The first time I picked up this paddle it felt extremely light and responsive but the price seemed exorbitant. Luckily the salesperson offered me a free demo for a week long trip I was leaving on. Once in use I was sold, the foam core paddle is effortless to use and with bent shaft I have had no wrist problems whatsoever. The flotation of the foam core blades really does seem to make them pop out of the water on each stroke and their lightness allows hours of comfortable paddling. During that original trip with the Ikelos my buddies noticed that they had a hard time keeping up with me until we switched paddles for awhile. On return to the "real" world two of us purchased paddles based on the demo. I also like that Werner fully supports paddlers and shops with it's company ambassadors like Danny Mongo constantly out in the field at seminars and symposiums.
