Ainsworth Glass range

With recent developments in pre preg glass and carbon fibre, Ainsworth have bolstered their range with some of the strongest composite paddles available on the market today. In addition this new processing technique (snap cure) has vastly reduced the cost of making products in these materials making them more cost effective than ever!

WHAT MAKES THESE PADDLES UNIQUE?

The breakthrough in construction means that Ainsworth paddles attain over 65% of fibres to resin ratio with fibre orientation exactly placed for the best edge wear and at the same time offering the ability to fine tune stiffness. What you see is what you get! No gel coats or excess resin and more fibres packed into the same weight.

Some other glass/carbon composite paddles invariably have only 40% fibres to resin ratio and although they may have a high-gloss surface or coloured gel coat to look nice, this is at the expense of poor edge wear and excess weight.

PADDLE TEST

Go Kayaking North West, a specialist paddlesports shop in Cheshire, have been testing the prototype paddles for a while. The glass paddles have been in the hands of team paddlers and staff members, spending as much time on low water Welsh slate rivers as possible to give them a thorough test.

“I’ve swapped my full carbon crank blades for a set of straight glass Ainsworth paddles. I thought I needed a crank to help with my joints, but in fact I just needed a slightly more flexible glass bladed paddle so the blades flex and not my joints. There is plenty of power behind the large blades and this never felt a compromise. They also feel indestructible and they have barely worn down considering the tough testing we’ve done. They slot nicely into Ainsworth’s reputable range of super-durable, hard wearing paddles but remain light weight and cost effective. Nice work!”
Andy Lees, Go Kayaking Store Manager, paddles whenever he can!

“These are great paddles; they’re well balanced and powerful. A lot of thought has clearly gone into the design and it shows with the way they respond to the Paddlers input.”
Mike Ryder from Mike Ryder Coaching. Professional kayak and canoe coach for 10 years. Paddling for 12 years.

“The weight of the paddles are perfect for me, they’re not too heavy or too light. The blades on the first prototype felt slightly flexible but still gave me considerable amount of power to boof. There is a good amount of flex in the shaft which means it is more likely to bend instead of snap.”
Dan Jones 16-year-old regular paddler of grade 3-4.

“They felt extremely powerful and you can tell the quality of the glass from the responsiveness of them.”
Jack Daker local paddler paddling grade 4+

DURABILITY

Glass fibre: 9/10. Carbon fibre: 8/10
Both constructions seemed to drastically reduce the wear on the edge of the blade and the shaft evidently seems very durable for low water UK ditches.

After even a small amount of use, you will have complete faith in these paddles to be reliable in all conditions.

STIFFNESS

Glass fibre: 8/10. Carbon fibre: 9/10
The feedback from the first prototype of the glass paddles is that they are more flexible than required – however, there was feedback that this helped reduce the strain on joints. The paddles are still super powerful and responsive. The second and third prototypes are less flexible and are currently on the water being tested. Finding the compromise between weight and stiffness is the challenge.

The carbon blades are super stiff and rigid and these offer even greater power transfer.

WEIGHT

Glass fibre prototype one, weighs in at 1028g.
Carbon fibre weighs in at 850g.
Both blades seem suitably light in weight. Some testers felt the glass blades were too light, however, other people felt they were just right. In comparison, they are currently sat right in the middle of competitors

BLADE SHAPE

9/10
Big blades for big strokes. Modern boats these days require focus on key strokes only – rather than using the paddle all the time. The Ainsworth paddles fit this to perfection. They’re big, powerful and reliable. The paddles are scooped forward meaning the catch is further forward, which gives you more power. The smooth dihedral ensures the blade cuts through smoothly so you can put the power down.

VALUE FOR MONEY

10/10
Glass blade, carbon straight shaft: £189
Carbon blade, carbon straight shaft: £249
For something that hasn’t compromised on durability, weight or stiffness, these Ainsworth Paddles offer superb value for money and are notably cheaper than most other brands out there.

• Designed and manufactured In the UK.
• Pre preg composite blades for the strongest blades possible.
• Excellent value for money.