OPHION KATANA
Katana is a
new product of a relatively new Slovenian paddle brand Ophion. Ophion innovations
and quality set a high standard and produce an ultimate paddle quality.
Designed and rigorously tasted by international team members, make this paddle
a paddling pleasure. Saša Rejec stands behind this words and makes the
innovations real!
I got an opportunity to use Katana carbon with
straight fiberglass shaft turned for 45° on the latest expedition to Chile and
Argentina, to do some no mercy testing. Katana is designed for river running
and creeking. It is strong and durable and at the same time offers great
stability and comfort of use; this is why I love it. It has great balance and
smooth catch from the start till end. For me quick power distribution from the
start is very important for precise and dynamic strokes.
I have done
at least 35 class 5 rivers with no significant signs of damage and great
feeling of safety. Ophion is not a big company and it hasn’t got long tradition,
but let the products speak for them self!
text: Andrej Bijuklič
OPHION KATANA
Next to a
never ending debate about which kayak is better and why, kayakers prefer to
argue about their paddles. Years of participating in such disputes have led me
to believe that we’re mostly all just a bunch of “wise-guys”, that will rather
say complete nonsense, than admit that we don’t understand exactly what we’re
talking about. Opinions about what length, blade size, shape, material and
paddling technique is the best can vary a lot – if not completely. Being a
smart ass myself, I will say that the fact is that different things work for
different users. For example, for me one of the worst paddles I have ever owned
is one of the most praised ones in the world: Werner Stikine bent-shaft. I
loved the shape of the blade but I bought a bent-shaft instead of straight
shaft, which I had tested before. That bent-shaft completely clashed with my
paddling technique and I just couldn’t get used to it. Most people adore it and
I couldn’t stand it. On the other hand, the last paddle I had used before
Katana had shorten on the blades for almost 10 cm in one year, without me even
noticing – talking about what length is the best for you. The point is, if the
paddle works for you, if you’re comfortable paddling it and if you can forget
about it when you paddle, then it is a great paddle for you. So here’s my take
on Katana. I manage to forget completely about the paddle and worry only about
my lines when I paddle it. It took me only a few minutes to get used to it. And
just because of that I find it great already.
If you have to know it, I am 174
cm tall and I have been using a 201 cm long Katana for the last year (ok, it is
200 cm long now). I am not without preferences about paddles, but in years of testing,
I still can’t decide whether bigger blades have advantage over smaller, neither
can I tell which blade shape is better just by looking at it. I paddle Katana
(which is medium sized) and what is most important to me is that the blades are
stable in the water and that they don’t twist. That’s a check for Katana. What
has become my preference is a flexible and small diameter shaft. That is why I
chose to take a Fiberglass straight shaft. In my experience this flexible shaft
can take bigger hits, because it can flex and it doesn’t crack on the impact as
the stiffer material might. It also feels easier on the joints. But the truth
is that I don’t have any real proof of it as I can only paddle one paddle at a
time and can’t compare its performance to any other paddle directly. What’s
important is that I love paddling my Katana. I used an old Ophion design in the
past and I could never get 100% used to that one. Whether it’s its looks or
performance, I don’t have any second thoughts about Katana, which is why I
intend to use it in future as well. Great job Ophion! And if you’re reading
this review to decide whether you should buy Ophion or not, take this advice:
Try it first and see if it works for you!
For more information visit:
www.ophionpaddles.com or www.alpinaction.it
Poleg neskončne razprave o tem, kateri kajak je boljši in zakaj, kajakaši najraje razpravljamo o svojih veslih. Leta sodelovanja v teh debatah so me prepričala, da smo v glavnem vsi samo kup pametnjakovičev, ki raje govorimo popolne neumnosti, kot pa da bi priznali, da včasih ne razumemo popolnoma o čem govorimo. Mnenja o tem, katera dolžina, velikost lista, oblika, material in tehnika veslanja je najboljša, se lahko zelo razlikujejo - če ne v celoti. Ker sem pametnjakovič tudi sam, bom rekel, da je dejstvo, da različne stvari ustrezajo različnim uporabnikom. Na primer, eno izmed najslabših vesel, ki sem si jih kdaj lastil, je eden od najbolj hvaljenih na svetu: Werner Stikine z zakrivljenim ročajem. Všeč mi je bila oblika lista, vendar pa sem kupil upognjeno verzijo, namesto ravne, kot sem jo testiral. Upognjen Werner ročaj pa nikakor ni ustrezal moji tehniki veslanja in nikoli se nisem mogel navaditi na to veslo. Večina ljudi ga obožuje, jaz pa sem ga sovražil. Po drugi strani, pa se mi je zadnji veslo, ki sem ga uporabljali pred Katano, skrajšalo po enemu letu uporabe za skoraj 10 cm, ne da bi to sploh opazil – torej raje ne bi govoril o tem, katera dolžina je najboljša za vas. Bistvo je, da če vam veslo ustreza in če lahko med veslanjem pozabite na veslo, potem je verjetno to veslo primerno za vas. Torej, glede moje izkušnje s Katano: uspelo mi je povsem pozabiti na veslo in lahko sem se osredotočil le na brzice.
Vzelo mi je le
nekaj minut, da sem se vesla popolnoma privadil. In že zaradi tega se mi zdi to
veslo super. Če že morate vedeti, visok sem 174 cm zadnje leto pa veslam z 201
cm dolgo Katano (ok, mogoče sedaj že 200 cm). Sicer nikakor nisem brez
preferenc glede vesla, pa vendar se po letih testiranja še vedno ne morem
odločiti, ali imajo večji listi prednost pred manjšimi, niti ne morem samo »na pogled«
vedeti, katera oblika lista mi bo bolj všeč. Uporabljam sicer srednjo velikost
lista, kar pa mi je najbolj pomembno je, da je veslo v vodi stabilno (da ne
zavija po svoje), kar pa Katana je. Izbirčen sem predvsem grede »štila«, saj
imam rad predvsem fleksibilne in ne preveč debele (največ 29 mm premera). Zato
sem se odločil za ravno fiberglass verzijo. Po mojih izkušnjah fleksibilen
material manj utruja sklepe in vezi, hkrati pa je bolj odporen na udarce, saj
se bolj upogiba in ne razpoka tako hitro, kot bi kakšen bolj trd material. Toda
resnica je, da nimam nobenega pravega dokaza za to, saj lahko uporabljam le eno
veslo na enkrat, tako da posledic veslanja z določenimi vesli ne morem
neposredno primerjati. Pomembno je, da uživam, ko veslam s Katano. Nekaj časa
nazaj sem uporabljal starejši Ophion model, ki mi sicer ni bil slab, vendar se
ga nikoli nisem 100 % privadil. Vendar pa tako glede izgleda, kot tudi izvedbe,
nimam nobenih pomislekov glede Katane, zato bom to veslo zagotovo veslal tudi v
prihodnje. Odlično Ophion! In če berete ta komentar, da bi se odločili, ali bi
kupili Ophion ali ne, še ta nasvet: Testirajte in se odločite sami!
tekst: Andraž Krpič
Za več informacij oglejte si Ophionovo stran na:
www.ophionpaddles.com ali na www.alpinaction.it
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