30 Years of Great Gear

Paddle Innovations

In 1975, we published photos of a relatively new idea in flatwater canoe racing - bent-shaft canoe paddles. Today you can buy high-tech bent-shafts in wood, in carbon, such as the 7.5-ounce Zaveral Ultralight Powersurge (6) for $260, or in a wood-carbon blend such as the 19-ounce Mitchell Leader, (7) $179. You don't have to toss out the big bucks, however - Camp Paddle's 14- to 19-ounce wooden Standard (8) goes for $69.

While bent-shaft canoe paddles had become fairly commonplace, kayak paddlers were slower to take to the idea. The bent-shaft blade was developed by Andrew Bruce for slalom in 1990, then Lendal Paddles introduced the modified crank shaft for touring in 1991, and advertised it in the pages of Canoe & Kayak in 1995. AT Paddles was one of the first companies to make bent-shaft whitewater blades, in 1997. The AT-3 (9) was introduced as an affordable bent-shaft whitewater paddle at $239 and reviewed in the March 2001 Canoe & Kayak magazine. Werner Paddles introduced the Kalliste, (10) an ultralight carbon bent-shaft touring paddle with a foam core blade, in 2002. It sells for $400. Bending Branches is introducing a wood crank-shaft touring paddle for 2004, the Tailwind Crank-shaft (11).

Whitewater Evolution

The Hollowform River Chaser (12), the first kayak made of polyethylene plastic, was featured in an ad on page 5 of the January 1974 issue. It sold for $129.95.

Whitewater kayaks continued to evolve. The Perception Dancer (13) appeared in our December 1982 Buyer's Guide for $575, and in an ad on the inside front cover in October 1983. It quickly became one of the most popular whitewater kayaks ever.

In a review of whitewater kayaks in the October 1995 issue, editors noted that boat designers were now drawing on slalom, rodeo, ocean surfing, and squirt disciplines to create shorter, smaller, and more specialized models. Of the eight boats reviewed, the most radical was a New Wave Sleek (14), $750-$850, designed by Jim Snyder, at 9.5 feet long. Today, whitewater kayaks are in the 6- to 8-foot range, with specialized designs to surf, grab air, or tackle steep creeks. The new Pyranha S6X (15) has detachable fins, power pocket enhancers and a wedge to modify its hull shape. $1,229.