PADDLER 6
Oscar Propulsion Slitted Blade Paddle https :// oscarpropulsion . com By Sarah Thornely ( www . supjunkie . co . uk )
PADDLER 6
REVIEWS
If you want to try the paddle and are anywhere near Hampshire in the UK or events next year , don ’ t hesitate to contact me through social media . You can also try the paddle in London and South Devon . Facebook : facebook . com / Supjunkie . co . uk Insta : @ supjunkie . uk
Oscar Propulsion Slitted Blade Paddle https :// oscarpropulsion . com By Sarah Thornely ( www . supjunkie . co . uk )
I was handed this slitted-blade paddle a month ago . I immediately used it for the @ planetpatrol # RaceForRivers event on the River Wey , Godalming and beyond for two straight days – from the first stroke , the words that came to my mind were , “ It feels easy ”, but this just seemed too simple a phrase for something that has been five years in the making , with a tremendous amount of R & D and investment by the Team at Oscar Propulsion . If you are a techy geek and love some stats , I am sure CEO Duncan Troy can provide you with those . Still , I am all about the feel of something . Does it ‘ feel ’ right , make any difference to my paddling , and how do I feel afterwards ?
From the first catch , it feels different ; there is a fizz as the blade cuts through the water and the ‘ lock ’ is stable . The power phase is super stable , and there is no fluttering . Usually , when I try out a new paddle , there is a certain amount of ‘ settling in ’ until I get used to the different sizes and shapes of the blade , but here , and I go back to those words , it feels easy to use .
There is absolutely no loss of performance with this paddle if you compare it to others , and the power is there – I handed it to my husband , who had not been on a board for at least 18 months due to a neck injury . He is rehabilitating currently but felt able to join me for a paddle – he just loved the ease of this paddle , certainly felt no after-affects from an 8km trip and loved everything about it from the catch and power to the immediate glide of the board with just one stroke . We swapped paddles around , but he insisted on having the Oscar back as his favoured paddle !
Back to my own experience of the paddle – I think it will come into its own for endurance paddling or multi-day trips due to it creating less of a strain on your shoulders , neck and forearms with absolutely no loss of stability , comfort or performance – if you are rehabilitating from injury then it could help you out too .
The paddle is slightly heavier than my normal one due to the adjustable handle , but it would be even better with a one-piece shaft . If you need speed and power , it ’ s got that too – my husband and I did some simple tests paddling against each other – I certainly came out faster with the Oscar paddle , and I can see we will be squabbling over who uses it !
I chatted with Lizzie Carr from Planet Patrol , who also used this paddle for the # RaceForRivers event and paddled over 100km . She suffers from a golfer ’ s elbow and was concerned about doing this distance over a relatively short period . However , she said she experienced no flare-ups with her elbow and felt almost an immediate difference after using the paddle . Typically , Lizzie would experience pain after about 5km when paddling due to the golfer ’ s elbow , but the paddle was so smooth in the water and didn ’ t flutter , which helped her situation .
The few people I have passed the paddle to on the water have all confirmed how easy it is to use – they are very intrigued with the design , which then transfers into a positive experience on the water . This paddle is no ‘ gimmick ’ – hours and hours of development and tests have gone into this SUP paddle and those for rowing , kayaking and dragon boating .
I can ’ t wait to use it more and would love to see how it performs for sprinting and whether it makes any marginal gains for competitive paddlers in the 5-10km range . I also think this could be the perfect upgrade for a beginner to get to grips with the correct way to paddle , i . e ., an easy catch and no fluttering .
The business model for this paddle is to eventually license the technology to all the brands to incorporate in their products , but if you would like to be one of the first to own one , check this out : https :// www . indiegogo . com / projects / gamechanging-sup-paddle #/