I was reading one of the gear upgrade threads and there's a fair amount of mention of the Zaveral paddle.

I looked it up, as I had not seen it prior. The question that popped into mind was one of aesthetic vs weight. Would you rather have the zre carbon paddle or the Sanborn Gunflint (an example of a beautiful wood paddle). Lightweight aluminum gunwales or black ash wooden gunwales?

Is there a point when it flips for you, say wood and canvas canoe vs todays lightweight canoes or granite gear pack vs canvas #4 Duluth pack?

I have a beautiful handmade Gillespie "Quetico" paddle. I loved using that paddle, loved the look of that paddle, thought it was light and efficient; a thing of beauty. First trip with the ZRE and it became "the war club". I still have the Gillespie but it doesn't trip with me anymore.

We are wood > carbon people here. We value the aesthetic to the point that I had bent-shaft wooden paddle custom made for my girlfriend for her birthday awhile back.



Don't want wood gunwales; don't want the maintenance. Happy with aluminum on my Nova Craft, and I'm eager for the day I can buy myself a new Swift with integrated carbon gunwales.

aesthetics don't mean much to me.

function -vs- weight is a different discussion. I don't mind weight if the item is supremely built for its intended task.

I'm going to go with a 3rd option, Cost. I just can't see spending that much on a few ounces or for a wood paddle that I am not going to be all that careful with. To me, paddles are a tool. You take care of it to a degree, but it needs to do work for you, not the other way around. Now I'm not saying it can't look nice or that people should use the plastic and aluminum paddles, but I'm not going to spend much more than $100 on a paddle because I don't want to be upset about it getting damaged or scratched.

For me it depends. For paddles carbon fiber for sure...because they work better. For gunwales I've had canoes with all 3 types and all have their benefits, but I'll take wood if the canoe weight is still pretty low.

I prefer canoes under 45 pounds and paddles under about 14 ounces so those are my flip points.

I have been an amateur woodworker most of my adult life. I think wood is beautiful, I cringe when people paint original woodwork in older homes. I admire beautiful wooden paddles, and I enjoy the feel of an oil finish on my hands.
I lean toward practical for my outdoor gear. I solo trip, and am over 50, so weight is important to me. The maintenance on wood used outside is a negative, but I have aluminum gunwales with wooden thwarts and seat. My canoe is stored indoors, so twice a year I rub down the thwarts and all is good. The same with my wooden paddles, just a little more frequent application. That said, my canoe would be lighter with aluminum thwarts, but I purchased used.
But when I got my Zaveral, oh man! First lift, I was amazed, and thought "no way this toy will hold up to real use". But it has held up for 5 seasons now, with absolutely zero maintenance needed. I have used it exactly the same as I have used my wooden paddles in the past, which means carefully. Biggest drawback is that in windy conditions it will blow off the gunwales. Keep ahold of it, or lay it inside the canoe. Biggest surprise was how good it feels in my hand.
So, my aesthetic vs. weight conclusion is that, for me, I think the wooden thwarts look good, but add weight...I think wooden gunwales look even better but maintenance and weight go up another notch, maybe too much for an older solo tripper like myself. There is no way I will go back to a wooden paddle for tripping 20 miles a day by choice, and I now think that carbon fiber paddle is a thing of beauty!

I appreciate both. I trip with a ZRE carbon paddle which is insanely light and an absolute pleasure to use all day long, but as a backup I also bring a lovingly used Sanborn Gunflint paddle which was my main paddle for years. I now use it when we get into water that might be hard on the ZRE.

Function over form for me. Far as spending on what I want, yea a ZRE is costly, but it sure isn't fragile. Been using my ZRE Lite's (8 and 9 ounce paddles), for a goodly amount of tripping and they have not been babied. The do pay back every time I use them. By the way I have broken a lot of aluminum/plastic's in my time and think the carbon's are tougher.

mschi772, I do have wood gunnels and ordered them but not for appearance. I didn't like the inner aluminum gunnels edging into my legs nor the noise. More comfort, less sound!

butthead

I'm always amused at someone who pays $3000 for a canoe and then buys a cheap paddle. The paddle is your engine. I prefer lightness and function over aesthetics.

I love the look of a good wood paddle but my ZRE is what I trip with. Short paddle around home with the cameras out? Wood. Long trip up north....carbon. If I had money for them all

I have both wood and canvas solo canoe13' @32lbs and wonderfull wood paddles. there is a time and place for them -typically when I am going a bit slower or just for being in the moment. I also have a couple of Zaverals- a bent and a spoon blade. The bent for making time all day long, the spoon for trashing down bony rivers. I also use an IXP hull for when I need the hull to be able to take abuse. I enjoy the type 2 fun and I also like to enjoy just being in the moment.
For me the paddle goes beyond just a tool. It is my connection to the water. A excellent paddle rewards the paddler with nuances that are lost with the just a tool paddles; much like a excellent hull form responds much cleaner.

Blatz: "I'm always amused at someone who pays $3000 for a canoe and then buys a cheap paddle. The paddle is your engine. I prefer lightness and function over aesthetics. "

My thoughts exactly. Of course it does depend on what kind of trips you take. Lightweight canoe saves energy on portages, lightweight paddles save energy paddling, and by a surprising amount. So what will you be doing on your trip? Aesthetics matter little to me, although I do appreciate them.

For paddles, I like both wood and carbon fiber and take both on trips for different situations. I've thought about going to carbon fiber for my straight and not having a wood with me, but I do like wood for aesthetic reasons.

For gunwales, I don't want wood due to the upkeep but they are pretty. I own a wood sailboat with lots of varnished wood. That's enough wood on the water for me.

So I get both sides. And I do really love wood. In our house, we used largely clear treatments on wood to maintain the full beauty of the wood. Even a "natural" stain isn't clear and is used to smooth out the variations more than we prefer.

I tend to lean more toward weight savings but have aesthetically pleasing pieces of gear depending on my mood. My canoe is a Swift prospector in kevlar fusion with all carbon fiber pieces to keep the weight as low as possible with a CF Werner Camano paddle but I also own a wooden badgertail paddle by badger paddles and an Explorer Plus by Bending Branches. I have a modern day canoepack - albeit only a Chinook Chemun (someday I'll upgrade to a CCS) - but also own a Frost River Isle Royal senior which I use and love. Basically boils down to what kind of trip I want to take.

I'd go for wooden gunnels and carbon paddle. The net weight saving would be around zero, but lighter paddle makes more sense than a lighter canoe: after all, one doesn't lift his boat at a rate 60 times per minute. Also, if you are using gunnel as a fulcrum for your paddle during correction phase, rubbing carbon against aluminum will result in producing lots of carbon powder - it's not very attractive aesthetically and might be damaging for the paddle.

EddyTurn: "I'd go for wooden gunnels and carbon paddle. The net weight saving would be around zero, but lighter paddle makes more sense than a lighter canoe: after all, one doesn't lift his boat at a rate 60 times per minute. Also, if you are using gunnel as a fulcrum for your paddle during correction phase, rubbing carbon against aluminum will result in producing lots of carbon powder - it's not very attractive aesthetically and might be damaging for the paddle."

Why do you use your gunwale as a fulcrum durning the correction phase?

Blatz: "Why do you use your gunwale as a fulcrum durning the correction phase?"

Obviously to take some load off my muscles and provide extra power for my stroke when needed. It's a whitewater habit and I see nothing wrong with it on flatwater.

EddyTurn: "

Blatz: "Why do you use your gunwale as a fulcrum durning the correction phase?"

Obviously to take some load off my muscles and provide extra power for my stroke when needed. It's a whitewater habit and I see nothing wrong with it on flatwater."

Interesting.I used to J stroke for hours at time and my paddle never touched the canoe. It's something I'm obviously not familiar with.

mschi772: "We are wood > carbon people here. We value the aesthetic to the point that I had bent-shaft wooden paddle custom made for my girlfriend for her birthday awhile back.


"

that is a BEAUTIFUL paddle. you can see the thought that went into this design

I ran into a gentleman on a tough portage awhile back, carrying a beautiful stripper he had made. Except he wasn't carrying it; it was sitting the ground beside him as he looked at, ashen-faced, cold sweats, pondering his predicament.
As the Bard said, Hoy-day, what a sweep of vanity comes this way!

I’ve got a mn2, it’s fast, efficient and absolutely no fun to paddle. My 1941 Peterborough is fast, efficient and a riot to paddle. Listening to The sound of the water slapping against canvas is always a favorite part of my paddling

gymcoachdon: "Biggest drawback is that in windy conditions it will blow off the gunwales. Keep ahold of it, or lay it inside the canoe. Biggest surprise was how good it feels in my hand."

These points resonate for me, + & -.

I have a ZRE that weighs like 7.5 or 8 oz.

Was initially amazed (still am to a degree) at the sensation of paddling with it - because the blade itself is hollow and buoyant, the paddle literally pushes itself back out of the water at the end of your stroke.

Such a neat tool.

DanCooke: "I have both wood and canvas solo canoe13' @32lbs and wonderfull wood paddles. there is a time and place for them -typically when I am going a bit slower or just for being in the moment. I also have a couple of Zaverals- a bent and a spoon blade. The bent for making time all day long, the spoon for trashing down bony rivers. I also use an IXP hull for when I need the hull to be able to take abuse. I enjoy the type 2 fun and I also like to enjoy just being in the moment.
For me the paddle goes beyond just a tool. It is my connection to the water. A excellent paddle rewards the paddler with nuances that are lost with the just a tool paddles; much like a excellent hull form responds much cleaner. "

I think if a person got out of their synthetic or aluminum canoe and spent a few days in a wood canoe, they would have an awakening. Being in a wood canoe in the wilderness is life changing. It really is.

I have a 36# solo cedar strip and a 53 pound solo wood canvas. Neither of those weights are enough to discourage anyone.
I stopped paddling synthetic canoes at canoes at 26 years old. That was a long time ago.

mschi772: "We are wood > carbon people here. We value the aesthetic to the point that I had bent-shaft wooden paddle custom made for my girlfriend for her birthday awhile back.



Don't want wood gunwales; don't want the maintenance. Happy with aluminum on my Nova Craft, and I'm eager for the day I can buy myself a new Swift with integrated carbon gunwales. "

Beautiful indeed! May I ask where you had it made? I'm in the market for a shorter paddle for my new-to-me solo canoe. Finding a paddle that's both beautiful and short (like 46") is very difficult. After all, I've gotta live up to the name even when in my solo ;)

At my age weight always wins!

For me aesthetics is always an important consideration, but has to balance with not so much weight as performance. There are many beautiful wood paddles no doubt - I would love to add a Badger Cherry Sliver to my collection one of these days. But just because a material is high-tech doesn't mean it can't be beautifully designed too. I personally love the look of my Northstar Voodoo paddle with its carbon fiber blade and cedar shaft. I'd love to get a bent version. It's not as light as a Zav, but it sure beats my old wooden paddles. I also really love the way the blade slips into and out of the water. I think this is something Dan C mentioned once in a post. My Bending Branches paddle smacks the water as it goes in rather than slices it. I love the thin blade of carbon fiber. I personally don't care for the aesthetic of the Zavs, but may have to look at them in persons to decide. Their performance as reported on this site is the bomb, so I may have to try one. But I think their aesthetics are off - they look a bit too "Nascar" for me, with the pattern of the blade - especially the checker one - and the big bright decal. Just doesn't seem quite right to me.

Aesthetic matters to me, but has to balance with performance. I think my MSR parawing tarp with its deep catenary cuts is stunning looking when set up and it is great in strong winds, but it is twice the weight and much harder to set up by one person than my simple 10x10 home made 1.1 oz silnyon ridgeline tarp, so the MSR now stays at home.

tumblehome:
I think if a person got out of their synthetic or aluminum canoe and spent a few days in a wood canoe, they would have an awakening. Being in a wood canoe in the wilderness is life changing. It really is.

I have a 36# solo cedar strip and a 53 pound solo wood canvas. Neither of those weights are enough to discourage anyone.
I stopped paddling synthetic canoes at canoes at 26 years old. That was a long time ago."

Did you make your wood canoes or where did you get them?

Speckled: "

tumblehome:
I think if a person got out of their synthetic or aluminum canoe and spent a few days in a wood canoe, they would have an awakening. Being in a wood canoe in the wilderness is life changing. It really is.


I have a 36# solo cedar strip and a 53 pound solo wood canvas. Neither of those weights are enough to discourage anyone.
I stopped paddling synthetic canoes at canoes at 26 years old. That was a long time ago."

Did you make your wood canoes or where did you get them? "

Go the the builders forum on this site. The one in the picture was documented this last spring during construction. I'm building another one now on that forum too. I'm giving it away the Friends of the Boundary waters so they can auction it this spring.
Tom

tumblehome:
Go the the builders forum on this site. The one in the picture was documented this last spring during construction. I'm building another one now on that forum too. I'm giving it away the Friends of the Boundary waters so they can auction it this spring.
Tom"

Just checked it out - Super cool!

I don't think it's as simple as aesthetics versus weight. Which paddle is the most beautiful? For me it's the carbon fiber Pat Moore Cue. Does aesthetics include how it works in the water? For me the answer is yes and the Cue widens it's lead. I think the Bending Branches Sunburst (carbon shaft, wood blade) and Mitchell Surreal/Bell Voodoo (wood shaft, carbon blade) are also fine paddles with a compelling combination of visual aesthetics and performance.

I sort of have a little of both. I have a 14-15 oz. Cedar paddle. The difference in use between my old BB is not even close and it looks way better as well. I almost didn’t want to use it when I got it, but now it has been 13-15 years of use and still going strong. I can’t imagine how good an 8 oz. paddle feels!

timatkn: "I sort of have a little of both. I have a 14-15 oz. Cedar paddle. The difference in use between my old BB is not even close and it looks way better as well. I almost didn’t want to use it when I got it, but now it has been 13-15 years of use and still going strong. I can’t imagine how good an 8 oz. paddle feels!


"

That's a nice paddle!

timatkn: "I sort of have a little of both. I have a 14-15 oz. Cedar paddle. The difference in use between my old BB is not even close and it looks way better as well. I almost didn’t want to use it when I got it, but now it has been 13-15 years of use and still going strong. I can’t imagine how good an 8 oz. paddle feels!


"

Puddicomb paddle. Great choice.

bobbernumber3: "

timatkn: "I sort of have a little of both. I have a 14-15 oz. Cedar paddle. The difference in use between my old BB is not even close and it looks way better as well. I almost didn’t want to use it when I got it, but now it has been 13-15 years of use and still going strong. I can’t imagine how good an 8 oz. paddle feels!



"

Puddicomb paddle. Great choice.


"

Beautiful paddles. That’s where aesthetics makes a big difference. Weight on those cedar paddles not even an issue. Light as a feather.
Tom