Have spent the last few weeks playing with the Windermere paddle. Such a beautiful blade and incredible craftsmanship, it has been put together by someone who understands how a paddle really works for a canoer. The blade is so smooth to use in deep water; it transfers power nicely so is great powering across lakes; yet the whole blade is weighted well for stroke recovery and the finer fiddly strokes too.
I was initially unsure about the northwoods style paddle grip, but the paddle can be used with either the palm grip or the northwood. I liked how this allowed me options; Switching between the two was like changing gears whilst paddling and like having 2 paddles in one! I’m converted from my old guide paddle for sure!

I have been using Don’s paddles for the last few months. They perform really well. You can instantly tell they are made by someone with a good technical understanding of both canoeing, and how wood performs. Don has the ability to make a paddle to suit each individual. This might be physiological concerns, for example, specific hand grips, flex or surface area to give a powerful or softer ‘lower gear’ paddle. Or, individualisation might be to suit certain paddling environments, for example, shallow estuaries or windy open water. Really you could describe who you are, where you paddle and what you require from a paddle and Don will make you a paddle to suit.