A great handling paddle with no durability.
At 28 ounces, this well balanced paddle is a joy to use.
The smooth soft plastic handle fits and fills the hand so nicely. Much more
comfortable than those used by Werner or Seda.
The carbon fiber shaft feels nice in the hand, providing just the right
combination of stiffness and flex.
The blade, tapered from the center to the edges so as not to have a
"shaft bulge", glides smoothly through the water with no flutter
during underwater recovery.
Blade durability is astonishingly absent.
Despite pampering on its maiden voyage, using a spare paddle for bony spots,
the blade tip crushed like cardboard with each minor rock hit.
The thinner blade of the Spec 5, three ounces lighter than the Spec 2, just
can't take the occasional, unavoidable rock hits of whitewater paddling.
Pampering the paddle, trying to stretch it's life as long as possible, after
five more day trips it was time to return the crushed, cracked, split &
peeling paddle back to Ainsworth, who honored their one year warranty and
gave a full refund.
Contributed by HRCKC member
George
S.
