Badass paddle review

Hey Y'all, just wanted to post up a review of my recently aquired paddle.

I'd been paddling with the free paddle (cannon wave) that came with my T-13. And while it has served me well I had started to develop some tenderness in my elbow after long trolling missions. I know that more than likely this is due to poor paddling form but I couldn't help thinking that a lighter paddle would help too.

So, I went online to find some help improving my paddling form and to find a new, lighter paddle. I found a couple of articles and a few good you tube vids that helped get my biomechanics more dialed in. Then I started looking around for a paddle. I noticed that Bending Branches is a sponsor of our forum here at NCKA.org so I decide to check into their products. I went to their web site and started looking around. As with anything kayak fishing I like to "try it before I buy it", unfortunately I could not find a way to do that. So I sent them a message asking about local pro staff who could lend me a paddle, again no luck. After a bit of back and forth with the customer service rep about about fishing on the west coast and the paddle I was interested in he suggested that maybe I could be part of their "Ambassador Program". A few more emails about what that means and whaddayano, I'm a "Bending Branches Ambassador". Which just means that they sold me a paddle at a discount in the hope that I would be willing to talk to people about it when they ask and maybe let folks who are "in the market" try it out.

I'm kinda "ol' school" so I went with this one, http://bendingbranches.com/navigator , it just seemed more, I don't know… traditional.

When it arrived a couple of day later, Wowza! what a beauty and when I picked it up I couldn't believe how light it was. I couldn't wait to try it out.

The next day I went out to the Sonoma Coast on a salmon trolling mission. The seas were mild and the wind almost imperceptible. I paddled all day and the paddle performed wonderfully. What a difference. I really had no idea how much better paddling with a good paddle could be. It was so much stiffer that I could feel how the 'yak would immediately propel forward as I would draw back with the blade. The difference was so dramatic that I realized how the "free" paddle I had been using was kind of bendy and wiggly when pulling my stroke. Also the narrower blade entered and exited the water much more cleanly making faster or harder paddling easier and more efficient. I had great day, caught a once in a lifetime salmon and had no elbow pain. Whether or not the paddle had anything to do with it is hard to say but hey I'm a fisherman right, superstitious by nature, so you can be sure that as of now, I'll never paddle anything else.

ruben




 

 

Those paddles look like art. Bio-Bill has one and it looks awesome too.

those are nice paddles. I went with the BB angler pro with the bright green blades. I let codzilla try it out today and the first words out of his mouth were "oh man, how much is this going to cost me" a nice paddle is 100% worth the investment. I typically keep paddles longer then I keep kayaks.

I always tell people to buy the lightest paddle they can afford. It makes such a HUGE difference. That paddle looks awesome.

Thanks for the great review Ruben the BB's ambassador 

Nice review. I also saw your picture on the American legacy fishing news letter! Congrats

Congratulations ambassador Ruben Sweet deal
I recently went with the same Bending Branches Navigator paddle too. It's amazing what a difference it made. 
I went with the 240cm for my Jackson Kayak Cuda and it's perfect. 
Great picture too 

Nice paddle but god dam look at that salmon