Werner Press Release

[Admin]

Werner Expands Stand Up Paddle Offerings

Werner Paddles has announced the introduction of two new Stand Up Paddles:  The Werner Advantage and the Werner Carve. Both paddles will be available to ship beginning September 01, 2008.

As participation explodes in the Stand Up Paddle category, Werner is responding with new paddle designs that focus on the two aspects of the sport, touring and surfing.

The Advantage is a Premium fiberglass laminate construction blade with a modified tear drop shape designed to optimize straight ahead efficiency for touring. The Carve consists of the same construction as the Advantage but the shape is smaller, longer and more slender, specifically designed for dynamic surfing and turning.

Both the Advantage and the Carve come with a fiberglass oval indexed shaft and ABS Palm-grip.  Werner offers three shaft configurations. The 1-piece is the lightest weight option and is least expensive ($219).  The 2–piece is perfect for paddlers who travel with their paddle ($234).  The Adjustable length telescopes with four settings, each 1.5 inches apart; perfect for those individuals who move between touring and surfing ($259).

"Stand Up Paddling is a real growth opportunity for surf and paddle sports dealers. We are excited to expand our Stand Up Paddle offerings to respond to the specific demands of the market," says Jim Miller, Werner's Marketing Manger. 

[DavidJohn]

Thanks for the update Randy...Interesting stuff.

So will the Spanker be the only Werner with a carbon fiber shaft?

DJ

[PonoBill]

Seems kind of odd, doesn't it. I thought they would be going the other way--towards more complexity. I've seen some Werner Canoe paddles that are works of art. These could be very good paddles, but the specs sound so-so. At the same time Jimmy Lewis was pretty enthusiastic about fiberglass paddle shafts last winter.

I imagine River will weigh in soon and give us the lowdown. Haven't heard from Dan in a while. He must be off playing somewhere.

[StandUpPaddleSurf.net]

Did they say what the dimensions of the blades will be?  Too bad they didn't send a side and back view of the pics.  I saw the front view on kenalu and they look pretty interesting.  I'd also like to see the handle because the last ones had a 'T'.

[river]

Yep off playing and working of course,

The Advantage is 9.25 inch wide, 111 sq in, and has a modified teardrop design, large blade for cruising and recreational paddling.  I love it for paddling rivers and down winders because it provides a huge brace if I am about to fall off. It will come with a Blue blade.

The Carve is a more rectangular shape at 7 inches wide, 100 square inches, substantially smaller, this paddle accelerates faster making it easier to catch waves and low end speed off the line.  Also the smaller blade will be great for juniors and women.   Weight is 28 OZ approx.  This paddle will come in an Orange blade for better visibility in the surf. 
The addition of this new line up is so we can create a family of paddles to support SUP at a variety of performance and price levels.

The new T-Grip/palmy is a Wide palm shaped t-grip that has a large area for the palm of your hand but is still wide so sliding your hand up to the grip on a switch doesn't get missed, and the wider the grip the better blade control you will have.  It made out of a blowmolded ABS material and you can drop it on the concrete and it wont break.  Same weight as Carbon but indestructible. 

The Spanker will be the only paddle we offer in Carbon for Fall 08.  We have lots of stuff in the hopper and are always looking for ways to make our paddles perform the best. 

I will post some shots of them tomorrow.