Interesting plum paddle wouldn’t cha say? Well, this experimental color is hot off the bench at Novocra, a new traditional paddle company here in the Midwest. Owner Ron Steinwall has come up with an amazingly beautiful range of hand crafted, carbon fiber paddles including a steel blue that would get any kayak ninja’s attention.

Ron tells me that like many of us, not long ago he began to make the transition over to the quietly seductive Greenland style. And like many of us before him, he broke a few paddles learning some of those crazy rolls. Well, we all know the solution is refining your technique right? Well, Ron thought it couldn’t hurt to come up with some stronger paddles as well. I can’t argue with that. You can only have so many Norsaqs! From there Ron stared investigating a variety of ways to laminate paddles; fiberglass, epoxy and the like but never quite got the results he was after. He knew the next step was carbon fiber. That’s where the big leap came in. Ron being a guy who never does things half-way, jumped right in and started his own company. Why build yourself a couple nice paddles, when you can build a bunch for everyone? Welcome to Novorca.

Of course our little traditional paddling community is small and Ron knows that you don’t quit your day job to sell high end Greenland sticks. Yet he’s happy to make one of these unique, tough, colorful paddles at your request. Each custom paddle costs $400 + shipping. He will have wood paddles available soon as well.

Personally what turned me on to Ron’s paddles was that they can be custom sized to your specifications which was the thing always holding me back from dropping the big bucks on a carbon paddle. Alex Pak a very talented traditional paddler and friend posted about Ron’s paddles on QajaqUSA, He noted, “His paddles are well made and extremely light”. I’m looking forward to having a chance to get my hands on one at our little rolling clinic in a couple weeks with Greg Stamer & Freya Hoffmeister. Ron will have a few on hand. Very cool.

To learn more about Novocra paddles just head on over to their website. Oh, and yes, they do come in Black!