On 25-Sep-2003, Bill Tuthill wrote:

but when I tried out a
bent-shaft in a store, my wrists rotated just as much.

It doesn't prevent wrist rotation - that is due to feather angle
relative to stroke angle. It aligns the wrist so that your hand
is in a straight line with your forearm. To fine tune your
wrist rotation, get a variable feather angle and play with
different feather angles. I find 25-30 degrees works well
for me with a relatively low stroke and 50-60 with a
high stroke.

. break more easily due to deformed shaft

??? Never heard of this before.

. make sculling and draw strokes more difficult

Only running draws are trickier in my experience. Once
you get used to it, no big deal.

. cannot be made of wood

ISTM that Bending Branches and a couple of others make bend shaft wood
paddles. They use a laminated shaft.

but if I don't have problems with a straight shaft,
how would switching help me?

It won't. The supposed ergonomic benefits for paddlers (in terms of performance)
are overstated. They do provide a more comfortable grip for those with joint
problems because they align the wrists better. If you don't need this, you might
as well stick with a straight shaft.

Mike