Rambling review of my Select Wild straight shaft paddle 197cm 30 degree by a class III beater. Carbon shaft, fiberglass blades.
I took my Select paddle down the Montgomery Whitewater creeky channel and also did some practice rolls with it in the pool at the bottom.
TLDR: It's a great paddle!
Warning - I am a paddle nerd and will now say a lot of things that will make no sense to non-whitewater kayaking friends.
I have been using my 'old faithful' straight shaft fiberglass Werner Sherpa 197 30 degree for quite awhile. I bought the Sherpa to be a creeking paddle so I wouldn't beat up my 194 AT2 Flexi. I also use a Rivrstyx Flo 194 40 degree, work of art, and I didn't want to beat up or lose it either. So the Sherpa was going to be my rocky creeky battle-ax, only I started using it for everything.
This summer I demoed the Select Wild while with Mary M. on the Tuck during Week of Rivers and decided to buy one. Endless River Adventures in the Nantahala gorge sells Select paddles. They ordered the Wild for me and once I got it I thought, hmmm, is it really going to be that different than my Sherpa? Did I just impuse buy yet another piece of gear?
Did some Ocoee runs and took Old Faithful Sherpa. I am not as comfortable on the Ocoee as I once was, and I didn't want to change up the variables OR lose my brand new paddle.
Took the Wild down the Nanty in my Spud. Did fine, but the carbon shaft was slippery. I used some river sand to try to rough it up. I still need to tape the shaft to give me hand placement reminders. Fun run but really not a test of what the paddle can do for me in a hard boat and challenging conditions.
So Montgomery yesterday, had the Wave Sport EZG-50 loaded in the truck, and looked at my quiver of paddles. Montgomery is still new to me and makes me nervous... old faithful or... the Select Wild is what I chose.
Running the creeky channel I got flipped and did what felt like a graceful roll. Practice rolls at the pool also felt great. For some unfathomable reason, it feels easy to me to roll with the Select Wild.
One reason might be the smaller shaft. I have small hands, and my Sherpa has the regular Werner shaft which is much bigger. Maybe the way I wrap my hands around the Select Wild shaft is better for me? I really have no idea.
The Wild also feels like it has a flex to it. ( Jim M. tested the flex on my Wild and I wish I could remember his conclusions but I am certain he does and might wish to post in comments.) The feeling of flex along with the narrower shaft makes the swing of the paddle feel different to me than my other paddles. Like there's some spring to it or something. It feels elegant. The closest thing I have used that is similar is - the wooden Rivrstyx!
Strokes on the Montgomery course are hard for me to say much about, because the course is so busy and fast I'm just trying to line up for the next thing. The Wild certainly did everything I asked it to do without me noticing or feeling any frustration. I feel better about Montgomery after yesterday, things are starting to slow down. I still haven't tried the competition course. I'm going to take the Wild down the Ocoee and see if I can get some thoughts on strokes.
Uses of the Select Wild - playboating and river running. Special nod to river running. I still think my AT2 Flexi is the best playboating paddle I have, too bad they stopped making AT paddles years ago. I will still take the Werner Sherpa on creeks because that is what I bought it for - a work horse that will grind down the fiberglass blades vs breaking.
Durability of the Select Wild - remains to be seen. It is impeccably made. It's such a pretty paddle I kind of don't want to tear it up. I know, that's silly but whatever.
Women - I think women who have small hands like I do should DEFINITELY consider the Select line of paddles. I haven't tried the bent shaft Selects, maybe someone who has can chime in.
Older shoulders - Shoulders like mine that have been through the ringer and include some hardware will appreciate the flex and graceful feel of the Select Wild.
Price - the price point of this paddle is only $275. I can't think of a better, more affordable, paddle for beginners to experts.
Contact Endless River Adventures in the Nantahala gorge to get Select paddles and lots of other quality gear. https://www.endlessriveradventures.com/
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