Werner Blog

Werner Paddle's athlete, Ben Lawry, introduces his new instructional DVD servies

The Essentials of Sea Kayaking With Ben Lawry will be a must have edition to your paddling instructional libray, check out a short video segment here.      A real introduction to the sport of kayaking, learn how to get the most out of your kayak, paddle and equipment. Ben Lawry is an internationally recognized coach and competitor and will walk you through many strokes, proper equipment selection and even how to best transport your kayak. Ben will demonstrate how to improve the quality of your strokes for more efficient paddling and more fun on the water. The video will also walk you through how to get started on a trip what to look out for, what to pack and how to paddle efficiently. Using S.E.E.N – Safe, Efficient, Effective and Necessary, giving you the tolls to develop your own kayaking style. Topics of discussion will be Clothing Design Equipment (safety) Strokes Rescues Transport Information gathering Float plans Correct paddle grip Injury prevention The experience Ben brings to the Werner Paddles team is a huge asset to our company and how we can help support local paddling communities around the world, The project, in partnership with Show Me How Videos,  is just another great example of that.  He has been paddling for over 30 years and teaching for 25. He has taught and lead trips on four different continents and is a trainer with the ACA and a BCU coach. Once you have Ben's coaching at home look to work with him in person to solidify these skills.  You can email info.y07@wernerpaddles.com to see where Ben will be representing Werner Paddles in 2010 and check out his web site for his full teaching schedule.  On behalf of the entire team at Werner Paddles, great job Ben and congratulations.

Werner Team Paddler Ben Lawry: Perfecting Your Forward Stroke

At Werner Paddles we focus on the two key elements; using less energy on the water and paddling more efficiently. Start with a lighter swing weight, custom fit paddle and then master your technique.  For a guide to your perfect fitting paddle be sure to check out our interactive Fit Guide on wernerpaddles.com and for a great time on the water including world class instruction on kayaking technique, meet Ben Lawry.  

Ben is a well rounded paddler and  is happy teaching from a white water eddy, calm water back river, or with ocean waves washing along a rocky shoreline.  Ben is also an entertaining and engaging instructor. For a look at his powerful approach to teaching, take a moment to read the article on Active.com discussing one of his trade mark classes, the forward stroke.  If you like what you see you should take some time to learn more about Ben and check out all the classes he is offering.  After all, who wants to waste time and energy?  Remember the keys to more efficient paddling, get the perfect fitting Werner Paddle and get yourself some Ben Lawry.

Ryan's Tips For Protecting Your Paddle Investment

Ryan Hanegan has been selling paddles and helping Werner customers for over 20 years.  He will be popping on to the blog, time and again, to offer some tips. Here is what Ryan has to say about marking your paddle and making it more visible....

One of the best ways to protect your paddle investment is to not lose it; or if you do lose it, to have it returned to you.  How is your paddle going to get returned to you after you take that beat down? You have a good chance by writing your personal info on the back face of the paddle blade along the rib.  This area is well protected from abrasion.  I know it is tough to take a pen to such a beautiful blade.  If your printing is like mine have someone with a steady hand do it for you. The best tool for the job are Sharpies or other permanent markers. For carbon blades, Sharpie makes a cool metallic silver color. 

If you are lucky enough to have a matching set of his and her touring paddles, you will want to mark the right and left blades to keep the paddle halves matched together. It’s best to not mix and match halves as they are perfectly fitted at the Werner factory.

To add visibility to your paddle you might consider reflective tape. This is especially helpful with a dark carbon paddle. Many paddling shops have reflective tape in bulk or check out Streetglo they have some great options.

Remember if you happen to find a paddle out there, it is your duty to try to get it returned to it's rightful owner.  If you don't, there are well known karmatic implications.

Have Kayak Will Travel

Jesse Coombs is a world class kayaker and film maker.  I have asked him to share some hard won tips for traveling internationally with a kayak. Ignore this advice at your own peril. Check back soon for more travel tips from Jesse  - Jim Miller

Here are my suggestions for how to get a kayak on the plane. First of all, book your flight with an airline that is kayak friendly. Research the policies of all your airline options, and select one that explicitly accepts kayaks. US Airways has the best policy I can find for American carriers at the time I am writing this. US Air charges $80 for the kayak. Second of all, some people pack their paddles in a separate paddle bag, but I just don't see the value in it. I don't want my paddles to count as one of my checked bags, because I just wasted about 35 pounds of usable space. Plus paddles are over length, and I wouldn't want to get charged for them.

The way I like to do it is to pack four bags: Personal item: This is my very important and expensive stuff that I want on my person at all times such as; passport, tickets and money, video and still camera, computer, book, chess, note pad, sunglasses. Carry on: This is as big a bag as the airline will allow me to get on the plane. And if it doesn't fit in the over head, then they will gate check it for you. They key is to get this through security. My suggestion is to not even bring this bag to the ticket counter. Have a friend hold it for you, or go back to the car for it. You don't want the ticket agent telling you it is too big and must be checked. You carry on bag will not be weighed, so this is your chance to get all your heavy stuff on the plane without having to pay extra for it. I use this bag to do my best to keep my two checked bags at or under the minimum weight which is usually 50 lbs. I have used a medium size internal frame back pack with good success for this bag. In this bag will be items such as: bag of power cords, external hard drive, and any other electronics, clothes, toiletries minus knife, liquids and gels, camping gear: bag, pad, bivy You'll be very glad to have not checked these items in case your luggage gets lost for 10 days like mine did on my last trip to Brazil. Kayak and paddle.

Your creek boat probably weighs about 44 pounds already if you were smart enough to buy a Jackson Kayak that weighs less than most. That means you only have about 4 more pounds you can add to it, because you will wrap it with about 2 pounds of cover.  Take your paddles (1 is okay, 2 is plenty) and use duct tape to tape them to the top of your boat. If you orient the paddle correctly it will lay down nicely on the stern and be off the bow a couple inches.Take a layer or two of your light weight paddling clothing and put this between the blade and boat to support it. If you do this correctly it will stand up to the guaranteed beating your boat and paddle will receive by the baggage guys. I have always traveled with Werner Paddles and have never had one arrive broken. If you have any weight left put your breakdown and helmet and other bulky items in your boat. Be sure to positively attach them to the boat. Nothing should be in your boat unattached. Also take a prussik and use a carabiner to positively attach your paddle to your kayak in case some airline employee being 'helpful' somehow pulls the paddle off the kayak. Now use copious amounts of tape to ensure it would take a small army to remove the paddle(s) from the kayak. Now take or make some sort of light weight tarp or bag to cover the kayak completely. You want this to look like 'cargo' not sports equipment. The more it looks like cargo, the less likely some will want to be to look inside for something they might want. Remember to keep your packaging light but durable to say within weight. Now securely hold your boat cover in place with tape or zippers or what ever. Remember that bag security is likely going to undo all your nice packaging (they certainly did it to mine) so they can look inside. Package it in a way that they can redo it easily. Try to make spots where the ticket agent can attach the bag tag and your can put your name, address, phone and email on the package. Finally, if possible make it so the front and back grap loops can be used for moving your boat around. One more tip would be that your boat will get dragged around, so be prepared for the under part of your packaging to take a beating. Your last bag will be your second checked bag. The goal with this bag is too keep it at or under the maximum weight without paying over weight fees. Everything else goes in here. Fill it until you reach weight. Examples of what will go in here are: kayak gear, knife, liquids and gels, first aid kit, climbing gear and what ever you don't put in your other bags. If you do all this correctly your only extra fee will be one over size fee. Not bad!

Here are some suggestions on boat and bag considerations. I suggest you take a used kayak that you already know you like on your trip. Don't bring one that is in danger of breaking because it is so old, but you won't be able to sell a brand new used boat in your destination any better than you could sell a used used boat there.Before and during your trip start shopping your boat and paddle around. The point here is to bring a boat and paddle you like on the trip, and then sell it when you are ready to come back. You can probably bring back your paddle without paying extra fees, but why lug the boat around and likely pay the fees again? You will most likely get a good price for it and have one less headache for your return. I also suggest water proof or at least water resistant (the material is water proof but the zippers are not) for all your bags. You never know when your stuff will be exposed to the elements such as camping or in the back of a truck, and you are MUCH better off with bags with will keep all your gear dry and happy.

Good luck on you next international paddling adventure!

Cheers,

Jesse Coombs