Why I use Werner Paddles By Jesse Coombs Double Diamond Bent Shaft Player 198 Next to my body and my kayak, no piece of gear is more important to my performance than my paddle. And my Werner Double Diamond bent shaft 198 Player is my paddle of choice. My paddle feels like an extension of me, and this is important considering that I depend on my paddle to propel me onto razor-thin lines above and in huge drops and past terminal holes. Combine this with the fact that I absolutely cannot afford a broken paddle on exploratory kayaking trips in the most rural settings of foreign countries, and Werner is clearly my paddle of choice. The kind of exploratory class 5 kayaking we do to make the Hotel Charley series films puts our gear to more of a test than anything else. The Werner Double Diamond is the most technologically advanced and best performing paddle on the market. It's Kevlar molded power face and multi-dimensional carbon fiber weave construction means it is far and away the strongest most durable paddle possible. The Performance Core blade means this paddle is lighter and more buoyant. The construction of these paddles makes them completely stiff and responsive to your every stroke. That is extremely important for having every ounce of your effort transferred into moving you exactly where you want to be on the water. A stiffer paddle is a more responsive paddle. Werner is also unique in the fact that its neutral bent shaft means the paddler's grip is the most ergonomic and comfortable grip possible. I used to have tendonitis in my wrists when I would paddle a lot, and when I switched to Werner's neutral bent shaft I have never had any more problems. The Double Diamond is the absolute top of the line Formula 1 race car of all paddles.