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The NRS paddle shoe is one of my go to pieces of paddling equipment. When I paddle for any length of time without them my heal gets sore without the cushioning effect of the neoprene, Additionally, the sole is substantial enough that they allow me to walk around on uneven ground as I move my kayak from place to place or walk back and forth from my car to kayak as I load it. Great shoe and great design. The only downside to the paddle shoes is they get pretty stinky when I'm doing a trip and I have them on my feet for days at a time, and the zipper of one them has gotten a little finicky; it still works fine, it just takes a bit to finally get it to unzip from time to time.

Just used my carbon/glass Shuna for the first time and was glad I decided on Werner and specifically this one. Maybe not fair to give such a good review after just one half day paddle but I enjoyed it immensely so I'm going to do it anyhow. The carbon/glass version is really lightweight for the cost. I might decide in the future that the full carbon version is worth the extra ~100 bucks...maybe not. I had to paddle pretty hard into the wind at times today and felt no flutter whatsoever. The two piece has a very secure ferrule where the two pieces meet making it feel like a one piece but with the flexibility of feathering into the wind. Also, the joint where the two pieces meet is smooth so I didn't have to worry about a level or latch catching on anything.

Overall the Shuna just feels good in the hand and was a delight to paddle today. Glad I bought it!

I've had the Alchemy 14L for a little over a year now. Paddled it ~15 times last summer and 2 times so far this year. I've paddled it on a couple of medium size lakes and down a river with up to class II rapids and it does both equally well. Haven't taken it on big water yet but looking forward to trying a tour on Lake Superior hopefully this summer. Like other reviewers have commented the retractable skeg really helps the boat track well when down and affords the boat surprising maneuverability when retracted. Lastly, the length is nearly perfect. It's light enough and short enough to load, unload and carry myself (I'm only 5'10" and 155 pounds) but 14 feet is long enough to handle waves fairly well. If I get seriously into long tours I may decide to get a dedicated 16 or 17 foot touring kayak but so far the Alchemy 14 has performed well in all the water I've taken it on.