C-Forum

is awesome. tried one out for the first time today for some low water creeking. i'd been on the run at the same level last week and thought it was too low(ish) before, but with a shorter, wider paddle it was much more enjoyable. i probably hit just as many rocks with my boat today, but hit way less with the H2O team blade than the Bandit i was using last week and worried about it less because the blade is plastic instead of fiberglass.

straight or bent?

staight shaft. i've never tried a bent shaft.

does the team blade come with a straight shaft?

I used one for years, nice powerful blade but build quality is a bit large steaming pile of dog doo.
Blade on mine fell off mid roll cos it wasnt glued on properly, seen a fair few of them broken too.

However tis a nice paddle and was nice having a blade you can batter around like that

I'm guessing that the team blade does come with a straight shaft, cause that's what this paddle has. Did you contact h2O about the paddle and if so how was it resolved?

I remember seeing something about a split between h20 and the designer/manufacturer a bit hazy on the details I'm sure someone can chime in with a bit more details. I have never had the chance to paddle with one of these but ever sense they came out I have thought the blade design is great. I'm still skeptical of plastic though. It may sound a bit weird but I hate the feeling of plastic on rocks I would much rather rock boof/ rock drag with a glass paddle even though maybe not as durable just has a better feel not so flimsy i guess.

I absolutely love mine.- team/straight. Yeah, the blades fell off of both of them, but so what . it's easy to glue 'em back on. And once done properly they stay in place. I know that's lame, but it's worth it. They probably even got a new glue monkey now so maybe those problems are all in the past

At first I thought the plastic blade was a bit cheesy. But man, was I wrong. That is the best part about the paddle. Besides the design (that really does work) It's bomber! And it's sooo friendly to your arms/shoulders and ears when you jamb the rocks. I hate the sound of metal tips hitting rocks
I was breaking Galsport Magnums like crazy before I went to h20.

I also like the bright color. Makes locating a "missplaced" paddle quite a bit easier.

I heard similar things about H2O kayak paddles. I see it as an issue. It has made me stay away from them. Maybe they've resolved the issue.

xmas0c1c1k1 wrote:I remember seeing something about a split between h20 and the designer/manufacturer a bit hazy on the details I'm sure someone can chime in with a bit more details. I have never had the chance to paddle with one of these but ever sense they came out I have thought the blade design is great. I'm still skeptical of plastic though. It may sound a bit weird but I hate the feeling of plastic on rocks I would much rather rock boof/ rock drag with a glass paddle even though maybe not as durable just has a better feel not so flimsy i guess.

You're correct. The designer, Steve Horvath, is no longer associated with H20 Paddles. That separation happened about a year ago.

I'm not sure if it is coincidence or not, but it is a lot harder to find H20 paddles in my local shops.

Steve is now working on a new paddle design, called "CORE Paddles". He uses Easton Aluminum shafts. They will start selling in the spring. Similar to H20, he's doing most of his testing on kayak paddles, and adapting them to C-1 and canoe. Here's a link to his paddle site: http://corepaddles.blogspot.com/. Looking at the blade, I'm not convinced it would feather very well. I'll wait to see what canoers think of it. I'm happy with my Echo paddles.

H20 sold a lot in Ontario, and the blade detaching has been a very common complaint. Here's a thread (one of many) that describes some of the repair jobs:
http://www.boatwerks.net/boater-board/1/10688

Looks to me like you can save about $80 buying the straight shaft. See: http://www.h2opaddles.com/WhiteWater/ww ... 1team.aspx

I like the looks of the C1 paddle better. (http://www.h2opaddles.com/WhiteWater/wwpaddles/c1.aspx I wonder if it's blade is made from the same tough plastic.

If you're having trouble getting your hands on an H2O and want one, my local shop is putting in an order for the spring. PM me for details. We can drop ship if you're not in the US- mid-atlantic area.

i traded for one of each this weekend. yes, construction on the two is the same. I like the look of the c1 better, too. the 'team' blade is goofy looking, but the shorter, wider blade is great.

Yeap, same plastic for theteam and C1 version, always seemed to me like a better version of the similar AB edge paddle: same plastic blade but with slightly better stiffness on the blade and shaft, much better wood t-grip. You can see the plastic reinforcement on the blade at an angle, the rest is very similar to the edge blade. Is quite popular in my club since two years ago they went for sale at our local shop for 99CAN$.

I hate these plastic blades myself feel they are way too flexible for my likings but my spare paddle when tripping is always an edge plastic blade when the water is low I use it it just doesn't seems to wear out hitting rocks and also much much smoother on the shoulders. But an all-wood remains the choice for me when there actually is water.

Gabe, how many chickens did you have to give for two paddles?

cheajack wrote:Gabe, how many chickens did you have to give for two paddles?

BTW, Thanks for sacrificing your chickens gabe. We got plenty of rain out of that. So when you gonna kill some more?