Athena Touring Paddle

love it. need it. sing to it. sleep with it. even bring it along when i rent a boat. light as a butterfly. easy to adjust. prevents fatigue very well. was a little hard to take apart at the beginning but now it's easy & there are no wobble in the joint. i'm very careful to never use it as a pushing tool and careful to rinse it well after salty paddles b/c i intend to keep using it forever. can't say enough good things about it. one caveat - i use those foam shaft pads to minimize blisters. they make a huge difference.

I bought a Werner Kalliste small shaft paddle about 7 years ago. The smaller shaft helped, I have small hands. It did not help my wrist issues, however. So a year later I gave that paddle to my husband and bought a small diameter, bent shaft Athena. It is worth every penny. My best friend, husband, and I try to paddle 3-4 times a week during the summer and whenever possible the rest of the year. We usually paddle 5-15 miles per trip.

I paddle a WS Tsunami 125 or a WS Tarpon 120 and have never had an issue with either my shoulder or my wrist since I bought the Athena. Not even when we wound up going against the wind current and the tide in a fairly tight river. It may not be the paddle for everyone, but it you have wrist/shoulder issues consider it. Even if your paddle costs twice as much as your boat, you will get more pleasure from your boat because of the good paddle.

This review is of the Werner Athena straight-shaft paddle.
SPECS:
Blade size: 15 cm x 48 cm
Weight: 22 oz. (for 220 cm)
Material: carbon shaft and blades, with foam core
Price: $380

The Werner Athena is a specialty paddle that will suit a small number of paddlers. Consider it if you:

1. Can afford it.
2. Are a woman.
3. Have shoulder arthritis that causes joint pain.
4. Are not that strong, especially due to arthritis.
5. Are a low-angle paddler.
6. Do enough kayaking to justify the price.
7. Have a good kayak that would pair well with a high-end paddle.

I fit all of the above criteria except #1. I’m poor, but kayaking is very important to me. I’ve had extreme shoulder pain due to arthritis for several years and was about to give up kayaking. This year I bit the bullet and got a lightweight (44 lbs) kayak and the Athena. I also learned to paddle properly, with the torso rather than shoulder movement. My pain has been reduced by about 75%. Though the price caused me quite a bit of anxiety, I have not regretted my purchase: the Athena performs exactly as promised by Werner.

The Athena is the lightest paddle I know of. Three factors contribute to its light weight and ease of use:

1. The carbon, of course. Carbon is stiff, so maximum energy is transferred from you to the paddle to the water, as opposed to that floppy nylon paddle you’re using now.
2. The blades are smaller. This means that you won’t go as far with each stroke, but each stroke will be easier. In the course of a long day you will take many more strokes than with a regular-size paddle. But these will be easy pain-free strokes! The net result is that you will be less tired and have less pain than with the paddle you’re using currently.
3. The foam core. At the end of a stroke the paddle rises to the surface by itself, requiring less energy to lift it out of the water.

I demoed the Werner Camano and rejected it because it’s very noisy due to the shape. It made a disagreeable PLOUK with each stroke as it entered the water. The Athena is very quiet.
I demoed lots of other paddles. The Aquabound carbon Stingray is pretty good, at $190. I have one and like it as a spare. It weighs 27 oz. Yes, the 5-oz. difference between the Athena and the Stingray really is significant if you’re on the weak side and have joint problems. But is the Athena really worth $200 more than the Stingray? Certainly not if you don’t need a superlight paddle. If you do, then you will be a lot happier with the Athena.

In short, after demoing other brands and models, the Werner Athena was the immediate winner above all others. You feel the difference with the first two strokes—-it is feather light, stiff, quiet, and smooth. It just feels like a dream to paddle a light kayak with the Athena. Even an inexperienced paddler will feel the difference immediately—it’s like night and day.

The ferrule is fine, no problems. So I have to give the Athena a 10. There isn’t a single thing wrong with it — except the outrageous price.

If you’re not yet convinced that an good paddle is a necessity for anything more than casual kayaking, please demo some high-end models, of any brand. You’ll never go back to your $50 clunker. Then write a letter to Werner and ask why their fine paddles are so expensive.