Profile

I own three ZRE paddles, and all of them are simply amazing. One word of caution: if you paddle with one you will end up buying one; there is just no going back to a lesser paddle once you have tried a ZRE. In fact, I truly believe that it makes the most sense to buy nice paddles before buying a nice canoe. I'd rather paddle a bathtub with a ZRE than a Kevlar cruiser with a bad paddle.

Several years ago I spotted an old fiberglass Sawyer Cruiser in the back lot of a boat (powerboats) shop. After seeing it there for several weeks, I approached the owner about buying it. It had been wrapped around a rock and was severely damaged, so he sold it to me for $50. I straightened the aluminum gunwales as best I could and spent another $100 on fiberglass and epoxy resin. It's not pretty, but man does it paddle!

I also own a Wenonah Jensen 18 in kevlar, a boat renowned for its speed, but the Cruiser feels faster. So much so that I picked the Cruiser to use in a small, local canoe race. My brother-in-law and I, who were both about 50 at the time, took first place, beating out a bunch of college-aged guys. Of course most of them were paddling assorted Royalex boats, but still....