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I have paddled with my Superior two-piece "88 inch" paddle for a year. It actually is ~3/8 inch shorter than the requested length, for starters. Perhaps the two piece starts off as a one piece that is then sectioned, but the difference seems a bit high. The paddle was returned to remove a loose piece of core rattling in one section.

Overall finish was very good, except for the blade tip profiling. It is also evident that two halves are glued together, and there is no fiber reinforcement across the joint (eg. no tip or edge armor). This makes for a fine edge, but it is also fragile (one tip has cracked from a glancing strike on a submerged stump).

The Lendal joint is a bit finicky, probably due to the nature of carbon-carbon friction. I find it best to pre-wet the joint before tightening the screw only moderately to eliminate rotation. It is not up to the job of making a completely rigid paddle.

What other reviewers have said about rolling and bracing performance is spot-on. It has a very firm catch for a greenland paddle, and is also very buoyant for the static brace. I would give it a ten except for the quality issues, which are not easily excused at that price.

These goggles have corrective lenses for nearsightedness from -1.5 to -8.0 diopters. The increment starts at .5 diopters, but increases to 1.0 for stronger lenses. The lenses can be separated at the nose, so you could mix & match 2 sets if your eyes differ a lot. Lenses are clear or dark-tint polycarbonate. The lenses are molded, and thus not optically perfect, but at about $20.00 who can complain?

They are great for rolling practice, or rough water paddling such as surf or white-water. They are also good as an emergency backup if you loose your glasses. I usually have a set in my PFD pocket or have the strap around my neck if I'm not already wearing them.

This helmet was a 2005 model. The strap/retention system was very poorly designed and made. The shell fit properly, but the straps were excessively long, and with length adjustment on only one side could not really be shortened enough to make the helmet snug. The sliders on each side that adjust fore-aft tension do not lock, and therefore don't hold the adjustment. There is no rear retention band either, so the helmet can easily rock backwards exposing your forehead. The adhesive velcro fit pads were coming off, right out of the box. In my opinion the helmet is unsafe. All these design issues have been addressed on my bicycle helmets, so there is no excuse for anyone making a paddling helmet with such an antiquated retention system. The only good thing about it was the color, which would have matched my Palm drysuit.