Some folks have mentioned wanting a Zaveral paddle with more pulling power in each stroke. The other day, I noticed that they have an outrigger model of the power surge and wondered about the differences.

When I looked at the specs, the blade is significantly bigger than the flat water power surge. The outrigger blade size is:
Blade widths from 8.75 to 9.75 inches
Blade length is 19 inches

The flatwater blade size is:
Blade width is 8 inches (available from 7.5 inches to 8.375 inches (8 3/8")
Blade length is 18 inches

So, there's a possibility for people who want a bigger blade. For me, I realized that the top outrigger paddlers are way bigger than me and I'm happy with the smaller blade.

Something to consider, bigger blades require more power to pull through the water. Also, bow and stern paddles should be balanced, otherwise one paddler will overpower the other. With smaller blades one can increase the number of strokes per minute. More isn’t always better.

I agree. That's why I'm sticking with the flatwater version.

When you order a paddle from their website, there's a pulldown menu to select paddle width. I don't think anyone notices this, because I've asked about 3 times on this site what width people have ordered, and I've never gotten an answer. I've also never seen it brought up on the many many threads discussing these paddles.

I honestly can't remember what width I ordered in 2001. And I did it over the phone. I think they recommended their default width for us.

note that the width ranges for the two models don't overlap. They must be different molds for the basic blades which can then be trimmed just a bit.

quote NotLight: "When you order a paddle from their website, there's a pulldown menu to select paddle width. I don't think anyone notices this, because I've asked about 3 times on this site what width people have ordered, and I've never gotten an answer. I've also never seen it brought up on the many many threads discussing these paddles.



"

The customized choices are the big reason I ordered directly from ZRE. And you can specify factory blem for price break on full custom ordered paddles. I went with,
1 x Z Light – Carbon Fiber Canoe Paddle
- Blade Width (inches): 8.5
- Factory Second: Yes
- Shaft Angle: 0 degree - Straight Shaft
- Length (inches): 50 $290.45
1 x Z Light – Carbon Fiber Canoe Paddle
- Blade Width (inches): 8
- Factory Second: Yes
- Shaft Angle: 14 degrees
- Length (inches): 48 $290.45

Ordered in 2014, and have much use on both, no refinishing needed so far. I can definitely feel the extra width on the 8 1/2 inch straight blade, but the 8 inch bent can make a long day paddling much easier.

butthead

I love my ZRE with standard bite. Brought a bending branches kayak paddle for my solo as a backup for a two week trip in September thinking I might need easy on both sides if windy with center seat canoe (Souris River Tranquility) but never used it. In fact, when windy I stayed on one side anyway.