Bill Tuthill wrote in
:

John Fereira wrote:

BTW, the only paddle I've ever broken was one of those $30 carlisles.

Not to defend the $30 Carlisle kayak paddles, because they are awful,
but I have seen all types of paddles break. I tore the fiberglass
matrix of a Harmony Perception on some volcanic rocks. Werners used to
crack at the joint between shaft and paddle. Lightning shafts are
vulnerable where they are compressed into an oval.

As I wrote earlier I've got a Lightning Std that I bought used six years
ago. The blades have a few small chips in them (nothing worth worrying
about) and the fiberglass ferrule is getting a bit loose (something I'll fix
this winter) but it's still going strong. I sold the Werner Camano I bought
at the same time as the Lightning last year. The ferrule was also a bit
loose on that one but a bit of epoxy resin and some sandpaper fixed it. I
sold it for $90.

In any case, I was only relating my experience with the Carlisle paddles and
am well aware no paddle is indestructible.


Graphite blades
sometimes shatter from impact with rocks, but are more often lost
because the black color makes them difficult to see.

You're primarily a whitewater paddler, aren't you? If someone were to lose
a paddle while paddling a touring boat they're likely in a lot more trouble
than being out the cost of the paddle. It's just a guess but I bet most
broken touring paddles happen are related to trying to do something with the
paddle other than actually paddling.