Thoughts re: the Millbrook Norse, without actually having one...
1. Norse paddles are bomber - i have a "Bob Foote Special" they made once with an oval shaft and slightly smaller blade - been using it for years - it's a paddle I don't worry about
2. after seeing Bob Britt cut his old standard Norse down to a "fan tail" shape, greatly reducing the area, I was reminded of my own old experiment with a Perception paddle that was kind of sloppy... It was to be a sort of canoe peanut paddle, a lower gear, but... i set it aside ...
3. I revisited my old experiment and dressed it up - I'm really liking it -
That being said - Norse construction + the Millbrook blade shape should be really good. I'm probably going to trim that other Perception stick and maybe that Norse ...
I love my orange blade Werner Bandit! It looks like number 2 in the pic above, after 2 years of switching sides, but just seems to sand away instead of chipping away. A buddy just got a carbon version....it didn't feel any lighter. I'll wait and watch how his wears before I go from orange,to the new black.-M-
Personally, I couldn't see paying $160 for a club paddle, but if that's the plan, Fox makes a durable, if heavy paddle. It comes in a spoon blade, too.
Best advice is try a few out and see what you like.
+1 for Aquabound since they're good value for money and they take a beating, although they are pretty flexible in the blade.
My werner bandit carbon is really nice--light and not a bit of flex but beating it up just feels wrong (and the price tag is a pretty good chunk of a used boat). My only problem with it is minor; the plastic t-grip is a bit disappointing and weird. I got mine used (only twice on flatwater and $70 off retail).
