Aqua Bound Carbon Shred Whitewater Kayak Paddle

I've been using my shred for almost 8 years now and it is holding up great. On several occasions, I have wedged the blades in rock cracks accidentally and found myself unexpectedly stopping suddenly. Neither the blades nor the shaft have given up yet. I once had a nasty swim in class 4 and it ended up stuffed way under an undercut rock. It took 2 people pulling on a rope to get it unstuck but it survived with only scratches. The blades don't seem to wear down all that easily either in spite of my low water abuse. There are only two knocks I can give it. First, it is all black which makes it harder to see in a dropped-it-in-the-river yard sale situation. This can be partially fixed by using bright electrical tape on the shaft. Paint can be applied to the blades but it doesn't stick that well and flakes off. The 2nd knock is that it is a straight shaft and that can lead to sore wrists after 2-3 solid days of paddling in a row. Of course it is a lot cheaper than a bent shaft in price.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever got about kayaking equipment a couple of decades ago when I started out was "buy the lightest paddle you can afford." This paddle is the lightest one around for the price, great for an all day trip. It gives decent control as well. My one unpleasant surprise when I got it (by mail order)was that the shaft was not indexed. Some people like it that way, but I prefer the feel of indexing as it gives me better control. I almost sent it back, but decided I could add indexing by purchasing a product called Gripz Pro. Now I really love my new paddle.

i have had this paddle for over a year and its great. verry tough, has a tiny bit of wear from shallow paddling and hitting some rocks. i mean tiny scratches. verry light weight. great paddle for the price, i just wish it had a bent shaft.