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I have owned the Crystal-X for just over a year and use it along with an older Werner Camano (glass,bent shaft), an older AT Odyssey (glass, bent shaft), and an H20 LTW (carbon, straight shaft). It's lighter than the Camano and the Odyssey and does not flutter under load as the LTW can. The bright, transparent blades offer good visibility (mine is orange) versus the usual black found on so many paddles today, carbon or not. Also, customer service from the maker was very good - - a big plus in my book. My only negative observation is this: The blade carries a lot of water as it is raised and brought forward after each stroke. So much, in fact, that it overwhelms the drip rings and ends up in the cockpit. Now I wouldn't claim to have a textbook low-angle paddling form, but there's always much more water in the boat after I use the Crystal-X versus the others mentioned above. The blades have a branched rib design (for stiffness, I assume) that I suspect is responsible for drawing up more water and slowing its drainage. Bottom line: I like the paddle. It looks good, performs well, and is priced reasonably. If you don't mind getting wet, it's probably worth five stars.

I really wanted to like the Crystal-X and I do, but I don't love it. I've used it for a year, alternating with an older Werner Camano (bent, glass), AT Odyssey (bent, glass) and H20 LTW (straight, carbon). The Crystal-X is light-weight and the transparent blades come in high-visibility colors (not black!). It feels efficient, with good power transfer from each stroke and no flutter. Very good customer service from the maker is another plus.
But here's the weird and annoying thing- as you raise the blade at the end of a stroke, it carries a tremendous volume of water forward. Even at a very low angle, there's too much water for the drip rings to handle, so it runs down the shaft to your hands, forearm, lap and cockpit. The trident rib design may be partly responsible, but it also seems like the blade material is hydrophilic. Rather than shedding water quickly as the , it's as if the blade is a water magnet. Now I certainly don't claim to have perfect form, but there's always much more water on me and in my boat after using this paddle versus the others so it's not all on me. If you don't mind getting wet, go ahead and add a star or two to my rating. I like everything else about it.