Despite my recent
house related issues Megan and I managed to get out to enjoy Paddlefest 2015 sponsored by Mountain Equipment Co-Op. For those that don't know what Paddlefest is, it is one of the holiest days on the Kayaker's Calendar. It is an event sponsored by Mountain Equipment Co-Op, a large outdoor activity retailer in Canada, and is centered around canoes, kayaks, stand up paddleboards and related activities. I hear MEC does the same kind of thing for runners and cyclists, but let's face it, those are just activities people do when they can't go out paddling!
The nice thing is, it's not just an MEC event- while they may host it, all the local organizations, outfitters, boat dealers, rental and tour companies show up and have booths. The best part is, there's usually a very good variety of boats that you can put into the water and test paddle, which is important since the way a boat looks says nothing at all about how it feels, and very few dealers have the ability to let you try before you buy- there is only one place in town here that is actually on the water and lets you really try a boat before dropping over a thousand dollars on one!
Anyways, back to the fun!
Megan immediately found a boat she was interested in, a 14 foot low volume version of the
Venture Isla and two very willing strapping young men to show it to her!
Once on her way you could see she was really enjoying that particular boat and didn't want to get out. In fact, she enjoyed that boat so much that she decided she didn't even want to try anything else!
When she finally got out of the boat she insisted she had splashed herself. Splashed. Right.
I didn't get out to paddle anything this year as I really didn't need the temptation to buy another boat. There's an old joke among paddlers (which is oddly fitting for multitool collectors too!):
Q- How many boats does a paddler need?
A- One more
I did however make sure to raid the MEC tent where they sell off gear that was used for rentals, was returned to the store after having been used, or is otherwise unsellable through regular channels. I always go early to be the first person there (or close to!) since the great gear sells quickly. A couple of years ago I scored a nice set of $300 bent shaft carbon paddles for $60. The year before I had scored a pair of $200 set of carbon fiber shaft paddles for $14 and $15.
This year I did pretty darned good as well- I spent more than I was planning to but I got a hell of a lot for my money. The top set of all carbon paddles (carbon fiber shaft and blade) usually runs about $200 and just needs a bit of glue to re-attach a fitting that holds the halves together. This is a very minor factory defect, and I have all the parts, so I end up with a brand new set of $200 for $40 plus the cost of glue.
The bent shaft paddles must have been damaged in shipping, because they have never been used. You can see the tip of one of the blades is broken off, and there is also a broken bit in the fitting that holds the halves together. The bit in the middle just needs a new screw, and I am certain I have many screws that would fit it lying around. If not, it's still a good deal as a new one will probably cost less than a dollar. These are $400 paddles I got for $70. The blade is a bit of an issue, but I'll get to that in a minute.
The third set of paddles are virtually identical to the top ones, but these ones have a slightly different connector and are completely intact except a little bit of delamination in the carbon fiber blade. Again, a little bit of epoxy and these will be brand new $200 paddles that cost me $10 and the cost of glue.
The final paddle, which is only half a paddle was an amazing stroke of luck. Some of you may remember an adventure I went on last year where
I lost half a paddle. Well, they had a bin full of odds and ends for sale, and I just happened to find the exact make and model of paddle I'd lost! I don't know yet if it's the "right" end since I haven't been out to my garage to see, and this one is from a 230cm set while the half I lost was from a 240cm set, but all in all, it was well worth the risk of $2 to see if I can salvage the paddle half I have at home. If it's the right end then I can make do with a 235cm paddle and be quite happy.
Of course I have also noticed that the blades on the half paddle are very similar shaped to the bent shaft paddle, so I am also thinking of cannibalizing the blades off of them and putting them on the bent shaft, since I much prefer the bent shafts. I'll let Megan try the bent shafts for a while to see how she likes them, and see if it's worth doing the swap or not. I think it will be, because even if she doesn't like the bent shafts, I sure as heck do!
Anyways, we'll have a great adventure to report on next week, so stay tuned!
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