Complimented on Paddle
I’m driving the new Saltwood home in my convertible after picking it up from Nigel and get complimented by another driver for the nice paddle.
That never happened with my Werner. I guess I can say that Saltwood paddles do have some sex appeal.
Anyway, getting ready to hit the water for my first paddle with it as the weather is perfect, and the tide will be high.
yeah…
I am eager to get mine out in the ocean and see how it performs surfing. I think it will do well. I think the flex will give a little bit of spring to the paddle when getting on the wave face. The bouyancy will be great for bracing.
Two other things I did not mention that I really like about it…the shaft shape makes it very easy to know the blade orientation which makes me feel a bit better about opening my top hand when paddling since I know I will be able to grip the paddle correctly when my top hand becomes my power hand.
I also like this for paddling in the wind, combined with the slightly greater weight. I always felt as if my Werner was going to blow away when paddling on days with 20 knot or greater winds.
Matt
First Impressions
Overall, there are a lot of subtle things to like about this paddle. I can see myself growing to love it more with each trip.
The flex does help to make the paddle much more comfortable, no doubt. I paddled a fetch of water facing 18 knot headwinds with low 20 knot gusts. The paddle handled very well under those conditions. It also worked great in the crosswind sections too. When I put full power to the Habit blade, I felt no stresses at all being transmitted to my body, yet I still got the blade bite that I like to get.
As mentioned before, the indexing is excellent and a valuable asset in many situations. I also found my sculling strokes to be much more efficient than with my Corryvrecken too. My favorite thing about my Habit blade model is how the water drips directly off the blade instead of trying to run down the shaft as my Werner does. I will assume the Reggie blade does the same thing.
This is a VERY well designed piece of equipment that I will learn to appreciate more as I use it. One can tell that a lot of thought was put into these paddles. I also found that the fact this paddle is a one piece unit to not be that big of a deal. I would not let this scare one off of purchasing it.
I think I am going to make it part of my living room’s decor.
Is there edge protection or …
… Just bare carbon?
Thanks!
Pdawg…
Do you find the amount of catch to the blade on the Habit to be the same or more than your Coryvrecken?
Given that the Reggie feels about the same as my Ikelos, I am going the guess that the catch must be greater than your Werner with the Habit blade.
And as to edge protector…nope. But I am not sure that would matter even in rocky water…but I could be wrong.
Matt
Thanks!
For the occasional whack it probably does not matter much. But I want to replace my dedicated WW paddle for exclusively WW use where I hit rocks regularly (though I do not abuse it and don’t run bad stuff, just I’m used to smacking rocks with the plastic I have and not think twice about it). I don’t want to worry too much about accidentally hitting rocks. With a carbon-only edge, I know from experience that chips develop fairly easy without protection (been using my Werner Cyprus and Epic Wing paddles on the river occasionally and they hold-up very well to light contact with rocks, but harder hits result in small chips that would not be there if there was a mm or so of softer edge). Probably one could add edge protection aftermarket (seen it done in several ways) but having it done at the start with the right materials would have been a good thing to have…
Catch
– Last Updated: Jun-21-12 2:32 PM EST –
I'd say that they are quite similar in performance. The flex of the shaft seems to insulate me from it though. I could really notice it when I applied full power to buck the headwinds and ebb tide.
I'd say as analogy with the Habit and wooden shaft is similar to a steel frame bicycle in that the slight flex makes things more comfortable whereas the Corryvrecken is way more stiffer like a carbon fiber frame bike. I like the wider shaft too on the Saltwood.
The Saltwood performs better overall, and is way more comfortable. I am notorious for 6 hour distance paddles so I'll take everything I can get in the ergonomics department . I'm planning on heading out to Ossabaw Sound tomorrow to get out in the bigger water. Probably, enter the ocean from there.
Gotta see what the flotation is going to do for my bracing.
Still have much to learn from this paddle.
Carbon
– Last Updated: Jun-17-12 12:51 AM EST –
It heavily reinforced carbon at the end. I never paddle white water and there are no rocks in coastal Georgia. It is quite beefy at the end of a blade so it looks tough. No protector though.
My biggest threat is using it to land on concrete boat ramps. My fiberglass blade Werner held up quite well, and is still is in good shape.
Maybe someone with white water experience will pipe in here.
Habit
I would place the amount of resistance of the Habit at greater than that of the Coryvrecken or the Ikelos. (see my review here at p-net for more). As previously mentioned the Little bit of shaft flex seems to keep the paddle comfortable and not fatiguing for its having a tremendous amount of purchase on the water.
The durability is fine for Cl III whitewater. The maker of these paddles is into rock gardening in the Pacific NW so the gear is meant to put up with rocky environments so have fun. The tips of the blades are extremely stiff as the carbon cloth is doubled up for durability and minimal blade flex.
I’ve enjoyed both styles for myself and use several in my fleet for programs. It’s a toss up as to what I use daily Saltwood or Mitchell Black Magic. It’s a good quandary.
See you on the water,
Marshall
The River Connection, Inc.
Hyde Park, NY
www.the-river-connection.com
See you on the wa
2nd Trip Report
Well the good news is that my control hand (left one) feels great after a 24.15 mile paddles. I’m guessing the flex and larger shaft compared to my Werner made the difference. It used to feel stiff and hurt after that many hours in seat.
The few times I had to brace this paddle really shined. Confirming what Matt noted previously.
whitewater…???
I am thinking that I will get another one…looking to get a Habit 197 for whitewater.
Anyone used one for whitewater?
Matt
Yes, I got someone local here
– Last Updated: Jun-25-12 12:58 PM EST –
WHo's got the 197 bent shaft Habit and uses it for whitewater. I'm also planning to get the same myself.
I don't think it will stand-up to rocky river running or creeking very well to be honest, though. Since blade does not have added edge protection and carbon chips easy. It might be similar in longevity to the Werner non-foam core models, which are vey popular but they do wear off on the edges with good use. In contrast, the AT has very serious edge protection ... The fiberglass Werners are cheaper so wearing them out is not as painful as it would be for a $400 carbon blade...
Could be good for playboating or deeper water with fewer rock hits on the way.
If I hit as many rocks as I did over 2 days of paddling this weekend, I think the unprotected carbon blade would have gotten serious chips on it... My Werner Desperado barely got any new visible signs of use as a result of that trip, where we broke (a defective, most likely) all carbon Mitchell...
On a separate note, a serous WW paddler (who paddles A LOT) shared with us that he's got his wood paddle for over 30 years now and it looks better than most paddles who are used for just a season. Granted, he has refinished it every few years, but there were no chips or cracks or problems with it - tough edge protection does the trick and it gets replenished every once in a while, I gather...
yeah…
I have wondered a bit about the possible durability issues.
I am going to try one though I think. I am moving and not sure how much WW I will get to do, so I am going to wait a bit before I order it.
Matt
I got the Habit and Reggie at hand
– Last Updated: Jun-26-12 4:08 PM EST –
And will try at least the Habit on the water tonight. Both are bent shaft 200cm.
They are both used and from signs of contact on the blades I see that they would chip just as easy as say my Lendal Kinetic Touring or Werner Cyprus. And while these are strong blades by sea kayak standards, they are not WW rock strong...
The carbon blade on the Saltwoods is thin for the most part with slightly thicker area towards the tip of the blade. I would not get these if frequent encounters with rocks are on the menu. The blade won't break easy it seems, but it would probably chip and wear off with heavy and frequent bashing more than I'd like.
Second, the bends on the bent shaft are in the wrong place for WW. The 200cm places my hands way too close to each other for anything but relaxed paddling and too far away from the blades for power. For WW I like to have my hands much closer to the blade than I would have on a sea kayak. I would want to have my hands almost a full fist closer to the blades compared to where they are now. These are sea kayak designs in terms of the bends and blade structure.
Looks it might be possible to shave about an inch from the distance b/w the blade and the bend but that would not be enough to place the bend close enough to the blade. To move the bend closer to the blade the bend angle and length of the shoulder would need to be changed...
The bends feel extremely comfortable though, and if Saltwood would be willing to build a WW version with the bends wider apart and the blades closer to the bend, I would consider the bent shaft for playboating WW (where I don't hit too many rocks). As it is, I would not buy it for serious WW in a WW boat, due to the position of the bends mainly, secondary due to the unprotected carbon edge.
The straight shaft is very well indexed and the index goes wide and closer to the blades than the bend on the bent shaft. But I want a bent shaft not for the indexing but for the angle of the bend and where I need to hold it for WW is at the beginning of the last bend, which of course has an angle opposite to what is needed for ergonomics...
The flex in the wood shaft is more than the flex on the Cyprus. Any more flex and I'd think it would be too flexy - I think it's probably great for sea kayaking. For WW it would be a bit too much flex, but with the shorter lengths and wider spacing of the hands it would even out.
Lastly, the blade is not totally flat on the power face nor is it "spooned" as reported here. There is a clear dihedral shape but the slope is gentle from the center towards the edges. If you put a ruller accross the blade, perpendicular to the shaft axis, the center of the blade is rised and there is about 1/4" gap between the ruller and the edges of the blade on each side. The center area is raised compared to the edges. The raise is almost the same amount as on my Cyprus (which has more defined ridge in the middle compared to the softer hill in the Saltwoods). Compare to the Lendal Kinetic Touring - that is spoon shaped, I'd think, because the center is lower by about 1/4 inch than the edges - it is concave overall, where the Saltwood and the Werner are not.
Hope this is helpful, even though purely based on looking at the paddles and handling them on dry land. I'll get one wet tonight and will report if I find anything unusual.
Update 1
Paddled the Habit bent yesterday on some typical WW for me (Little Falls on the Potomac). Indeed, the bends are too far inside - I watched where my hads fall from time to time and they were mostly at the corner of the bend, past the straight section where they are meant to be (and that’s with a 200cm paddle, so plenty long).
Comparing side by side with a Werner or AT WW bent shafts, the Saltwood bends are about a fist more away from the blade.
Feel is very different b/w the Habit and the AT (something or other play boating style) and Werner (Double Diamond). Both the AT and Werner are narrower and both have less tendency to flutter in the water. The Saltwood is also rather flutter-free, but not completely.
One thing I noticed is that when my stroke is not well planted, the paddle would tend to fly out of the water more than I’m used to. Probably due to the big area of the blade.
And it felt that the blade is actually quite strong and the few impacts I made with rocks had little effect on the edge. Looking at a Reggie that has been used quite a bit, I don’t see too many chips - mostly wear like I have on my plastic blade. So durability, while not top-notch, would probably be OK for light WW use (and more than enough for anything else).
I’m going to take the Reggie to the water to see how that feels and write a 2nd update in a couple of days…
The blade has good catch, but I thought it might be too big - did not have nearly as good stability in the water as I expected from a bent shaft (the blade is WIDE).
Bent Shaft…???
I bought a straight shaft, but am starting to wish I got the bent.
How does the location and shape of the bent compare to Werner touring paddles (ikelos / cyprus)? I understand that it is closer together than the whitewater models.
One observation I have to make–I have noticed that the paddle “feels” longer than its actual length when compared to Werner paddles I own. I ordered a 210, but to me if just feels longer than that. I checked the shaft length and it is actually a bit shorter than my Werner, but for whatever reason it just feels a little longer than I would like. I would have maybe gotten a 205 had I known that.
Maybe a bent shaft 205 may be in my future…
Update 2 (yes, bent shaft)
Yesterday I paddled the Reggie. On flat water with my sea kayak. I REALLY liked that paddle. It is great. To me the Habit is oversized, where the Reggie is just right. The Habit, due to the large flat blade, buzzed in the water from time to time when slicing and side-sculling, not the Reggie.
Here are a few more observations I made. The bends on the 200cm Reggie are spaced the same as on the 200 Habit. They are spaced exactly as wide as a 215cm long Werner Cyprus. This means that the blade on the Saltwoods is positioned closer to the bend in the shaft compared to the Cyprus. Something that I like and I feel it is perfectly positioned for lively sea kayak paddling, where the Werner has the blades a bit too far away from my wrists for sea kayak paddling. A matter of preference, I suppose.
The blade length is the same b/w the Cyprus and the Reggie (with the Reggie having a bit wider area distributed more towards the tip). So the paddle should not feel longer compared to a similar length Werner. The difference is the position of the hands on the shaft, with the Reggie suited for a wider spread compared to the Werner. Due to the wider area towards the tip of the blade, the Reggie has a more solid and immediate catch than the Cyprus and because that wider area is at the tip of the blade, it makes sense to have the hands closer to the blade compared to the Cyprus (for a stronger leverage). On the flip side, the Cyprus is probably better suited for longer and more relaxed type of paddling where the Reggie would be for more active paddling.
Just like with my flat bladed Lendal Kinetic Touring, with the Reggie I noticed it is not easy to get a totally air-free catch and like a GP, it tells you with slight buzzing if you catch too much air and you need to work on your stroke technique -;). The Cyprus is more forgiving due to the thicker foil-shaped cross-section.
The bends on the Saltwoods appear to be placed so that there is little or no “crank” effect, like there is on some other paddles. They feel like a straight shaft with bends, if I can describe it this way. The blade has no forward offset relative to the shaft axis. In contrast, wing paddles or my Lendal Kinetic Touring have the blades forward of the main azis of the shaft, which eliminates any flutter and also provides a solid feel throughout the stroke. It might create some interesting control missess when sculling, until you get used to that offset. The Reggie does not seem to have that problem - it works like a straight shaft with an ergonomic bend, which has its benefits and drawbacks.
I would hightly recommend the Reggie paddle - well made, feels light, buoyant, solid in the water, with clean release.
Catch
My thoughts on the catch are the opposite. I feel that the catch is not as immediately powerful as the Cyprus, but that the catch “builds” a bit as you draw the blade back in the water (or technically as you pull the boat closer to the blade). In this regard it feels a bit more like the way a GP does where you get more “bite” a little farther back in the stroke.
That was one of the things that I found different about this paddle.
The exit is also not as clean as with the Cyprus/Ikelos, but that is a trade-off….nor does it scull as well, either side sculling or a Greenland style scull in the water. But the rolling ability is impressive and the flex is very nice.
Matt
I did not paddle side by side
I did not paddle side by side with the Cyprus, so can’t really confirm on the catch. Overall, bsed on feeling nd how the blade is bigger and with more rea towards the end, I think it is a bit more “powerful” and would probably get more bite in foamy or shallow water where the “clean/green” water is deeper.
And yes, it would be hard to find smoother pddle than the Cyprus/Ikelos or the AT foam core models. The flat blades variety like the Saltwood will always be a bit edgier on slicing and entrance/release. But it is beter than some other thin-bladed paddles that have a sharper or deeper ridge on the back…
Agreed…
I would definitely agree that it has more catch than the cyprus…maybe even more than the Ikelos. I paddled it back to back for a few hours with my Cyprus to compare. It just has that interesting characteristic where the paddle reaches maximum “firmness” in the water slightly later than with the Cyprus.
Matt