Speaking of bent or double - has anyone used a double bent shaft? I know Bending Branches is making one now and Whiskey Jack used to, not sure what they are up to anymore.
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Bent Or Double
- Thread starter sloride
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yes.. but for a specific purpose that probably interests no one. The double bend takes some of the effective bent shaft angle out of the paddle.. some folks like it for ergonomic reasoins which I don't understand.
Lots of paddle makers make double bends. The one who has been making them the longest--at least 30 years--is Brad Gillespie, and he'll custom make anything you want in any wood or wood-composite hybrid. He's a one man shop outside of Rochester, NY, and former marathon racer.
I've had a double bend Mitchell Leader for 11 years. It has a curved carbon blade. A beautiful paddle for uncorrected forward stroking.
My thoughts on double bends vs. single bends haven't changed much since these posts I made 10 years ago on ocpaddler.com. The poster dweir in that thread accurately describes the supposed purpose of a double bend.
Since then, I've been completely swayed to a single bend ZRE. Double bends are intrinsically heavier because of the greater total shaft length, are less versatile for other-than-forward strokes, and don't really provide much of the supposed ergonomic benefits to the shaft hand wrist if you use a loose "floating grip" rather than a shaft hand "death grip."
Glenn, thanks for the links, I checked them both out. Gillespie had a recent post on his thoughts on a double bend and the overall bend degree and it just supported my preference for a 7-8 degree bend.
I'm not a racer, so I was a little surprised that Brad says some top marathoners now use as low as 8 degrees. They probably have very short strokes -- shorter than a cruiser. After a long courtship with 15 degrees, it seemed that marathon racers got married to 12 degrees about 15 years ago. The outrigger community at the same time was preferring about 10 degrees.
My Mitchell double bend has an effective bend of 7-8 degrees. In doing some recent research, I see that outrigger paddlers are much more into double bends than they were 10 years ago. Of course, on an outrigger all you do are uncorrected forward strokes.
I have a 5 degree Camp bent paddle (now Foxworx) but I never liked it. It seemed to me to be the "worst" of both worlds. Yet, I know paddlers who love them.
I've been very happy for several years now with a kit of two ZRE paddles: a 12 degree bent and a longer straight. I always carry both and just switch off to the optimal paddle for the circumstances--i.e., whether the water is flat or moving, whether there are wind and waves, whether I'm kneeling or sitting. I'd rather have two optimized tools than one compromise tool. I always felt the the same way with hulls after my first one . . . . so I ended up with 15 of them. And one man's compromise is another man's mistress.
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No, it's the elbow. Bringing the shaft hand as far back as the hip puts too much stress on the shoulder. When executing a properly rotated forward stroke, the elbow does not go behind the hip.
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The double bend may or may not take some of the effective bend out of the paddle. The purpose of the second bend is for better alignment of the shaft with the hand that holds it.
Glen... I have a Curtis PRO C5, a 5 degree bend paddle that is a somewhat sought after blade as I've had more than a few offers for it . I got it from a wonderful guy from the Rochester, NY area after (thru Paddling.net) I asked about paddling while vacationing in the finger lakes region. I had purchased an Autumn Mist (Sawyer) as my first camping canoe and paddling it with a $60 paddle,(BB 14 degree). while he and I and our wives went paddling,he offered to let me have a suitable styled(right tool for the job) paddle for what he paid for it..Price tag from 15 years previously $100) this is about 12 years ago. It's a huge bladed paddle and propels my Magic and Prism wonderfully, but I just don't use it any more (4 or 5 yrs.) I had Zaveral replicate it for weight issues in the outrigger design,again 5 degree, and have lent it out many times with great reviews from people who used it. I use it more like a J-stoke paddle( straight blade) than a hit-n-switch even tho I'm a sitter....I do have a few other Zavs in different builds.....love 'em all.... oh I'm a kayaker at heart, but I have 8 canoes....
