a lighter feel than one that is more blade weighted.
So handle them if you can, I’ve been lucky so far buying (upgrading) paddles sight unseen.
I lost my paddle on a swim and then my buddy found it. Orange blades on that paddle were the difference. If it had been my carbon fiber paddle it would have stayed lost. Bright colors are the way to go.
I watched a guy lose his paddle in a rapid on the Suwanee River. They capsized in mid rapid and I was downstream. It seemed like it took me forever to find that black paddle and return it.
