Lightning Blog – Team Paddler – Matt Cooke
In my last few years of kayaking, I have not had the
opportunity to paddle every day for 3 months in some of Europe’s finest
paddling destinations. This was a
routine I had a grown accustomed to in the past but it had been a fair few
years since I had done a proper summer tour of Europe. My goal for the trip was to promote the gear
I use and make the most of this fantastic opportunity to be free to paddle and
push our equipment to the limits. We had
a wide range of gear to test and amongst my bag of toys were the paddles. For this trip I had two set of cranked Carbon
Freerides set at zero degrees on two different lengths for freestyle and
creeking accompanied by a mixed bag of Robson paddles for every occasion for test and demo.
Italy
The Freerides, I have been using now for over two years, the
zero degree versions just one year and they have been the only paddles I have used
since receiving them in September 2012.
These paddles compliment my kayaking style completely. I finally found a paddle that really works for me, providing a fast sleek style and great strength through astounding
flexibility.
Canada - Ottawa
Everyone has a paddle that, once they use it for a while,
just knows strait away that it is for them, some people never find that as
there are so many paddles on the market and its not always easy to test them
all. What I would say is go with a brand
that has stood the test of time and has a good reputation. The good brands have usually got a huge
selection and will have something that suits you.
What I like about the Robson and lightning paddles is how
efficient the company is. With all gear
for paddling, you will always get kit that breaks leaving you pretty sad after
having forked out all that cash for a paddle you can trust. For the last 10 years, I have used their
paddles and have never had an issue receiving new paddles after a breakage or
just wanted to try new ones. From a
customer point of view, I have put many people onto using the blades and they
have received impeccable service for speedy deliver, great quality of blades
with a great return / replace policy.
With Paul over at white water consultancy dealing with the UK
distribution of both Robson and Lightning’s, getting hold of a set is quick and
easy.
This summer, I was spoilt for choice. I had a brilliant selection of some of the
new Robson designs. The new Corona foam
core paddles got used a fair bit on waterfalls and slides, they feel like you are using super
lightweight outriggers, the full foam core provides maximum floatation and
support from the blades. They are also
extremely stiff allowing great stability and power. To top it all off, they look amazing.
Norway - But Crack Creek
My conclusion was that my next set of river blades would at
least have some degree of feather and maybe have more rigidity. The natural rotation of the body during
kayaking is around 15 degrees, this helps in a paddle when paddling over
distance to optimise your performance.
For rodeo, zero degrees saves you time and allows the blades to always
be ready to carve and balance together underwater The freeride carbons are still my favourite
for freestyle but there are many different varieties that
still perform great, its about getting in there and trying them all. If I had my way, I would always carry round with me a good few sets as there is always a day you might break one or just fancy something different. For most paddlers, one is good enough, find one that suits your style and stick with it if it works.
Norway - Tiegdal
Other paddles I had along for the tour were some ladies butterflies, strait shafted Hieda's and some Chlorophyls. All got used and proved a great paddle for the right type of paddler. Whilst on tour this summer, we made 4 short films for Pyranha. See these robson and lightning delights in action! See you all soon on the river.
http://vimeo.com/67414733 - stage 1
http://vimeo.com/67939268 - stage 2
http://vimeo.com/69349332 - stage 3
http://vimeo.com/70735458 - stage 4
