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I received a pair of YakGrips with my Paddling.Net membership. I had hoped that the grips would be comfortable and make paddling more enjoyable that it already is. Sadly I found that the grips didn't do much other than frustrate me. Following the directions to mount the grips on the paddle, they went on with no trouble. I adjusted them to the area of the shaft where I grip the paddle. At this point I discovered the first flaw in design, while the majority of the grip was comfortable in my hand the seam on them became irritating. I realize that due to the construction process finding a different way to close the grips is probably challenging, but this was a detractor for me.

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.

The Wilderness Systems Tsunami 120 is the first kayak I've owned. I've been crazy about it since the first time I got it in the water. The only kayaks I had previously paddled were a W.S. Pungo 120 and a Perception Conduit 12.0, compared to my Tsunami both of those boats are sluggish and lumbering. This boat always tracks well, glides through the water almost effortlessly, and is nimble when turning. Among the group that I paddle with most often I can out perform most everyone else's boats with a few notable exceptions, due more to the paddler's skill that their kayak. While this boat may not be quite as agile as something shorter, it more than makes up for it in speed and grace. The only real complaints I have are that the foot pegs when extended all the way are still a bit too close for me to be truly comfortable and if the deck was about an inch higher I could straighten my feet up. Those two things aside I'm a huge fan of everything else from the color (Indigo), the bulk heads both fore and aft (though not completely water tight), and the seat which I find rather comfortable. I would recommend this boat to anyone that asked my opinion and to those that didn't.

I love this paddle. Last season I was using a $99 glass paddle that was ok, but nothing spectacular. I decided to start this season out right by using my REI dividend on a Camano. I find this to be a great paddle. I really like the easy view feathering adjustment. I'm also very fond of the slight oblong shape that the "grip" section of the paddle has. With the angle these sections are at I find my stroke to be very comfortable allowing a small flex of my wrist which usually locks up on me after keeping them at the same angle for long periods of time. The lightness of the carbon shaft and the stiffness of the glass blades yields a great and efficient stroke. I feel like since I've begun using this paddle that the work I put into paddling has decreased and the amount of enjoyment I get out of it has increased significantly.