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.
