Yakgrips® prevent rubs, calluses and blisters and reduce the stress on hands and tendons. They are especially helpful for people with carpel tunnel, arthritis and other disabilities. Yakgrips® also help keep the paddlers hands in the correct position while paddling. They also help to keep hands dry and not slide on a wet paddle shaft. Yakgrips® insulate hands from a cold or hot paddle shaft. Once the Yakgrips® are installed they can be left on the paddle. Material is UV treated.
Read reviews for the YakGrips by Cascade Creek Company as submitted by your fellow paddlers. All of the reviews are created and written by paddlers like you, so be sure to submit your own review and be part of the community!
The next and far greater issue was that once a little water got around the grips on the paddle shaft they began sliding around. I found myself spending more time readjusting the grips than I did paddling. About 15 minutes into this bothersome nonsense I removed the grips and went back to a bare paddle shaft. I discarded the grips at the end of the paddle and have absolutely no plans to try them again. If your paddle shaft never gets wet these might be for you, but they most certainly aren't for me.
I bought four: two of each style (split shaft and solid shaft) they seem to work as advertised. Everyone who has used them has liked them. I'd recommend the solid shaft model because the Velcro closure allows one to put it on directly rather than taking things apart rand trying to slip the pad down the shaft. Also, if you have a paddle that splits and allows you to set the feathering to a wide range of settings, you won't be able to slip the split paddle model on one of the shafts.
They slip onto the paddle shaft after you wet it (hard to get all the way on the right, wider shaft end) and stay in place until the rubber wears out. I saw a review on Amazon that said they slip; when new, mine barely move at all on the shaft.
I find these help with paddling comfort, which reduces fatigue. If you have large hands they are especially helpful. My fingers no longer wrap way around the paddle shaft, making finger release on the forward stroke easier. I tried paddling gloves for a few excursions, but prefer YG's.
I highly recommend this for kayaking.