I’ve come up with a relatively simple design for drip rings for a Greenland Paddle and I was wondering.
How many GP paddlers would be interested? Not interested? Purists who think I’ll go to HE77 for such a travesty?
I was thinking $15 a pair plus $1-2 shipping does that sound reasonable? Material cost is less than $5.
I’m not going to try to patent I think once there distributed many will make their own.
Any constructive input is appreciated.
SYOTR
Randy
I’m
with Jeff…if I wanted them, I’d have already designed some…
No interest at all…save your time and money
Best Wishes
Roy
I think you lost lots of versatility
for extended and balance braces.
and anything where you grab the blade…
not interested, sorry.
I agree
I use the entire length of the paddle with my hands. Drip rings would just get in the way.
it is something you could sell
but probably only to people who are new Greenland style paddles, or who only use a forward stroke.
Whenever I paddle with a GP my hands usually end up in the water, or touching the water. I also slide my hands around a lot and drip rings would really frustrate me.
I take the drip rings off of all my paddles, so that is my bias.
A: Non-rollers and lily dippers
That’s most paddlers, so you might think that adds up to a market, except most non-rollers and lily dippers aren’t GP users.
Drip rings are easy to improvise - many ways - and in this case you’d do better asking yourself why not rather than why.
Rollers aren’t concerned with wet hands or laps (skirts sealed). Cold water paddlers have found adequate gloves/mitts, and GP paddlers that hold a good pace just don’t have drip issues like lily dippers do.
All part of learning not to paddle them like Euros. Or folks could just start using less drippy Aleuts! 
No Thanks
My Level Six mitts keep the hands comfortable.
I take the drip rings off of all paddles
– Last Updated: Feb-10-09 11:15 PM EST –
One of the points of using a gp is using the whole paddle. Drip rings inhibit such use. I frequently use a gp.
I've taken the drip rings off my Euros so they don't snag on bungies. Heck, my ww paddles didn't come with drip rings, I sure don't need them on my touring paddles;-)
Unfortunately
this one in my opinion is a no go. A GP by default is to be used entirely. sliding strokes, extended sweeps, sculling, all require unimpeded motion throughout the loom and the paddle blade. Drip rings would restrict that movement, basically curtailing a gp so that it performs much less effectively than what it is capable of.
Not a very good idea. sorry. And 15 bucks??? for a drip ring?
Paul
I agree
with all the previous posters. When I first started using a GP, it bothered me that it was so wet. I used tied cord on the paddle as a drip ring. This helped. Now that I know how to use the GP I don’t want anything to impede my hands sliding up and down the paddle. I am also, like the others, paddling with a completely buried blade, which means that my hands are just above and sometimes skimming the surface of the water. I also have started wearing a spray skirt or Tuiliq all the time, which makes the dripping paddle a non-issue. Sorry, but I don’t see a need for drip rings.
Tom
Nope…
…that’s why God gave me four pairs of Glacier Gloves.
OK, how about a lithium battery powered
pump constantly aspirating air through a tube plugged into a hidden gallery of passages in the paddle shaft? Like that thing the dentist sticks in your mouth, it will suck up all the water from your paddle shaft.
Sit up and spit.
i’m in, i’m in, sell me a pair!!
finally, someone feels my pain.
GP Canoer Trying Neoprene Ones
from Premier Kayaks that are soft, stretchy, and attach with velcro. Only had them out once so far and work so, so, so far. May need more experimenting on fit and placement. Supposed to hold the water and dump it back as you stroke. My borrowed blade a bit short so need high angle strokes until longer one ready. A bit cheaper than your estimate. I use the whole blade too for sweeps to spin the noe and they may become a nuisance.
Jay’s
Jay Babina has frequently posted here that you can tie a piece of bungee cord around each end and it will help.
we also use bungees
tied around the shaft. easy, adjustable, and efficient.
Most GP paddlers
Most GP paddlers won’t be interested I suspect. They get in the way of any extended paddle strokes and overall, would just be in the way. Paddling is a “watersport”…most of those using Greenland sticks will agree. Drip rings are generally a non issue. I’ve built and sold a lot of paddles and nobody has ever asked for a drip ring. It’s more for the Euro paddler crowd.
Cheers…Joe O’
www.joeoblenis.com
I went doen that road
several years ago and arrived at the same conclusion as all of the above. When it is really, really cold (18F) I have a modified GP that I use with pogies (yeah I know, you cant do the extented paddle things) but when it’s that cold, who rolls anyway? (I got my first '09 roll on Jan 1)
Thanks all for the input!
These rings are soft enough to slide your hand over, but while I paddle year round, I am a fair weather roller so I haven’t given them a good workout yet. I suspect they’ll wind up on the loom, hopefully not lost.
Given the percentage of kayakers in the world, reduced to the numbers of GP paddlers, and apparently reduced to about 12% of GP paddlers who’d use a drip ring there’s probably not a big market.
SYOTR
Randy
For an even smaller market segment…
… you could try selling Aleutian paddle drip rings.