Three-piece paddle thoughts?

[spirit4earth]

Hello everyone!  I'm thinking about getting a three-piece, so I'm looking for input on any brands you might have used.  I like the Werner Trance, but I'm open to all suggestions.  I'd also like to hear your opinions on three-piece paddles in general.  Are they wobbly?  Strong?
I need one that is length adjustable, so around 70-77, like the Werner.
Thanks!

[Area 10]

The best 3 piece IMO is the Quickblade Trifecta V-Drive 3-piece. But it isn't adjustable. Pretty much any 3-piece adjustable is a heavy and hateful thing if you are a serious or semi-serious paddler used to an expensive one-piece carbon paddle. But if you are just a casual recreational paddler then they are fine. You've got to be careful to rinse them each time you use them if you paddle in salt water and aren't going to be taking them apart after every session, otherwise they soon seize on you, sometimes permanently.

[Off-Shore]

I've used 3pc paddles from Red Paddle for casual paddling and some long distance paddling since I bought my first board (a RPC 10-6). The old ones were heavy and sturdy, but did wobble a bit. I recently got a new 2016 Carbon 3pc to travel with which is amazingly light at 0.78kgs / 1.72lbs. This has a cam-clip mechanism at both the adjustable handle shaft part and at where the bottom blade piece joins the top piece so there is no wobble like the old ones. The only thing I'd say is that you need to fine tune the cam mechanism using an X head / Philips screw driver to ensure the handle shaft does not rotate under pressure. As Area says it's also really important to break them down and wash them after each use to stop them seizing up.

[PonoBill]

The new Blue Planet paddle is a three piece. Very nice design. It's three piece as a result of a good design decision--moving the joint between blade and shaft up the shaft. Goes together with hot glue. I've suggented that they rework the top section to make it adjustable over a good range. Right now it's cut to fit.

I'll do a review of it soon, but it's a high quality, reasonably light (could be made lighter), high performance paddle with no flaws caused by being three piece.

[yugi]

^ I like.

You like light? Some insane stuff coming up. Will blow glue-heads minds!

[Beasho]

The new Blue Planet paddle is a three piece. Very nice design. . . . .
I'll do a review of it soon, but it's a high quality, reasonably light (could be made lighter) . . . .

How light? 

As always my rant is "Show me the data."  My recent paddle test suggested that the highest correlation to speed was light weight. 

A 'light' paddle is ~1.0 lb.  Anything getting up to 1.5 lbs+ is heavy.  I suppose if you are just going for a cruise down a canal, not bad, but why can't a carbon 3 piece be pretty light.  Just an extra ferrule?

PS:  I recently stopped wearing my tide watch, ~ 6 oz or 170 grams, because I don't need to swing that 2,000 times a session.

[SG50SUP]

I used QB's 3pc Kanaha AC90 for a 5 day 220km flatwater paddle without a hoot. It's adjustable and is slightly over 1 lb. I kinda had the advantage to change paddle length on the fly as everyday weather conditions was changing. But if you want it light, I'd agree with Area10 to go with Trifecta 3pc. Chris Parker of SUPracer had that for the same race but only had problem dismantling it afterwards. Well we all had blisters on our hands after 5 days so that didn't help. [emoji3] I also like the design that Blue Planet came up with on their Kickstarter. But was a day late to join in the fun. Hot-glued travel paddle would be my next find too.


Twitter @SUPmission

[Fog City Rider]

I have the Werner Nitro 3-piece, it's the previous model.  I can't compare it to other 3 pieces, but overall it's an excellent paddle.

PROS are that it's stiff, light, simple & easy to adjust on the fly, and paddles well.  It does not feel like a 3-piece on the water.  It's high quality and built tough, I've had mine for over a year without any issues.  I've used it mostly for surf. 

CONS are it's stiff (if you like flex, which I do), and fills with a bit of water if you're surfing and falling since the upper shaft has holes in it.  It also makes a whistling noise in the wind due to those holes - it's like a carbon flute.  Also, the adjustment increments are fixed & an inch or so apart.  Non-issue for me, but not the best if you want to do micro-adjustments.

Hope that helps.  I imagine the Trance is even better.   

[spirit4earth]

Thanks for all the great feedback---keep it comin'!  One advantage with the Werner is I can get it at REI and use my dividend on it.  These top paddles are expensive.  I'm wary of the hot glue paddles because I'm afraid I'll mess it up!

[supdiscobay]

I won't buy another paddle that isn't hot glued.  Hot glue works great and leaves your options open for fine tuning.

[spirit4earth]

I used QB's 3pc Kanaha AC90 for a 5 day 220km flatwater paddle without a hoot. It's adjustable and is slightly over 1 lb. I kinda had the advantage to change paddle length on the fly as everyday weather conditions was changing. But if you want it light, I'd agree with Area10 to go with Trifecta 3pc. Chris Parker of SUPracer had that for the same race but only had problem dismantling it afterwards. Well we all had blisters on our hands after 5 days so that didn't help. [emoji3] I also like the design that Blue Planet came up with on their Kickstarter. But was a day late to join in the fun. Hot-glued travel paddle would be my next find too.


Twitter @SUPmission

That Trifecta is way too expensive for me!!

[spirit4earth]

The new Blue Planet paddle is a three piece. Very nice design. It's three piece as a result of a good design decision--moving the joint between blade and shaft up the shaft. Goes together with hot glue. I've suggented that they rework the top section to make it adjustable over a good range. Right now it's cut to fit.

I'll do a review of it soon, but it's a high quality, reasonably light (could be made lighter), high performance paddle with no flaws caused by being three piece.

No specs on this paddle on their web page??

[PonoBill]

It's a kickstarter campaign and the paddle I have is a beta test.https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/677219836/kai-zen-high-performance-stand-up-paddle-by-blue-p

Must be close to production. I hope the other beta testers have been more helpful than I have been in giving feedback. It's been a weird month for me. I'm spending more time in Home Depot than I am in the water.

[blueplanetsurf]

The new Blue Planet paddle is a three piece. Very nice design. . . . .
I'll do a review of it soon, but it's a high quality, reasonably light (could be made lighter) . . . .

How light? 

As always my rant is "Show me the data."  My recent paddle test suggested that the highest correlation to speed was light weight. 

A 'light' paddle is ~1.0 lb.  Anything getting up to 1.5 lbs+ is heavy.  I suppose if you are just going for a cruise down a canal, not bad, but why can't a carbon 3 piece be pretty light.  Just an extra ferrule?

PS:  I recently stopped wearing my tide watch, ~ 6 oz or 170 grams, because I don't need to swing that 2,000 times a session.

Unfortunately it's not a simple as adding a ferrule.  If you just cut a one piece shaft into pieces and add a ferrule it would break at the joint, there is a lot of leverage on the joints of a 3 piece paddle so it has to be designed and constructed well.

[blueplanetsurf]

It's a kickstarter campaign and the paddle I have is a beta test.https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/677219836/kai-zen-high-performance-stand-up-paddle-by-blue-p

Must be close to production. I hope the other beta testers have been more helpful than I have been in giving feedback. It's been a weird month for me. I'm spending more time in Home Depot than I am in the water.

Thanks Bill,
We have been getting a lot of valuable feedback from the Beta Testers and I appreciate your ideas on making the top handle adjustable.
The Kai Zen paddles will ship in February and are available for pre- order on our website here:
http://blueplanetsurf.com/collections/paddles/products/blue-planet-2016-kai-zen-cf-paddle-early-bird-pre-orders-until-12-31-15