This is a follow up article to last weeks introduction to the Aztek paddle.

So, we had a few weeks to paddle with the new Aztek, flexible shaft, paddle. To make a long story short, in our opinion, it is a game changer that has the potential to shape an industry. It is also a paddle that most, if not all, paddlers (including serious SUP racers) should consider using as a primary paddle or at least adding it to their quiver as a training device.

Initial impressions

It is no secret that we are (er…were) long time promoters of stiff, all carbon, paddles. The theory is (er…was) that the stiffness improved power transfer and is (er…was) necessary to paddle efficiently. The problem, is that using a stiff paddle may not be practical for all paddlers.

One of our editors recently underwent shoulder surgery for a rotator cuff tear and although he has a full return to function, when paddling for extended periods of time, he is plagued with residual (albeit minor) shoulder pain. Our editor is not alone. We are hearing more and more complaints of paddle racers with shoulder pain. Shorter shafts , smaller blades , stroke analysis/modification and other common methods to relieve the pain of distance paddling and serious paddle race training have not helped. Shoulder pain is an endemic problem in the sport and it is a problem that, in our opinion, doesn’t get discussed enough.

Considering that context – paddling with the Aztek paddle is remarkable change from every paddle we have ever used. Our editor (the one with the shoulder pain who couldn’t paddle for more than 90 minutes) had zero (that right ZERO) shoulder pain when paddling for up to 120 minutes. Another reviewer has some nagging elbow pain that also improbed with the Aztek Paddle.  Like we said – complete game changer.

What about the flex? What about power transfer? Does this thing work?

So, paddling with the Aztek paddle, at least at first, is…well… a little bizarre. When you paddle it, you kind of say to yourself “what the heck? This can’t possibly work?” Chance are that if you are reading this you are used to the jarring feeling of pushing against a stiff paddle shaft with your upper hand. That jarring feeling is considered “normal” for most of us. When you paddle with the Aztek paddle the best analogy we can use is that it is like walking wearing pillows for shoes when you are used to walking barefoot. It just feels wonky.

That wonky feeling, however, does not seem to translate to decreased performance. Before we get too deep into performance, we offer up our standard caveats when evaluating SUP equipment. As we have discussed many times before, without embedded power meters in the blade or shaft, rating performance of a paddle is, largely, a subjective affaire.  Although, our opinion is that there is no significant loss in performance, it is just an opinion based on our gut feeling and our subjective assessment of our performance using other paddlers that we routinely paddle with using them as a metric for comparison. Stated another way, we are in the same place in the pack and paddling at the same effort as we always are

We admit (and even highlight the fact)  that our performance assessment is utterly unscientific but, presently, we have little science to support our impression of equal performance with a stiff shaft.

BUT – just for the sake of argument – lets say that there is slight decrease in power transfer because of the flex in the shaft that we might not be able to appreciate subjectively– does that matter?

That is really the question you need to ask yourself. Given that there is a demonstrable and definitive benefit to the shoulders, our opinion, is that benefit is so remarkable it far outweighs any theoretical decrease in performance from a lack of power transfer. If this paddle is able to prevent a single injury, keep you paddling for a single year longer, or prevent fatigue in a long race, our bet is that the risk: benefit analysis falls squarely behind using a paddle with a flexible shaft.

Like we said previously – this paddle really is a game changer.

Who needs one?

An argument could be made that every paddler could benefit from this technology. We will be recommending these paddles to all of our friends and family who are recreational paddlers. Those paddlers do not in any way, shape, or form, require the stiffness of a race paddle. Conversely, while a cheap, flexible, fiberglass paddle, is a heavy liability that hampers the paddle experience, the Aztek paddle should go a long way to keeping them injury free while they piddle paddle around the lakes, rivers, and oceans on the weekend.

An argument can also be made that every serious racer needs one of these paddles in their quiver. Think about it – marathoners and race sprinters don’t wear their racing flats and ultralight racing shoes for most of their training. They use shoes with cushion and support during their training workouts. Why should things be any different for paddle racers? An argument can be made that you could (should?) save the ultra stiff paddle for the races and use an Aztek paddle during your training. The flex just might save your shoulders. Moreover, who cares about your wattage output during training? Your training should be based on your heart rate/perceived effort. Who cares how fast you are going during your training workouts?

It is going to be interesting to see how these paddles are used by serious racers. Our prediction is that we are going to see many more racers using these paddles on race day. Time will tell.

The added benefit nobody is talking about

We are proponents of having a quiver of paddles for serious SUP race training. Advanced racers should have a large blade paddle for muscular endurance training, a small blade paddle for technique, recovery, and cadence training, and maybe even a third blade of a different size  for racing. The Aztek paddle has a removable blade that can be changed in less than a minute. It even comes with a torque wrench so you don’t over tighten the screw. Check out this video to see how easy it is to change the blade face:

A few caveats you need to be aware of:

The first caveat may nor may not be important but every yahoo in the water that sees you paddling with the paddle is going to ask you “don’t you think that the screw insert between the blade and shaft is a potential issue or point of failure?”  Given that so many paddlers asked us about this it probably should be addressed. We don’t really know the long term on these paddles. We have a few months with them but that is all. In our hands – so far so good. It may also be of interest to note that, at least in theory, paddles should be able to be designed with a metal carbon interface. Carbon bike frames have been designed this way for years. On most carbon bikes the bottom bracket is a metal insert inside a carbon frame. This is important for you to consider because the wattages put out by a bike sprinter are much higher than any paddler so, again, if the paddle is designed appropriately (time will tell) this should not be an issue.

The second caveat is that this is not the lightest paddle on the planet. Part of the reason, it seems,  is the metal insert at the blade/shaft interface. In our tests we only paddled up to a few hours maximum. The added weight was not an issue for us. The enjoyment of paddling with this paddle far outweighed the slight weight increase compared to other paddles. This is one you are going to have to sort out for yourself. As we said previously, maybe keep the stiff/ultra light paddle for the races and use this one for training. Your call.  Maybe the manufacturer could offer a titanium insert option in the future.

The third caveat is not really a negative but you need to be aware of the fact that these paddles are custom built based on the specifications you give the manufacturer at the time you order.  Practically speaking that means that you cannot cut the shaft more than a few inches. Remember, the flex pattern is dialed in to the shaft based on the shaft length. If you go around cutting off more than a few inches from the paddle it could significantly affect the way the paddle performs.  According to a representative from Aztek cutting the paddle “an inch or so” should be ok. Buying a used paddle from a larger paddle and cutting it down to size is contraindicated. The fact that the paddles can’t be cut much after purchase is probably going to cause some mental aggravation (e.g. “what if I order it too long or too short??”). We don’t have a great answer to that question. For our paddle we used the Quickblade paddle length chart and it was spot on for us. It may be of interest to note that the Quickblade recommendation was slightly shorter than that recommendation made by the Aztek online calculator

The final caveat is that we would like to see a wider spectrum of blades available with different configurations (e.g. different blade angles, blade face design,  etc). Blade selection is a super personal thing and variety would be ideal. The shape of the blade face and the blade angle might not be ideal for every paddler but, then again, there is no blade face that every paddler is going to like.

Conclusion: Yeah  – this article sounds like an infomercial for this paddle. Whatever. Go ahead and be a critic. We can take it.  We didn’t get paid to do this (although maybe we should have given what we just wrote). We dig  the paddle. That is our story and we are sticking to it.

Epilogue : Remember that editor who had the shoulder surgery. Well, for a few years he bailed on SUP and focused on prone paddling. Because of the Aztek paddle, he is now doing more SUP than in years past. The one hassle for him is that he is going to order a second Aztek surf paddle because going back to his traditional surf paddle was not an option. In the next few weeks he will own two Aztek paddles. One for surf and one for distance.

Technical notes : this review was done using the Aztech 90 race paddle with the 225 shaft. This shaft is the most flexible of the Aztek line. We did not test any of the other blades or shafts.

Full Disclosure: we were given a custom paddle for use for this review and were allowed to keep the paddle after the review. Aztek made no requirements regarding our review and did not ask to see the review prior to publishing. The opinions included in this review are solely ours.