Gear Review: Aqua Bound Aerial Whitewater Paddle
I’ve had the chance to paddle the Aqua Bound Aerial Carbon whitewater paddle for a few months now and I’m excited to talk about it. These paddles were released near the end of 2023 and haven't gotten into the hands of a ton of kayakers yet. I typically get a lot of questions about it when folks see me on the water with this new paddle so I figured I should write a review. Aqua Bound has mostly stayed away from the whitewater market in previous years but decided there was a hole in the market they’d like to fill.
The first thing to know, while there are a bunch of different options for this paddle, they are all called the Aerial. Unlike Werner’s naming convention where there is a new name for the smaller or larger blade shape, Aqua Bound distinguishes these by calling it an Aerial Major for the larger blade and Aerial Minor for the smaller blade. When it comes to the material, you have either fiberglass or carbon to choose from. Carbon is a stiffer material and has less flex in the blade, fiberglass has a bit less rigidity and it is typically less expensive. The other thing that is nice about the Aerial is that they have one-piece, two-piece, and four-piece options. I chose a two-piece because I like the option of moving the shaft length from 200cm-205cm. I see this being useful for plane travel to whitewater destinations, packrafting, ocean paddling, or just changing the length based on the kayak I'm using or the conditions I’m in. With the two-piece or four-piece option, you get the Versa-Lock connection. This is a lever that allows you to lock the paddle in place once you’ve picked your desired length and feather angle. There are quite a few different levers that other manufacturers use like the ones on Lettman's, Galasport’s, and G’Power’s. After handling all of them, Versa-Lock on the Aerial is by far my favorite. It felt incredibly secure while locked even after a day of heavy paddling. It also is very easy to flip up and down and it doesn't feel like I’m compressing the inner shaft. I will say that swapping from a one-piece to a two-piece was a transition as I needed to get used to having a lever in the center of the shaft.
On the water I felt the strength and stiffness of the paddle right away. I couldn’t feel any flex in the blades which means I was able to use my energy efficiently. The blade shape felt quite comparable to a Werner Powerhouse. It seems like this shape will be able to be used on a wide variety of paddling like river running, creeking, playboating, coastal play, and more. Another feature that stood out to me was Aqua Bound’s bent shaft. The feeling of this really reminded me of the classic AT paddles that were quite popular back in the day. The bend has a smoother transition when compared to a Werner bent shaft and feels quite natural in your hand. As a bent shaft paddler, I appreciated being able to have a two-piece bent shaft which isn’t often an option.
After two months of use, I can say that these paddles feel really bomber. I’ve done my best to use it hard on creeks and have yet to see any sign of wear. The Lam-Lock technology is a cool idea to keep the blade from wearing down. I’m interested to see how that works after more use. Overall, this paddle seems like an excellent option for whitewater paddlers looking for something strong, smooth, and reliable. All the different options they offer allow you to find the paddle with the exact specifications you need.
