Tuesday, 25 August 2009

Introducing the Mitchell Blades ‘Bombora’

We have been working on a new design with our mate, the esteemed paddle maker in the UK, Lance Mitchell. Taking one of Lance’s existing surf kayak paddles, giving a bit of a slalom twist, reducing some of the energy sapping blade surface area, and then using Lance’s legendary super tough, small artisan construction methods, the end result is the Bombora. So called in honour of the Aboriginal word for an area of unpredictable surf breaking over a shallow submerged rock shelf, which is inevitably located some distance from the shore and surf zone. We think this is a fitting name for a paddle that will take you to that distant offshore play spot and give you the range of strokes to ride the waves when you get there.
The Bombora has a strong but not exhausting catch, a smooth feel through the stroke & with the shortened face a quick & easy exit. It is a tremendously strong paddle for technical paddling & strokes, yet doesn’t need a huge amount of grunt to cruise distance. It’s made from an incredibly strong, not to mention very sexy Carbon Zenith layup, with a honeycomb carbon kevlar face & black magic carbon spine. We are noticing sea kayaker’s skills rising around the country. The days of the thin bladed ‘touring’ paddle with a long 220cm+ shaft are limited as paddlers are becoming technically more proficient and seeing the benefits of a higher angled stroke to their overall cruising & playing. The Bombora is our attempt to accommodate this into a cutting edge design, made to make the kind of paddling we do more enjoyable & rewarding.
Red Rob Mercer’s review of the Bombora
HERE.

2 comments:

  1. How does it compare to werner ikelos? How does it perform in rolling bracing etc ... ?

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  2. Personally I can't use a blade as big as an Ikelos, loads me up too much and too difficult to rate up & accelerate. The Bomora is a slalom paddle misdeed to beef up the catch & loosen the exit, so has all of the torque and performance that we need for rough water. It's the paddle we reach for if we're going to go and do something bad....

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