I’ve been kayaking for a little over 2 years so my skills are quite limited compared to other reviewers. Most of my trips consist of 10-20km days out on the tidal section of my local river watching wildlife, mixed with frequent bursts of high pace for fitness and just enjoying my time on the water. I found out about Greenland style paddles recently and was eager to try one out after reading about comparisons with Euro blades. I didn’t want to splash out for a full carbon one and I also didn’t want a wooden one piece paddle. I wanted something two piece, not too expensive and relatively maintenance free for convenience. After a little over 30km done with it I can say I’m very happy. The paddle was designed for people like me in mind so I think Gearlab have succeeded with the Malik. It’s well made. It’s very user friendly but I did find a slightly canted stroke was far more powerful for me but it’s still forgiving no matter what you do. I had no trouble covering distance at my usual pace. I could generate more than enough power with the paddle to push very hard too. It can be pretty silent too if you want which is useful for sneaking up on wildlife. I can only give it 5 stars as it’s doing exactly what I want, but I can appreciate more experienced people will likely prefer higher end models and will rate this lower. But for my purposes it’s great and I’m really enjoying it.
