Bent-Shaft Paddles

[-HotLilNacho-]

Hey friends, im looking for more advice. loving all the new friends im making and the friendliness of everyone in the paddling community!

im shopping for my first ww paddle. ive done some research and i think i want a werner carbon sherpa, 45 deg. offset, small shaft. my question is about straight vs. bent shafts. i read that the bent shaft is supposed to alleviate wrist stress. unfortunately, since my first day-long kayaking trip, my right wrist has been painful. that was 4 weeks ago, so a simple strain is kinda out of the question. since then i havent been on a downriver trip to see what would happen next, and it doesnt bother me any more or less after practicing rolling at the pool, but i does bother me at work. i lift pans of surgical instuments all day long that are sometimes upwards of 30+ lbs all day long.

thats probably more info than anyone needed, but i want to make the most informed decision possible when buying gear. anybody's opinion on this is welcome...and especially if you have a bent shaft paddle...please weigh in on this!!!

thanx!
Marianne :)

ps...happy 4TH OF JULY to everybody!!!

[Lupe]

Particularly since you seem to say you have had pain just in your right wrist, I would say seriously consider less than a 45 degree offset...more like 30 or 15 degrees, as this will reduce how much you have to cock your right wrist back to take proper strokes. If you've been using a 45 degree or greater and your right wrist is bothering you (but not the left), it's possibly from that offset.

I've not used a bent shaft so can't comment on that...just wanted to add my 2 cents about the offset!

[RomanLA]

Your best bet is try someone's out. I bought an AT4 River (cheapest bent shaft I could find) to see if I liked it or not. I'm still using it for whitewater and I picked up a Werner Corryvrecken bent shaft for touring. I paddled with no offset for quite a while on flatwater, due to wrist pains. I went with a 30 degree offset when I got my whitewater paddle to minimize the stress from rotating the paddle.

[Cowper]

I use a bent shaft for most of my boating, but usually switch to a straight shaft for creeking days. I think the straight shafts are stronger, and if you get into really pushy water which unexpectedly repositions the paddle in your hand, that has LESS impact on you with a straight shaft paddle because your hand won't be gripping the shaft in the "wrong" place on a bend. If I were buying "new" right now, I'm not sure if I would lay out the extra cash for the bent shaft because of the pros and cons. But if I could keep only one of my current paddles, it would be the bent shaft.

Ditto Lupe on offset comments. I currently use 30 degree offset, and this this is about perfect for a relaxed "low angle" paddling style, IMO. It is also close enough to the now "standard" 45 degree offset, that if you have to borrow someone else's paddle for a day, it won't mess you up that much.

Consider all-carbon blades to reduce weight (if that is not already a feature of the model you mentioned.

And finally, be sure you are not gripping the paddle too tightly. This seems to not be uncommon with newer paddlers. Concentrate on using a very relaxed grip in the pools and then tighten up just a little bit in the rapids (but not too much). Paying attention to these little things will significantly reduce the amount of stress/strain you put on your body over the course of several hours.

[Butch Crain]

I found during my (mostly unsuccessful) attempts to roll that it can be hard to orient a bent shaft correctly for the "sweep" across the top of the water surface.

[Jim Krueger]

I also agree with the others about the 30 degree offset very much. My first paddle was 45 degree and not knowing any better, made out okay with it for many years but when I've used it in a pinch since, it feels pretty awkward.
I too love my Werner Corryvechen touring paddle, it's lightweight and stronger than I could have imagined and although I was not sure how I'd like the bent shaft, I really have enjoyed that feature very well for touring. Like Cowper mentioned, I like my straight shaft paddle for WW though, and for the same reasons mentioned.

Best Regards
Jim

[super ez]

I switched to bent shaft paddles after suffering from wrist (right) pain. If you watch your hands/wrists you will observe less rotation with the bent shat paddle. Pain usually occurred after several days of paddling in a row. I actually learned to roll with a bent shaft. I found the bend in the shaft helped to oriented where my hands needed to be on the paddle to setup my roll.

About two years ago I shifted back to straight shaft. I have had no problems with wrist pain since. It could be my earlier pain was from overuse and muscle development over time has help to prevvent that from happening.

Another change over the years has been from 45 degree offset to 30 degrees. May be that is the reason I do not get that wrist pain.

[okieboater]

I used the AT bent shaft kayak paddles but never felt comfortable with it -- the things were breaking on a regular basis so I got rid of mine. The breakage problem has been solved I think.

The regular straight shaft seems to work well for me especially Jimi Stik or Cricket woodies at 42 degrees offset.

I did get a Werner Dbl D carbon fiber bent shaft and still use it off and on. For me the bent shaft gave me a lot of extra power on forward strokes but was a little bit awkward on other strokes. But, of all the bent shafts Werner, at least for me, has the best bent shaft setup.

I still have the Werner Dbl D but last fall got a Werner Shogun foam blade kevlar straight shaft, for me this has been a dynamite paddle. Some concern in Boater Talk about the blades coming apart but after a year's paddling mine is in great shape except for scratches etc.

I have a lot of aches and pains but the bent shaft so far did not make life in my kayak any easier for me.

Like most things in kayaking, I believe it is personal choice or what you get used to.

Bottom Line: Hang out at Rockport or some other play spot and ask other boaters if you can try their paddle out and get their feedback. Most will be glad to give you a test run and a bunch of feedback.

Good paddles these days cost about as much as kayaks used to cost so shop wisely.

When it comes to having a good time paddling, a good paddle is something that gives you joy and ease of paddling, a bad paddle is something that hurts your body and gives you pain --- pain that gets worse every time you take a stroke.