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Over the past half year, I decided I wanted a much lighter paddle than the fiberglass shafted AquaBound Manta Ray I have used for the past 5 years. After considerable research and an opportunity to field test several models when I fished with a guide in Florida, I made my purchase. My criteria, in addition to being light weight, were a large blade area and a 240 cm shaft. These two features are usually mutually exclusive in stock paddles. Generally paddles with large blades are used by paddlers with a vertical paddle stroke, which for most average sized guys, means a shorter paddle (200-215 cm). However, I am considerably taller than average and use a vertical stroke. I was able to special order a Werner Ikelos Carbon paddle in a 240 cm shaft length. It came into Annapolis Canoe and Kayak today. I picked it up this afternoon and was once again amazed at how light the paddle is. I believe it is at least 10 oz. lighter than my current paddle and it has slightly larger blade area too.
It was expensive, but I can justify the cost as a preventative measure to prolong the life of my shoulder joints, which began aching this fall after several long paddle trolling trips. Plus Annapolis Canoe and Kayak offered a 20% discount on all purchases made that day for those who attended my kayak fishing seminar last month (they are planning another seminar for Jan or Feb -- more details later). That certainly helped.
Now for the sad part of the story. My wife never knows what to get me for Christmas. To avoid getting something I don't really want, I sometimes buy an item I want during the fall and give it to her to wrap and give back to me on Christmas. That means I will need to wait until after Christmas to try out the new paddle.
It was expensive, but I can justify the cost as a preventative measure to prolong the life of my shoulder joints, which began aching this fall after several long paddle trolling trips. Plus Annapolis Canoe and Kayak offered a 20% discount on all purchases made that day for those who attended my kayak fishing seminar last month (they are planning another seminar for Jan or Feb -- more details later). That certainly helped.
Now for the sad part of the story. My wife never knows what to get me for Christmas. To avoid getting something I don't really want, I sometimes buy an item I want during the fall and give it to her to wrap and give back to me on Christmas. That means I will need to wait until after Christmas to try out the new paddle.
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