paddles

Just picked up our QCC 600 and 700 this weekend.We are both new to the sport and are shopping for paddles now.Most of the local stores have very little in their invetory.We like the carbon fiber paddles and was wondering about the bent shaft over the straight shaft.can anyone shed some light,or give opinions on this issue???

bent
they work quite well in positioning your hands in a correct form.



Try the AT if you want a very natural, neutral bend.



steve

paddles
What is AT??

Bent shaft paddles
I never tried one of those, how easy it is to use them in an extended position and for rolling in general?



Since so many good paddlers use them I’m sure they work great but they look to me like an un-necessary complication. I might change my mind the day I’ll try one.

Adventure Technology
atpaddles.com



the foam core xception is my personal choice.



steve

yep
once you try it, it’s hard to go back.



extending the shaft is ok with some bents, and weird with others. this is what I like about the AT, the bends are quite soft and neutral feeling. IMO, you should learn to roll w/o extending to the blades. I’m just NOT a fan of this style of rolling.



steve

AT, Werner, and a “Superior” option
The AT already mentioned, and the Werner Kalliste are both very nice bent shaft (option)paddles.



http://www.wernerpaddles.com/paddles/kalliste.html



http://www.atpaddle.com/products/touring/Tour-XceptSL-TourCarbon.html



Tried both, liked both. Still think I prefer straight shafts and flared fingers to keep wrist neutral over a fixed angled grip spot. Haven’t rolled with either - seems it could help by giving a little indexing. Can’t see how it would hurt.



I still much prefer my Superior Kayaks Carbon Greenland Paddle to straight or bent Euros. 24 oz of pure magic. Different grip and hand placement on GP also protects wrists.



http://www.superiorkayaks.com/superiorkayaks009.htm

Once you try it, it’s hard to go back
I’m familiar with that feeling, once I tried a greenland paddle I was totally sold.



Just curious about the bent shafts, for what I know they are designed to be easier on wrists, any other benefit compared to a straight shaft?



Agree we should all be able to perform a roll in a normal paddling position but it’s soooo easy to extend my GP I sort of got spoiled.

Bent shaft paddles are designed to …
reduce wrist movement in one direction. Imagine you extend your hand out to shake hands. Now move your hand up and down without moving your arm. That is the repetitive motion that the bent shaft is designed to reduce or eliminate. With a straight shaft, when you plant the paddle for a forward stroke your wrist is necessarily bent toward you. The bend in the shaft straightens out your wrist, although it does so with some sacrifice of how far forward your plant is. I use AT bent shaft paddles for both WW and touring.