Discussion: Anyone looking to sell a carbon wing blade paddle?

Anyone have a carbon wing blade paddle they would be interested in selling? I would need something close to the 210cm length. Thought I would test the waters here given our AR penchant for collecting and upgrading gear.

You just missed 'Bent's SRS 5-piece, which I sold in Argentina!

If you end up buying, a bunch of us are happy with the Epic 4 piece for AR.

Maybe we can get a bulk deal if a bunch of us need one. I know I do.

I think Jackson5 did that recently so you might ask him. I got mine from Michael Fekete's Kayaksport.net store in Toronto.

I could use a paddle too....

WandAR, Myka, I may inquire about some if I can't find anything used. I will let you know if I do. I don't think osteo had any luck getting discounts when trying to bulk purchase Epics, but maybe SRS would.

Ask Jackson5 - he was organizing an Epic bulk purchase awhile ago. I have both paddles and much prefer the Epic to the SRS. (Granted, my SRS is close to 10 years old so their new ones may feel more solid.)

Count me in on that bulk purchase as well.

Yeah the one I lost at UNE (or at least the 1/2 of it I lost) was an Epic and I really liked it. But price point is more of an issue for me this time around.

Sorry, Bash sold my SRS in Patagonia as I got an Epic.

But if we get a bulk deal, it will work out price wise.
I can email Jackson5 if no ones has contacted him yet and ask who he went through and what deal he got.

We tried to get a bulk deal from Mike around Christmas, I told him I knew of 4 people and that was before posting it here, figuring I would probably get more people but he was not too interested - maybe it was the Christmas crunch... who knows (and that was after I tossed Barb's and Bob's name around no less).

I was then going to get them from the States and have them sent to my US post box but after talking to Bash and a few others from here I decided it is still nice to support our local small guy so we got them from him and are happy with our purchase.

Now that the season is starting maybe he will be more inclined with the greater numbers...

Jackson5 went through http://www.kayakideal.com/ in QC.
They didn't get an amazing deal but better than nothing.
The deal was 395$ tx incl. + some shipping (usually is 509 US+tx+ship) so around 400-420$

If you let me know what you want (how many paddles, size, scoop, who/where) ASAP. http://www.epickayaks.com/products/paddles
I'll pass the info on to Jackson5 and see what we can get.

Regular price for my 4-piece Epic from Kayaksport.net in Toronto was $503 Can. + HST, fyi.

So $100+ savings.

I'd be all over that like a fat kid in a candy store!!! (did I say that out loud??!!!)

Is that a recent price Bash? I just checked Mike's "current prices" and it lists the teardrop paddle at $350. That's a 2-piece though. While I LOVE my blade from Fekete I do wish I had a 4-piece for AR. I get pretty cringy putting my 2-piece in gear bags with the ends sticking out.

That's what I paid in March. Fantastic service btw. I think the time from my initial inquiry message to a completed order for a custom-made paddle was less than 45 minutes with a bunch of e-mail exchanges in between, and Mike wasn't even in the store that day.

The Epic paddles aren't listed on the Kayaksport website; I'm not sure who makes that Teardrop paddle but it is full carbon for anyone who wants to check it out.

I have the 2-piece Epic and I like it so much better than my old SRS that I bought the 4-piece Epic to take to Tierra Viva. I have a bike bag, not a box, so there aren't many safe places to carry a 2-piece carbon paddle.

So no takers? Please let me know by early tomorrow. As I have to let Jackson5 know. Thanks.

I'm guessing Kajner from the Kajner specs on the site. There's no branding on my boat or my paddle which makes it kind of hard for me to recommend them. I've used Mj's Epic and it's pretty much the same as my paddle. The only difference being he's got a bigger scoop. Oh and mine is a red black where his is green black. :)

I think the shaft lock is the same. Keyless and very fast assembly. I'll have to look more carefully next time. Not sure what the system is for the 4-piece.

To clarify I recommend my paddle and boat highly. I just can't tell anyone what they are. Just that they are Fekete kayaksport.net deals. They are like spy gear.

At one point, I think he sold Epic clone paddles that were just as nice; maybe that's what you have?

The Epic 4-piece has exactly the same central lock with length/angle adjustment as the 2-piece. The difference is the extra attachment mechanism for the paddle blades.

Btw nobody should be embarrassed to order the Small Mid Wing vs. the regular Mid Wing. It is designed for smaller paddlers or for paddlers going long distances, and that includes adventure racers. I think Getawaystix might have the regular Mid Wing but most of us mortals will do better over multi-hour AR paddles with a Small.
http://www.epickayaks.com/products/paddles/small-m...

That sounds about right. Clone it is. But I'm still calling it my spy gear.

That's why I like to support Mike. Who else would lend us a spy boat for a weekend to do a race or know where to get some crazy specialized piece of (spy) paddling gear?

From a paddler, I echo Bash's sentiment... Don't be shy about going with a smaller blade. It's not the size that's important; it's how you use it!

You get more power and drive out of the bigger blades... but that also requires you to put more power and strength into your stroke. For some paddlers, that extra strength requirement destroys their efficient technique. It would be like forcing yourself to stay in your big chain ring to bike up every hill... Sometimes you're smarter to drop to the granny gear, drop your strength output and keep a higher cadence to maintain speed and efficiency.

I'm currently considering a new paddle (and might be interested in a potential deal) and there's a strong chance that I will be going with a slightly smaller blade myself.

WandAR, is there a time crunch on from the dealer? I might be interested, but I am still checking out my options before making a final decision.

The sooner the better. I told them today, but could stretch it.

I'd go with the small-mid wing, 4 pieces carbon 205-215cm.

That being said, since I have no AR scheduled this season I won't be ordering for myself unless others get in on the deal.

Nice analogy, Angry Seagull. As adventure athletes, we sometimes assume that "more is always better". When you buy a high-end paddle, it's designed for paddlers who do 500-1000 m sprint races and 5-15 km long races. So if we want to paddle with good technique throughout an AR, most of us need a slightly smaller "gear". The Small Mid Wing has 2% less blade area than a Mid Wing so it's not a huge decrease.

Team Tecnu paddles with EPIC full carbon SMALL mid-wings. 2 piece is better if you can travel with it safely and don't need to run/bike with it during the race as the 4 piece can develop some play at the additional breakdown connections after some time. BUT the play isn't a major factor if you consider bushwhacking with two towers sticking out of your pack! In the states we have a number of lazy/sadistic RD's that make you bike/run with your kayak paddle the whole race if you plan to use it instead of the heavy rental ones (USARA Nats, BONK HARD, ODYSSEY...) 4 piece is also nice if you want to use it for pack rafting.

Length can be tricky because as ARers we paddle all types of boats from wide rec canoes and inflatables to skinny racing kayaks. Just like the SMALL mid-wing is like pushing a smaller gear on a bike compared to the mid-wing, a longer paddle is also like pushing a bigger gear, whereas a shorter length paddle will allow for a higher cadence. I am 6 feet tall and a 210-220 covers me in my surf ski as well as in an inflatable kayak.

ALSO it is super important to rinse the 4 parts separately and store them disassembled (especially in salt water). We had a 4 piecer fuse together in a race due to the user never fully disassembling it after training with it. Let's just say we did a bit of landscaping during the MTB section following the paddle! ha

ALSO if you break your paddle, EPIC has a repair guy in Washington state that you can ship your paddle to and he can repair it quickly for little cost.

ALSO it is important not to mix up the 4 parts of your paddle with your teammates as each individual 4 piece paddle is hand made and 'calibrated' to work properly with it's own segments and not one from another paddle.

I've had my 4pc repaired by the service guy in WA and I must say they exceeded my expectations from a quick turn-around and cost standpoint.

Sing it with me Paddlepaddlepaddlepaddle Pahdahl!
I love all this paddling talk.

Agree with Angry Seagull & Bash on cadence and keeping form over the long haul. I have heard what Tico is saying about the play in the joints on 4-piecers. Heard and have *some* exerience. I made the mistake of buying an old well used 4-piece paddle from an RD and got rid of it after 1 race because of all the wobbling. Never had a fusing issue. Never been lucky enough to paddle in salt water. Yet. :) Molokai BABY!

I've had fusing from sand in fresh water! One of the main reasons I replaced my 5-piece SRS was the play in the joints. So far the Epic is totally solid but I haven't used it as much as Tico so maybe that will happen eventually.

I have a 4 piece mid wing full carbon EPIC paddle in length 215-225 that has 2 years of use on it as well as a bunch of sponsor stickers on it, but in really good shape. A bit of play at the blade connections. I could sell it to an APer for $200US plus shipping from California. Let me know if you are interested.

Great tips, Tico. Thanks. I would have taken you up on your used paddle before as I have a great, but not wing, Epic paddle. But after your advice, I'll look for a slightly shorter and also smaller wing as I'm not a burly dude and prefer high cadence.

I guess there are no takers on the Epic deal. Need to know today.

With 11 more miles to the TA Saturday, my interest in this thread suddenly increased.

Oh dear!!!

Uh oh!

Yep, may have some Michigan takers after the 24 hour this weekend. haha

haha, Jens I didnt take a real good look at it until now in the pic. No wonder you two were taking so long. Brian and I resulted to sun bathing in our canoe. Now that I think about it, we should have brought that tow rope. Oh well....