ultralight canoe paddle | OCPaddler.com

Canoemaker , without doubt the Levas paddle is the lightest at 7.5 ouces.
Ive posted this here before . Theres no website available , only a phone number . You can call Michel Levaseur in Quebec at 819-533-5108. I use these paddles all the time and they are fast and VERY light, Custom , hand made paddles any size you want.
They are more commonly used by marathon paddlers but , they work just fine in outriggers too.
These paddles get unusually good traction on the water at the catch.

http://maineoutriggerchampionships.blogspot.com/

#1 Tue, 03/18/2008 - 1:59pm

The 7,5 ounce or in metric 198g is extremely light ,has to be a pleasure to paddle. Are the paddles made in full carbon or ar they light weight wood and carbon hybrid

Hope we get any more replies regarding similar lightweight paddles.

#2 Tue, 03/18/2008 - 2:26pm

ZRE's ultra light model is pretty damn light and also relatively easy to purchase online. Personally, I feel that lightness is overrated for outrigger paddles. Check that comment by Kimo in the wacky shaft thread.

#3 Tue, 03/18/2008 - 2:26pm

This Levaseur paddles seem nice do you have any close up photos.Is the blade curved a bit like spoon.That would definetly be the ultimate. Top marathon paddles have ben using curved blades for years
Curved paddle blades catch beter and have beter entry angle of the blade

Weight is all important but offcourse there is a limit when the paddles become to soft ,blades need to be stiff and the shaft just has to flex the right amont but that is a personal preference .

For now we are not able to make the paddles light enough to make them to light. In wood you can not go lighter and in carbon it becomes dificoult to make the holow shaft section stiff enough so that it wouldn colapse .

#4 Tue, 03/18/2008 - 2:53pm

The Levas are full carbon , blade has a foam core, same as the ZRE

#5 Tue, 03/18/2008 - 2:55pm

canoemaker,

The Levas paddle does have a slightly spoon shaped powerface. The catch is fairly remarkable. I do have some pics of the paddles but they aren`t on my computer , they are on my yahoo group website.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/easternoutrigger/

http://maineoutriggerchampionships.blogspot.com/

#6 Tue, 03/18/2008 - 3:01pm

I wonder why the curved blade edge hasn't caught on in the Outrigger world? ZRE's power surge also features this type of blade. Honestly, I've never tried one, but alot of the top marathon paddlers who've crossed over to outrigger seem to like them up here.

#7 Tue, 03/18/2008 - 4:01pm

Canoemaker,

Been meaning to write for some time now ....

Where are you located ?

Can you give me a shout @

paddleshop@hotmail.com

I think there is a lot we could talk about.

Sub 7.5 ( 212gm ) is the magic number to beat.

Aloha,
pog

#8 Tue, 03/18/2008 - 4:38pm

Quickblade

get one

#9 Tue, 03/18/2008 - 4:45pm

With a round shaft, and carbon-weave construction instead of wound, like most all carbon paddles, KIALOA's Keone feels so good in my hands. The shaft flexes perfectly - I like it better than my hybrid Axel II...

#10 Tue, 03/18/2008 - 5:19pm

Speaking of round shafts ....

I keep going back and forth on that one ...'

Round is good to modulate flex AND keep it strong.

I like round but not everyone else does.

Will probably end up offering both which is good for everyone but I sure wish I only had to invest in one size mandrel for now.

#11 Tue, 03/18/2008 - 5:29pm

I used a quickblade for about five years and couldn't be talked out of getting a new paddle until I forgot it for a practice and borrowed one of Al Chings Mudbrook blades, won't paddle my one man with anything else now. As far as the superlight paddles go, I have found that there is a point when a paddle is almost too light and gets carried about by the wind too much.

Anyone else find that?

#12 Tue, 03/18/2008 - 5:32pm

Maybe that's why Kialoa doesn't make a 7 ouncer. Just not that useful for most outrigger applications. And it would be tough to find a paddle that's been used by more world champions over the last fifteen years or so, unless you like 3lb. solid hau double benders. I'd hate to see what those Tahitians would do w/ a slick set of Lanikai hybrids from "supah" Dave Chun!

#13 Tue, 03/18/2008 - 5:58pm

ZRE PowerSurge medium with flexible shaft gets my rocks off. Was perfect for the Murray Ultra Marathon. Just don't hit your OC1 with it, cuts like a knife. Prefer my Axel2 for control in heavy going and high wind conditions.

Les Looks Makana Ali'i , is nice too but you must treat it with respect.

Rambo

#14 Tue, 03/18/2008 - 6:19pm

Levas Paddles

Cheers Rambo

#15 Tue, 03/18/2008 - 6:32pm

While we're on lightweight, may as well chuck in paddle length.

Long or Short .. you decide

A very Detailed Analysis of Long Vs Short paddles ... by Leo Young MD Bsc.

Part 1
From a bio mechanical point of view, I believe it's a major, but unfortunately deeply entrenched misconception, to assume that a taller paddler should automatically use a longer and/or bigger outrigger paddle.

Generally speaking, tall and short people have relatively similar torso heights. Overall height differences occur primarily in limb lengths. Accordingly the average height person has a wing span that closely approximates their height, whilst shorter people generally have wing spans less than their height and taller people normally have wing spans longer than their height.

A taller paddler's shoulder height above the canoe seat is usually going to be very similar to that of a short person, but because of their longer arms, their hands will be much lower relative to the waterline. Accordingly, a taller person actually needs a shorter paddle to reach the water effectively.

Furthermore, the effective gearing you are working with when you paddle, at any given blade size, is determined by the distance from the medial center of your scapula (the middle of your shoulder blades) to the tip of your paddle, when your arm is stretched out straight at the catch. The longer this distance, the longer the work lever is and higher/harder the gear you are working with, that is the more work you are doing for any given angular range of motion.

The length of that lever is primarily determined by the size of your wing span and how far up the shaft you grip. So any paddler can increase their working lever, by simply moving their hand up the shaft. But obviously, at any given grip position, taller paddlers are working with a harder gear (longer lever) and doing more work for any given angular range of motion. A taller person using the same size paddle as a shorter person and gripping the paddle in the same position, will feel more load on the end of their paddle.

So a taller paddler can not only get away with using a shorter paddle to get to an effective catch position, but can actually use a shorter paddle to achieve a given amount of work. I believe a lot of taller paddlers unknowingly put themselves at a significant disadvantage by using longer blades that effectively have them way over geared.

I'm 196cm tall, with a 208.5cm wingspan and normally use a 51" paddle, but even feel quite comfortable with a 50" paddle, gripping closer to the blade than shorter paddlers.

Remember, just because using longer paddles for taller paddlers is what everyone normally does, doesn't make it correct.

Now before everyone starts enthusiastically challenging these heresies by quoting established kayaking paddle length norms, be aware that whilst exactly the same principles apply, taller paddlers potentially will need longer kayak paddles to give them the appropriate and comfortable spacing they will need between their hands. However, some of this extra grip spacing required by taller paddlers should be achieved by them gripping the shaft slightly closer to the blade, to compensate for the longer lever gear created by their greater wingspan.

Part 2

I need to clarify a point with regards to my earlier post on paddle lengths and gearing. All my previous comments really only considered how heavily the bottom arm is being geared for the primarily important pulling action of the stoke.

For a given paddle length, moving your bottom hand further up the shaft, increases the gearing on both the bottom hand (where creating a longer lever below your hand gears things up), as well as on the top hand (where a shorter lever above your hand increases the gearing effect).

A longer paddle only gears you up more heavily if you move your bottom hand further up the shaft. If you use a longer paddle and keep your bottom hand in the same position, nothing changes directly with regards to the gearing of the pulling action of the stroke, however, you effectively lower the gearing effect for your top hand and consequently the pushing component of the stroke.

Conversely, using a shorter paddle and keeping your bottom hand the same height up the paddle, still gives you the same bottom arm gearing, but automatically increases the gear your top hand is working with.

So Al, before you change paddle lengths, first play around with your hand placement on your existing paddle and differentiate between how heavily geared your bottom and top hands feel. First, find a hand position up the shaft that feels correctly geared for your bottom hand, which is the most critical of the two. At that position, only then decide how appropriately geared and positioned your top hand feels. If things feel to light for your top hand and your hand position is relatively high with reference to your shoulder, you need a shorter paddle. Alternatively, if your top hand is too heavily geared and your top hand is well below shoulder height then you will need a longer paddle. I'd suggest that if in doubt, err towards a shorter rather than a longer paddle.

Of course, the surface area of the blade itself is also critical in determining how heavily geared you are. Once again, I'd suggest using the smallest blade size that you can effectively paddle with, without cavitation through water, even when sprinting. The better your technique, and consequently your catch, the smaller the blade you'll be capable of using and still be effectively catching plenty of water to work against.

If you're producing big puddles that pop out behind the back of your stroke, it means you're missing a lot of water and dragging down a lot of air on the catch. A good catch should be creating either no splash, or a tiny splash in front of the paddle away from you, rather than a back splash towards you.

#16 Tue, 03/18/2008 - 6:38pm

Rambo's last paragraph reminds me of one of my OC1 mentor's, Pat Erwin. He insisted, "Silent entry, silent exit" I think about that all the time. Mahalo Pat. Next round of Coors Light is on me. oooxxxooo, Naka

#17 Tue, 03/18/2008 - 7:01pm

Eh Rambo,

Excellent post ....

Spot on about reach/ body geometry.

You are right on the edge of where I begin to think 'outside of the box' when it comes to paddle sizing. IMO, the guys just a little taller than you need to factor in some other stuff too.

Beside mechanical leverage you big guys scale the boat down of sorts. Wider shoulders and reach are an advantage for paddle placement too.

To the weight question. Yep, nice to have a bit of 'gyroscopic effect / feedback' to let your brain/muscles know where to place the paddle. Hard to argue superlight for cumulative savings over the long haul but sometimes you just don't know where it is when out in the wind.

#18 Tue, 03/18/2008 - 7:43pm

I would very much doubt that a paddle can be made light enough while still being stiff enough is to light for the brain and hands to control ,it might feel laki it at first when switching from one paddle to another. But it will feel heavier once you paddle it more so no wories there.

It is quite funny the shape of the levas paddle ,no offense but it looks like a pizza baking paddle .Who the hell comes up with all this funny ideas for the paddles

Curved blades havent been used much in US at least not on OC field for some reason but i think that has more to do with people not having any expirience on them ,othervise they are superior to every other type of blade in terms of efficiency.In whitewater competition paddling they are the undisputed norm for last 20 years .Similar to the kayak wing/spoon paddles which are simply more efficient than everything else.

The problem in paddling in US is the great american tradition of inventing new sports ,it goes by the mooto ''when you are not able to win in a sport invent a new one''. Which is fine by me but it allso means that all these sports need to go trough ther own evolution as some of them have almost no tradition especialy as top level sport so understandably lag behind sports which have 100 + years of competitive tradition which spans form canvas to carbon boats which is the case of whitewater and flat water canoeing both oylipic sports with high level of evolution already achieved .There is very litle variation in equipment and definetly no funny forvard angled blades or similar evolutionary dead ends left.

Round shafts are quite the norm in carbon but that is influnced also by manufacturing methods.

I would prefer eliptical shafts for purpose of grip and stiffnes but on other hand, i have and use conical round shafts which have the best stiffnes to weight ratio and for me a great benefit of a narrow shaft base at the top where the T-grip sits.

The paddle of the world champions is a funny term especialy when you regard it in a sport which is yet to come to a stage of having a true world champonships ,instead of having the tahitians and hawaiians slug it out with ocasional US mainland favorite showing up, couple of paddlers of other nations more or less just participating but realy not on a level

#19 Tue, 03/18/2008 - 11:16pm

Couple of paddlers from other nations? I remember when the Hungarians (or maybe Czechs) came to Molos with a crew of assorted Olympian flatwater guys. They were of course really fast in the flats, but they got absolutely smoked in the channel, coming in the 30s. Eventually they did ok (12th or so) years later, but never "dominated" like they thought they were going to. True, this does not constitute full scale international competition, but supposedly these guys were some of the better flatwater racers of that time. Additionally, throughout the years there have been crews of people w/ similar marathon/flatwater backgrounds who have competed in the channel, but none have done really well aside from the Illinois brigade crew, who won in ca. 1980 with Serge Corbin and others aboard. Furthermore, canoemaker, worldwide there's probably way more outrigger paddlers right now than flatwater/whitewater paddlers. Isn't the flatwater/whitewater world dominated by just a few small eastern european countries and Canada? So before you go dismissing the Hoe as not a "true" world championship, I suggest you do some research and figure exactly which crew of French Canadian/Czech/Polish/Russian or whatever elite flatwater dudes you could put together to average 6'40" miles the whole way across Kaiwi. These people are paddling at an extremely high level, and the really funny thing is when someone from an arguably even more obscure sport comes along and suggests that it's sooo primitive. Maybe in 1979 you'd be right, canoemaker, but not anymore. Love, Jim P.S Just be glad those Tahitians and Hawaiians you speak of leave your little whitewater principality alone for the time being.

#20 Wed, 03/19/2008 - 5:35am

To me there is a thing like "too light". I haven't used my very light ZRE in years. I get better rythm with a little heft during recovery. Seems more natural when the weight of the paddle carries just a little forward momentum before the catch. Also less wind wiggle distraction. You physically know where your paddle is.

#21 Wed, 03/19/2008 - 6:44am

Comparing disciplines is not a thing to do and paddling one ond the other is difficoult to do .If they are flat water they are sprint orientated if the are white water they are tehniqe orientated and also for short burst 2-3 minutes ,so you can not compare them as such ,if you say they finished 30th or 12th or which ever you must also know that vice versa place above 100 would be difficoult to achieve ,as these sports are quite different but the fact is these guys train 2x per day year round,under professional coaches(with degrees in sport science ,not paddler-turn-free time coach),the top ones start paddling in a club at an early age of 8-10 and the benchmarks are well established .

Regarding obscurity of sport it is dificoult to say if WW or flatwater is obscure or not ,but is a specialist sport ,raced world wide with enough critical mass to make it as olympic sports raced on world level for last 100 years ,it not dominated by any country as you have top 10 from at least 3-4 continents and 20+ countries constantly battling it out.

And by the way for an event to be recognized as a world cup or championsip cetain standards must be fulfiled(have world standings list,qualifiers made ,paddlers from enough coutrys and continents ,tracks, judges,rescue aproved etc.

No discipline is beter or worse, WW paddling probably had its peak in late 80s early 90s and is in decline, flat water is on the rise again and Surf ski and Oc paddling is still on a big rise and is yet to acheve its peak.

I am happy for the tahitians and hawaians that are good in what they do ,only listed them as an example of a sport dominated by certain paddlers because rest lag so far behind.

#22 Wed, 03/19/2008 - 6:53am

I hadn't had my corn flakes yet when I posted. Kum-ba-motherfuckin-yah. talofa, jim

#23 Wed, 03/19/2008 - 7:16am

Jim,
LMAO. I prefer Shredded Wheat.

#24 Wed, 03/19/2008 - 4:50pm

Well canoemaker, I checked and Flatwater has only been in the Olympics since 1936, and slalom since 72, not exactly the 100 years you cite. So maybe you should try a Keone in your next slalom race, if anyone still does that sport besides you. It looks like all the talent from those other disciplines is outriggering nowday anyhow. Like you they realize Outrigger is way funner and way sexier, besides it's wicked hard to get laid when one side of your body is way bigger than the other from all that knee paddling. Can you say chiropractor bills? And what was that crack about Americans needing to invent other sports? Do you mean invent other sports to totally dominate? Just be glad LeBron James doesn't play soccer, m'boy. You have a flair for complimenting someone and insulting them simultaneously, and American is clearly your second language, let me guess, are you French? If so, don't worry, we'll still bail you out the next time Germany kicks your ass! Love, Jim

#25 Wed, 03/19/2008 - 6:18pm

WOW, Jim-aling-aling-long in rare form! I'm just glad LeBron James doesn't paddle!

#26 Wed, 03/19/2008 - 7:19pm

That smug Euro "outrigger isn't in the Olympics" attitude really gets my goat, 1968. The Olympics are overrated, anyway. Isn't curling in the Olympics? What's next, Synchronized swimming and modern Pentathlon are "better" than Outrigger because they're in the Olympics? Personally, I could care less if our cool ass Polynesian sport ever fits into that uptight, heirarchical, western, haole system.

#27 Wed, 03/19/2008 - 7:42pm

Jim, don't forget trampoline is an olympic sport as well.

BTW, from Zre's web site.

http://www.zre.com/catalog/powersurgepro7ozcarbonfibercanoepaddle-p-162....

7oz paddle...

#28 Wed, 03/19/2008 - 9:51pm

if I could win it
there all races moor or less.
just to try my best

eh

#29 Wed, 03/19/2008 - 9:44pm

oop's

#30 Wed, 03/19/2008 - 9:44pm

Cool off Jim you are taking it way to seriously ,and at least read it trough before cooking-off

Ok things got carried away a bit from original light weight paddle theme .

Do you know if these ZRE paddles have integral shaft or are the blade and shaft separate like in the most paddles.

#31 Thu, 03/20/2008 - 1:00am

They're separate. Check out their website, I'm too retarded to post the link. The only bummer is they come w/ the palm grip, but I'm pretty sure you can special order a T-top. Just having fun w/ the posts, it's all tounge in cheek, broham. Hell, I ain't even the slightest bit patriotic, unless some Frenchman goes insulting my imperialistic, racist, homophobic, homeland. U-S-A!

#32 Thu, 03/20/2008 - 4:28am

I had a few 100% graphite blades manly for the weight. our dugout races are so short we need a bigger blade. I had shoulder problems around the time I was into them, not sure if they were related. I like quick blades. we special ordered 9.8 blades and they are on the lighter side. or Kialoa.

#33 Thu, 03/20/2008 - 6:29am

I am curently playing with a new design for a lightweight paddle with integral shaft and am still developing a light weight structure for it as when making the things very light the faliure comes from the sections colapse rather than breaking because of the stiffnes .

i am thnking of ither a blade with nomex core or for simplicity a hollow blade in to wich i pour foamed epoxy to fill the blade and the neck of the shaft after i close the molds.
Some people use polurethane instead of foamed epoxy because i lighter but it is not that structural .

But it seems we will have to make and break a couple of paddles to get it right

#34 Thu, 03/20/2008 - 6:58am

Canoemaker .... saving you some time and effort here. Sorry nothing positive. Please know my heart is on your side for wanting to do what you are doing but all this stuff you are mentioning has been binned by anyone wanting to make these blades in the past 10+ years @ least.

If you want to make them light, the pour thing is not gonna work to contribute to your goal.. For your stance and reputation, I think you should try this stuff before you hypothesize about it on a public forum ...

#35 Thu, 03/20/2008 - 11:24am

As said pouring in the foam epoxy is quite heavy ,
The nomal WW blades i made which have to be qute sturdy have a relatively simple laminate of couple layers carbon fabric laminate with Airex foam core on power face 4-8x ud strips depending on which side and glass-carbon filament to reinforce the edges and just the round top neck(very small volume) of the blade filled with PU or foam epoxy so far this worked and many manufactures i know use similar system.
It would work just fine in a outriger blades but they would weigh round 6-7 oz without the shaft ,but that is no the point of making the blade if it not light.
But the technology of making a blade also varies with shape and thicknes and purpose of the blade ,some thin(heavy) prepreg blades are made solid with foam only in the ridge, some which are thick enough with more volume are holow with no foam core and so on and one so there as many variations to the teme as there are makers.Most WW blades are quite thin mostly 3-5 mm here is a pict of one of my paddle blades to which i am just changing the shaft

These outriger blades can be lighter as they are smaller so need adiferent aproach

#36 Thu, 03/20/2008 - 12:01pm

Canoemaker, instead of ab foam, something i tried successfully in the past was filling the blade cavity with a lightweight mix of polystyrene beads (like in bean bags) and a syrupy thickened (micro balloons etc) epoxy mix, injected under slight pressure. Kind of forms a cellular construction and being epoxy, little chance of delam or crushing. Obviously the beads make up the bulk of the fill and the epoxy just bonds and forms a hard skin on the poly spheres. Poor mans honeycomb Hahaaa.

These people have latest technology for lightweight closed mold applications. http://www.rtmcomposites.com/index.html

Worth a look.

Cheers Rambo

#37 Thu, 03/20/2008 - 12:59pm

Rambo seems interesting .But in current paddles i only have a very small volume to fill .
From your experience of outrigger paddles which do you prefer the small wolume thin baldes or bigger volume blades similar to the Levas padle you posted ,that one realy has a lot of volume on top

For WW and maraton i feel more comfortable with a less volume,and they slide in to the shaft, but this thin blades also need a bit more laminate than the ones that have a thick neck and siled over the shaft and utilize the thicker section for aded strenght.

The new thing in propeler blades nowdays are inflatable bladders to consolidate make a strong holow onepiece blade

http://www.quatrocomposites.com/bladdermold.htm

#38 Thu, 03/20/2008 - 1:17pm

Canoe ... the pour foam just doesn't have the lifespan and blows up in the sun. Rambo's idea is good too but same thing can happen. Gotta use SUPER slow cure so as not to generate too much heat lest the beads melt leaving a void that resembles day old cottom candy.

Bladder for your one piece .... now you are on track.

Think " I " beam for blade center too ...

#39 Thu, 03/20/2008 - 2:34pm

Would there not be be too little space to utilize a bladder for the typical outrigger paddle if using 2 part closed mold method. Carbon frame Tri-bikes are made the bladder way, but they have larger diameter sections.

I've not paddled with the Levas so cannot comment. But the thin cupped blades like the ZRE powersurge enter and exit cleanly, and i really like that.

If an expanding core material could be activated (in a closed mold) in lieu of the bladder and retained as the core, that would be ideal. But i think most are using pre -shaped cores. Balsa still seems to be the strongest, lightest core material.

Cheers Rambo

#40 Thu, 03/20/2008 - 2:41pm

AB foam has a bad habit of reactivating when left in the sun, i've seen terrible "oil canning" and hull deformation in the areas where manufacturers have used AB foam as a strong back adhesive, mostly either side of the keel line.

Agree onopaddle, poly melt from cure heat was one of the first problems i encountered, but can be controlled.

Cheers Rambo

#41 Thu, 03/20/2008 - 2:58pm

From a compression standpoint Balsa still rules over everything. (#'s to weight wise) I have not checked in a while but I think the lightest available is 5lb. or so ... but I bet they are GRO-ing 3 pound as we type : 0

Rambo, they have it and is is being used in Wheels like Spinergys for example.

Picture CNC cut foam ( pre molded too ) that 'activates' @ X temp and expands just right to compress prepregs when resin goes viscous.

The bladders can work but need pressuse... then to withdraw them ?

All this human powered equipment has its own set of rules that many of the 'high tech' methods do not cover without people who know ( actual users WITH comoposite knowledge ) whats needed involved. Those French blades are sooooo pretty and made really well but they are still not so light. ( I only know specs on kayak blades here and did not check on canoe blades : ) Same with AT kayak paddles ( canoemaker, suggest checking these out too ) ... cool but still almost isotropic and not really that light either.

IMHO ... I think Zavs are the closest thing to a perfect product out there. Some might like or desire the shapes but from a construction standpoint, there is almost no way to improve on these things 'till some new material comes along.

The ZRE P.S. Is my favorite.

Might actually get over to Quatro composites by next month.

#42 Thu, 03/20/2008 - 3:08pm

Ha Na, Rambo,

I wanted soo bad for the pour foam to work ... perfect right ?

Nope .... i bet I have done more testing, ratio experimenting, mixing with other stuff, + heat cure in molding test than the manufacturers have ever thought of.

Even the super high density stuff not stable for production parts.

Suprising how many sailboard skegboxes I have dug out only to see 'the void' from heat generation.

P.S. Did some repairs for two of the Major Composite Bike maufacturers in the past too ... Very enlightnening ... and scary.

#43 Thu, 03/20/2008 - 3:15pm

The ideal of course is a preformed piece of PVC or SAN structural foam which can be done i 2 ways ither sanding it to shape or in case of certain foams you can heat them up and press them in to shape while hot but to do that you need at least a spare mold good enough for high temperature . For real ritch guys projects CNC cut nomex core is the lighest, could also be done on a wood copy machine

Blader method works fine in propeler blades which are as thin as the paddles ,but they do have couple of tricks up their sleeve ,first they have a realy nice and stiff aluminum mold secondl they use a fancy 3d preform prepreg material which already has a shape of the blade so the blader just consolidates it and third the blader stays in the part + the guys can spend some money perfecting teh technology which most of us cant.
By the way these bladers are made much the same way as condoms ,a part preform dipping in latex or whatever

The pur foam is britle and sensitive but at the neck where i have it i have 3-4mm of laminate around it and for now 10-15 years hasnt been a problem with it and it is quite light(40kg/m3)

Balsa is nice and stiff but a bit harder to shape than some lighter structural foams like PVC or SAN based ones or even beter the PMI foams(Rohacell) which are the ultimate but cost a loot like Nomex honeycomb

Comparative weights of cores used PVC or SAN cca 75kg/m3 , Balsa 110kg/m2, Nomex cca29kg/m3

#44 Thu, 03/20/2008 - 3:17pm

Those paddles are made in Raiatea, with a Tahitian blade design and a double bent shaft.

http://www.vipervaa.com/Pages%20web/hardcore.htm
http://www.vipervaa.com/Pages%20web/flexcore.htm
http://www.vipervaa.com/Pages%20web/softcore.htm

#45 Thu, 03/20/2008 - 3:23pm

These Vipervaa seem nice i like their blade design and only slightly bent shaft ,a bit heavy but nontheless great.

#46 Fri, 03/21/2008 - 2:45am