Review on 🚣 OCEANBROAD 98 Inch / 250CM Carbon Shaft Fishing Kayak Paddle: Ultimate Kayaking Oar with Paddle Leash by William Rothstein

Fairly well made, set up for fishing. Has graduations from 0-40" for measuring your catch on the handle. But honestly, if you hook a 40" fish on a kayak, I would imagine you're going for a ride and the fish is driving. The age-old adage "We're going to need a bigger boat" will quickly come into play.I have been working with carbon fiber composite materials since the late 1980's, and I've learned a few things in that time. First, anything you buy that has carbon fiber as a load bearing component (such as a bicycle frame, handlebar (ESPECIALLY handlebars) or a kayak paddle) you need to do a THOROUGH INSPECTION front and back, up and down. Carbon fiber is extremely strong, however, damage in carbon fiber has a tendency to go south and fail quickly and at inopportune times. Ask anyone that's ever suffered a carbon handlebar failure.Carbon fiber is so sensitive, in fact, I own a torque wrench that is calibrated and used for lighter torque fasteners (such as bicycle handlebar stems clamping carbon fiber bars). In fact, if you have a carbon handlebar and you damage the end, it's recommended you cut off the damaged section to prevent failure.My experience in carbon fiber told me to do a thorough inspection of this kayak handle, and I'm glad I did. I found a damaged bit of carbon fiber right where I don't want it, right in the middle of the handle where the 2 sections go together. So that will have to be repaired before I'll feel safe putting this into service.The best way to repair this is to mask off the part where the 2 sections join and to fill in the delaminated section with some epoxy resin, building a little over where it would have been originally then when it hardens, lightly sand the epoxy down flush with the rest, starting with some 1000 grit and ending with some 2000 grit.The edges of the tubes, as well as the holes where the spring button goes to keep the sections together, can, if you like, get a light coat of cyanoacrylate glue to prevent delam or fraying. Damage to carbon fiber is inevitable with use, as "life happens", but it shouldn't come from the factory with damage, as carbon should be thoroughly inspected before shipping. Any time damage occurs to anything made of carbon fiber, I strongly advise you take steps to prevent small dings from becoming catastrophic failures.So I expected to repair this at some time, just not before I get it wet. The carbon tubing seems to be of decent quality to me, as do the paddles, so I do recommend it for purchase. Just make sure you do a thorough inspection of your tubing (and ANY carbon fiber structural component you depend on) often, and become proficient in carbon fiber repair. It really isn't difficult, nor does it require specialized, expensive materials or training. If you can mix epoxy and apply super glue with a tooth pick, and use sand paper, you can repair carbon fiber and prevent small dings from failing.And, any carbon fiber component that receives significant damage, should be discarded if it can't be reliably repaired.It really is a nice paddle, just do thorough inspections. It's part of "carbon life".