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School me on carbon Fibre paddles

I'm curious too. Unless it goes without saying and I'm being simple, it would help to know what style of paddling one does if one is advocating for a certain type of paddle. If a J-stroke is used, the blade of a bent shaft paddle would be facing a direction that counters the intent of said stroke. So if I am paddling on the right, the canoe has tendency to veer left on the power stroke; as I complete the J, the blade is creating an arc that veers the canoe even further to the left.

I use a C stroke. While Solo. I start away from the hull, draw, then complete with the J .

I t corrects before the problem exists. Make Sense ?

I'm a left side paddler, but recognize the benefit of switching.
 
I find the bent shaft is not as efficient with the J as a straight would be, so I think the bent requires a tad more of a push out (all other things being equal) but for me the bent works well enough the the J (or C for that matter).

Last year, I was drooling over the new Werner Journey in carbon in 54" (or maybe even 52" as it has a relatively short blade), but while I was gagging on the high price, that size sold out everywhere.
 
I have a zre medium straight. the blade where it fastens to the shaft is not symmetrical. it's real lite but gives me blisters and doesn't feel great in the water and the underwater recovery is funky. rarely use it.

ZRE sold a symmetric straight shaft blade for a short time but apparently stopped due to lack of demand.
20210414_125942.jpg
 
I find the bent shaft is not as efficient with the J as a straight would be, so I think the bent requires a tad more of a push out (all other things being equal) but for me the bent works well enough the the J (or C for that matter).

Last year, I was drooling over the new Werner Journey in carbon in 54" (or maybe even 52" as it has a relatively short blade), but while I was gagging on the high price, that size sold out everywhere.

I have a 54" Werner Journey in glass (green blade). I waffled on it for a while, but it went on sale, and anyway it starts a hundred bills or so less than the carbon.

I want to give Werner some credit for honest (or even conservative) specs: the advertised weight on the FG journey is 16.25oz. Mine is just under 15oz. When is gear ever lighter than you expect? Maybe they weighed the longest available (60"), but if so that's the opposite of typical industry practice.
 
That is impressive goonstroke, I would have thought the weight difference to my all carbon 54” journey would have been greater.

I was able to buy mine when a common big box store had its usual 20% off coupon in fall. I like it enough that I’d buy a second one, maybe cut it an inch shorter even.

somewhere I read or heard that Werner tried some different glue/resin last year and it didn’t work out then they had supply chain issues getting the old product.
 
I was only able to find that Werner green paddle at an American distributor.......there are a shocking lack of paddles in Canada this year, like what the heck, eh? No paddles in Canada? Anyway, it was 199 US, which seemed very reasonable, but by the time you calculate the loonie, then the 100 bucks they want for shipping, then taxes and import fees, it comes in well over 400 Canadian. That's a lot of Grey Owls, lol. Anyway, I've got a paddle I've been working on for a couple of years, maybe I'll shave some more wood off it and wait till I can find something in Canada.
 
there are a shocking lack of paddles in Canada this year, like what the heck, eh? No paddles in Canada? Anyway, it was 199 US, which seemed very reasonable, but by the time you calculate the loonie, then the 100 bucks they want for shipping, then taxes and import fees, it comes in well over 400 Canadian.

A lot of things are crazy scarce or crazy pricey this year, not just in Canada. Bike parts, even simple stuff like pedals and wheels are out of stock at any price.

I was looking for a discounted snow board or ski bag for a friend to use transporting paddles in his trailer. We have one of each, the big double ski bags holds 8 – 10 paddles on family trips, the snow board bag 3 or 4 when it’s just me. I bought them end of season discounted from Steep and Cheap and REI not that many years ago. Twenty some bucks for each one at the time.

Today
https://www.steepandcheap.com/Store/...at61100053&s=a

REI Outlet has even fewer, and pricier.
https://www.rei.com/rei-garage/search?q=snow+board+bag

Post-Covid, if we ever reach that point, there may be deals to be had on used canoes, bikes and ski equipment.

Back to the topic at hand. I am an inveterate double blade user, and once you have gone to a lightweight carbon double you’ll never go back to wood or fiberglass. I am sure that is music to Mem’s ears.
 
I am an inveterate double blade user, and once you have gone to a lightweight carbon double you’ll never go back to wood or fiberglass. I am sure that is music to Mem’s ears.

Me too. Solo it’s 2 paddles GRB six degree and I’m sold on the Werner Carbon Camano adjustable 240-260.
 
Solo it’s 2 paddles GRB six degree and I’m sold on the Werner Carbon Camano adjustable 240-260.

I bring different single blades on different trips, depending on the conditions and boat, but my primary go-to stick is a carbon 260 Camano with degree-of-feather adjustability (who knew I would come to prefer a 30 degree off-set?). That was a special order length at the time. We have some other 250’s and 260’s, even a 270 for the really wide rides, but that 260 Camano is by far my favorite.

The Camano was a special order by the late, great NT, and so it carries special lost-friend meaning for me.

Best bang for buck in a long carbon double may be an Aqua Bound Manta Ray, $200 USD for a 250cm.

Jeeze Louise, out of curiosity I looked at Werner Camanos. Every length, in every shaft diameter, is SOLD OUT.

https://wernerpaddles.com/products/c...31534191575102

Nope, not just paddles in Canada. Either manufacturers have having trouble sourcing materials, or wealthier Covid escapees are buying high end gear, not just big box crap. Or both.

Crazy times.
 
I have no trouble with J strokes or Canadian strokes with a bent shaft paddle either in a solo canoe or the stern of a tandem. What a bent shaft paddle is not so good for is either a stern pry or a stern draw unless you flip the paddle over which I will sometimes do when a stern pry is called for.
 
Yes, not to sure how the goon stroke would work, or pries for that matter, but for straight ahead progress it seems to be fine.
 
While the Canadian stroke is possible with a bent, it is not very handy and is far less efficient or effective than when using a nice straight wood paddle that can glide with fine tip angle control parallel to and barely below the surface (very difficult with a bent). I find myself using a pitch stroke during most strokes with only slight minimal J being rarely occasionally necessary. Both when and when not using a bent.
 
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I'm coming late to this party but will likely be in the market for a light double blade paddle soon. I have a custom Kevlar/carbon hybrid Epic Kayaks paddle that, like all Epic paddles has 10CM of built in length adjustment that is 235 CM when fully extended. It has fairly large blades intended for a more vertical active stroke that likely argue against it for any length of time canoeing or to keep water out of the canoe even though it has drip rings. On the other hand it weighs 26 oz/760g and has infinite feathering adjustment so it's always been a comfortable paddle to use for an extended time.

I plan to paddle at least three of our tandems with it to try and get an idea what length and blade size and shape I might want to try next as I'll be surprised, although pleasantly surprised, if the 235 CM length works out.. Our three cruising/touring canoes are a Wenonah Adirondack, a Spirit II and a 17' 6" Mad River Northwoods and all are a lot wider, bow or stern, than our any of our touring kayaks were.

I suspect that I'll be more comfortable with a smaller blade and a lower angle paddling style than I used in an 18' kayak. I may be back for advice after some more double blading in a canoe.

Best regards to all,


Lance
 
I may be back for advice after some more double blading in a canoe.

Best regards to all,


Lance
The advice you are seeking may be best started in a new different thread for those who tend to use double blade kayak paddles in canoes. This thread was focused on single blade carbon canoe paddles for canoeing.
 
Ironically, the only carbon fibre paddles available in Canada are for kayaks or SUP boards, which once again confirms my notion of the satanic nature of yakking, and now paddle boards.
 
Ironically, the only carbon fibre paddles available in Canada are for kayaks or SUP boards, which once again confirms my notion of the satanic nature of yakking, and now paddle boards.

And the SUP paddles were probably all bent shafts. There is a company that I saw mentioned here (can't remember the name) that made straight shafts with I believe a beaver tail blade. They supposedly have a dealer in Ak. but the guy never got back to me.
 
That's really interesting Kona, I wonder who makes it for them? I would go for a CF beavertail, but I find the ottertail too much single purpose for my liking. The price is on the low side too.

As a side note, I found some CF dragon boat paddles on amazon for under a hundred bucks. They had really good reviews too. Makes one wonder who makes the pricey ones.
 
That's really interesting Kona, I wonder who makes it for them? I would go for a CF beavertail, but I find the ottertail too much single purpose for my liking. The price is on the low side too.

As a side note, I found some CF dragon boat paddles on amazon for under a hundred bucks. They had really good reviews too. Makes one wonder who makes the pricey ones.

The expensive paddles are made in USA or Canada. The cheap ones are made by children with soon to have special needs due to their lack of PPE. Ya gotta love the market, it creates jobs and lowers the price of goods.

Sarcasm people sarcasm....
 
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