C-Forum

In the last issue of Rapid mag,they had this paddle in the new gear guide,anyone know to get one?Any one has one?Does the lock work,i assume it does.I went to his website,no info there,and went to his facebbok page,no info there?

omg.. i guess it might be worthwhile if they offer it without that gimmicky shaft.
K.I.S.S.

sawer paddles that i have seen are junk

They fixed them but I lost confidence and moved on. Both times they broke on a fwd stroke. One paddle broke again after fixing it. Moved on and got a jimi stick - bombproof.

Not sure moving mechanical parts on a paddle make sense, as it doesn't take complete failure to result in a wet bottom. If your tee grip twist it can be hazardous to life and limb, not to bore you with such bad experiences (a couple times). Maybe it's my method of paddle stroke, but have experienced such failures even with epoxied on tee-grips. I'd be real skeptical about this not happening, just as you're trying with all your might somewhere down the line.

I maybe wrong, but isn't the securing feature just some sort of friction type design?

yeah the twisted t-grip in the middle of a rapid is NOT fun. Last time that happened to me I ended up having to grip the paddle like a kayaker to finish the rapid.
I can't imagine that adjustable connection lasting more than a few days

Been using my Venom quite a while since last fall, and I got to say, I'm in love! I might not be 100% partial on that one since I rep. for them, but I wouldn't rep a paddle that I can't trust... I,ve tested and re-tested the locking system and it never twisted...

For me, the bent is right-on for my style of paddling, both C-1 and OC-1. As for rolling, I didn't notice any big difference, except that my grip seems better than on a regular straight shaft.

Shaggy is deffinitly anything but a newbie in this industry, and he designed that paddle as his personnal little baby. By seeing what he does in an open boat, he wouldn't do it if his life couldn't depend on his paddle.

interested

Well that's nice,but as stated,WHERE DO I GET ONE!!I live in Canada and would consider one if i could FIND ONE FOR SALE!!

I managed to pry a Sawyer Venom out of the factory reps hands today at the Outdoor Retailer show in SLC, got a really good deal on the paddle and used it this afternoon. First off, you can get one of two length upper shafts to increase the overall length enough where you could paddle a raft with it.. with that said, I got the shorter upper shaft and it easily adjusts from 58 to 53, and I found that I liked it about an inch shorter than the straight shaft I was paddling with.

Craftsmanship is good, better than other Sawyer paddles I've seen/had. The shaft is solid when locked, couldn't get it to move, twist or 'feel' like it wasnt solid. I wacked it hard on a few rocks (low water) on the tip and on the face and it scratched as expected but without any surprising failures. There is a good 2" of wear strip at the tip.. should last awhile in that regard.

For those who are familier with the AT brand kayak paddles, the grip width and profile are very very close to an AT bent shaft paddle. I was able to "index" the blade with both hands, not just relying on the top hand to register and control angle, I like that.

The bend in the shaft was pleasant on my formerly broken, and still hurting, wrist. I did feel that the bend in the shaft was a tinsy bit high on the shaft, leaving me gripping it very near the lower bend. I think I'll get used to it with more use though, it started to feel better later in the run. I didnt roll with it today, will report back later on how the bent shaft effects that for me. I suspect that with the increased blade control offered by the lower hand indexing on the shaft, it will help. We'll see.

I'm not used to a curved faced blade, having paddled flat bladed paddles like my Mitchell up to this point. I noticed an immediate increase in the 'bite' the paddle had on the catch phase of the forward stroke and I felt faster. Maybe it was because it looks cool, so it must be faster.. but I was moving about faster and easier than I ever have on this run that I paddle at least once a week.

The shaft was stiff but I did notice a slight amount of welcome flex when hitting rocks. Flex was unnoticeable until hitting the rocks but afterwards I concentrated on it and it had a slight bit of 'pop', which in my kayak shafts translates to a bit of flex.

I don't like the T-grip. Where the bottom hand felt super solid and in control, the top hand felt disconnected and in danger of popping off the grip. Its slippery, and heavily profiled for the thumb on both ends. It just feels too thin at the tips and not enough meat in the middle to fill the hand. Its the same grip that came on a Freestyle type Sawyer paddle I bought awhile back. Didn't like it then, don't like it now. I'll be tinkering with this asap. For those who saw the "Middle Finger" thread, this paddle has the portion of the shaft that attaches to the t-grip is thin enough that I can grip it with two fingers on each side. No middle finger down the shaft. I have "large" size hands fyi.

Overall, I really enjoy the paddle and its what I was looking for. I'll take pics and post more as it goes to help anyone else looking at getting one. All of the pics and reviews I've seen have been lacking.. if anyone has any specific questions or need a pic of anything specific, let me know.

Ok- another Venom update-

The adjustable latch consists of a lever with a small bolt that passes through the piece that tightens when the latch is closed. This bolt will work its way loose, and the top shaft will twist. Its an easy thing to watch for and prevent from becoming an issue, although while roll practicing today it twisted mid stroke. A twist of the bolt with the tip of the river knife fixed it quickly. I would suggest a bit of locktite on the bolt when adjusted snug, and then a piece of tape around the lever and shaft to prevent it from opening. I noticed once that it had started to open.

Easy things to deal with, but worth noting.