We’ve had a bent shaft in the VE range for many years, but limitations of the original mould meant we couldn’t bring it into our touring paddles. So we decided to make a new one.

Easy enough. Make a mould, lay up the fibres, cook it in the oven and, hey, make it into paddles. Except there were a few other things we wanted to solve.

First was adjustment. Split paddles are popular in touring, but putting a joint into a bent shaft isn’t as simple as cutting it in half. And while adjustable feather is common, one of the things we really value about VE splits is adjustable length, letting paddlers adapt to different conditions, craft and paddler sizes.

Then there’s the grip. Your hand naturally wants to angle inwards and rotate slightly, or supinate. But hands also move while paddling. Rather than creating one locked-in position, we wanted a grip that maintained that natural angle while still letting the hand shift, relax and change tension.

We 3D printed different shapes, paddled with them, adjusted them and went again until we found the balance of comfort, connection and movement we wanted.

Finally, we had to make it. Bent shafts put fibres through curves they don’t naturally want to follow, particularly with the unidirectional pre-preg carbon we use. Our solution was a three-part shaft and a new vertically oriented moulding process, allowing everything to align precisely while getting material and resin where we need it.

The result is a bent shaft that’s exceptionally comfortable and strong, but crucially still works like a VE paddle. Paddlers can adjust both feather and length without compromising the grip or performance of the shaft.