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Werner Advantage Stand Up Paddle

$219.00

(2)

Item # 785576

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Ready to take a stand-up tour and see what's around the point? With the Werner Advantage paddle in hand, your stand up paddleboard responds quickly to every stroke.

Lightweight fiberglass shaft offers light flex on every stroke and feels warm in the hands
Fiberglass-laminate blade provides lightweight power; teardrop shape with rounded corners reduces torque to smooth out each stroke
Slight spoon shape at the tip of the blade increases power of your stroke in the water; 7° angle offers optimal efficiency from a standing position
Durable T-shaped ABS palm grip fits naturally in your hand, offering you refined control for a variety of paddle strokes

Made in USA.

Item 785576

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Werner Advantage Stand Up Paddle Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews

Werner Advantage Stand Up Paddle

3.5

(based on 2 reviews)

Reviewed by 2 customers

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Displaying reviews 1-2

Dec

2010

(6 of 7 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Superb down river standup

By BenA

from USA

About Me Advanced

See all my reviews

Pros

Good balance
Lightweight
Rugged

Cons

Best Uses

Day Trips
Kayak Camping
Rivers

Comments about Werner Advantage Stand Up Paddle:

I have used the Werner Advantage standup paddle extensively for down river trips. This paddle works well used from kayaks upon which you can stand, and also from canoes provided you add more length to the shaft. Werner suggests paddle lengths based on surf/touring in the ocean (add 8" or 10" respectively), but I find adding more length to be appropriate when paddling from boats rather than boards, unless your arms are very short. My arms are gibbonish in length, so at 6' tall I went with REI's longest version (84"), and I'd prefer another 4-6" of length (I like my reach to be fully extended while standup paddling - folks who prefer to keep bend in the arm will do well to add 10-12" to their height, and those with short arms perhaps a little less). The one-piece is only available up to 85" (84" through REI, so who'd split hairs), and I don't think the extra 5" you can add with the adjustable version (up to ~90") is worth the locking studs along the shaft that may cause reduced comfort to your hand over lengthy trips.

This paddle is broad and aggressive, and will get the job done in moderate riffles on class II waters (so long as you can actually stand up!). I find that it doubles decently as a sit-down paddle during streatches when you cannot stand up or need to give your knees a break - the only drawback can be troublesome overhanging branches grabbing at the long handle while you shoot down riffles. It'll do for long streatches of sit-down paddling if the boat's right and you don't bother to bring another paddle along (though I don't recommend being without a backup paddle). In rivers with long, still pools, it will behoove you to bring your standard kayak or canoe paddle should the wind pick up.

The fiberglass blade is very resilient, mine having withstood many hours of knocking against limestone and gravel. The shaft is very strong, but light and well-balanced. The plastic handle grip seems cheap-ish on first inspection, and the seam can be cast a little off on some specimens, but it holds up very well and doesn't wear on your hand during long trips.

If I paddled ocean, marshes, mud flats or lakes, I'd probably go with a carbon paddle. The extra money is likely worth the even better balance and reduced weight, but carbon paddles shred in rocky down river use. This paddle is too expensive to be considered a "cheap" alternative to carbon standup paddles, but it owns the niche of down river standup paddle so far as I can tell. In short, I'm not a hardcore weight lifter, and I've covered hundreds of miles down river with this paddle. The only thing the Werner Advantage can't give you the edge on is a windy day, when standup paddling just doesn't cut it.

Jul

2011

(3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

2.0

Was real excited to use this paddle.....

By no more boot [*]

from Issaquack, WA

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Strong Blade

Cons

Sharp blade

Best Uses

Day Trips
River Running
Touring

Comments about Werner Advantage Stand Up Paddle:

I was real excited to use this paddle but to my surprise....and disappointment - this really was not the paddle for me.

as far as text and marketing goes - I thought this paddle would be the best one to suit my intended budget. Being an experienced kayaker and river canoe-ist, I was pretty familiar with the Werner name and the products they produce. so I was looking for specific features in a paddle since I put a huge chip in the blade of my existing paddle.

1. a stronger blade
2. a paddle that could take more abuse and not be so dainty
3. T-grip - more of a preference to try out here (and having that familiarity with the canoe paddles I have used in the past)
4. a larger blade

the Werner Advantage had all of that packaged with a translucent red blade. The biggest bummer sometimes is not being able to check the product in front of your eyes before you make the purchase - so this one was a gamble - either way I knew it could not fail since it met all the requirements I had in mind.

When I opened the box, the first thing I noticed was that the blade had an extremely sharp edge to the finish - so I placed a rim of hockey tape on the edge so it would not carve the side of my board should I sweep alongside it on accident.
My board also has rail tape on it so I figured I'd be okay.

my first test was on flatwater - the easiest and most clinical test for the paddle since there are very little factors that can affect the paddle test. Paddle strokes were smooth and the blade cut through the water, swept through, and had a smooth exit. It did not have the dihedral angle that I am used to paddling with but after several strokes you don't really notice. The paddle has an ovalized shape in the center which some people might find to be a nice feature. I did factor in that this was a fiberglass/carbon paddle so the weight was pretty decent for what it is.

My second test was out in Lake Washington Chop.
for those of you who have paddled out in it - you know what it's like - choppy water, wind constantly shifting..... and you need to be able to rely on your paddle when it counts. This was when I came to the conclusion that this paddle was really not for me.

1. during heavy/strong paddle strokes - I can feel the blade flex quite a bit in the water and I find it distracting
2. the blade size, although larger - hit several places on my board rails and carved off my rail tape (even though I put a layer of tape on the blade itself) * I think this was due to the fact that I was not used to the larger shape and that the blade comes up higher on the shaft than most SUP paddle blades. I have never scraped up my board as much as I have with this paddle
3. The T-grip was not really that comfortable for me. It is a Hybrid T-style grip not a true T-grip - the shape is unique but somehow my hands got tired from it and I did not feel like I could apply lots of power to the t-grip end

In summary - this paddle is great for those who will be doing mostly flatwater paddling, and lake touring. It will give you everything you need. For those of you who want to explore every body of water, from surf, to sea, to rivers, and lakes - I would demo the paddle first! I hope this nerdly review was helpful to those of you who read it!