The white blade is easy to see if you drop it in the water, as well as giving signals from a long way away. The blade is symmetrical so it pulls and cuts though the water really easy with no change in direction.

The glass shaft is very strong; I use my gunwale to guide the paddle and to pry off, the paddle handles this with no problem.

The shaft is slightly oval so it makes it easier to get a good grip when transferring the power. The shape of the blade gives instant power but with a slight flex in the shaft it’s very controllable with no flutter. I use the Nantahala for white water and open water, I find touring with it no problem due to the lightness of the paddle, and it’s also really useful if it is bit windy just to get that extra power. The T grip gives control and comfort; I glue and rivet mine into place once I have set it to the right size.

There are many different guides to sizing your paddle, but I think it is a lot to the type of paddling you do and your body size, I like a shorter paddle length which allows me to recover it quickly, but I gain power though my body and tactical paddling, if you go for a longer paddle then you gain on leverage but movement is a bit slower to recover. I am quite a stocky paddler, my height is 175cm tall and my paddle is 143cm long which is about 7cm below my chin, I generally paddle with short stokes and keep my hand about 4cm above the gunwale as a norm. The best thing to do is try different shaft lengths and see what suits, before you cut your paddle!

My best stroke for the Werner is Forwards power with a Stern Pry to get maximum power and control which in turn gets the canoe moving and gives you steerage. This is a paddle which I would highly recommend and will last a lifetime.