Gearlab, an award-winning design company and pioneer of the first modern Greenland-style paddles with exchangeable tips, announces its participation in Lumpy Waters, the premier instructional symposium for dynamic ocean paddling.
Running from October 4 to 6 in Pacific City, Oregon, Lumpy Waters is a three-day celebration of ocean kayaking. With a renowned lineup of accredited coaches from around the world, the symposium provides an incomparable opportunity for paddlers to take their ocean kayaking skills to new levels on the beautiful and rugged Oregon coast.
“Lumpy Waters is an aptly named gathering of paddlers seeking to advance their skills in rocks, waves, and caves,” says Gearlab athlete and spokesperson Jake Corrington. “A combination of calm and rough water venues offer the opportunity for paddlers to take their first steps into a range of paddling experiences, from Greenland rolling and strokes classes to rock gardening or big wave surfing.”
The event is an opportunity for advanced beginners, early intermediates, and advanced level paddlers to work with top kayaking coaches from around the world who custom design sessions based on the needs of each student. It’s an interactive and positive atmosphere for learning.
This year, Chung-Shih Sun, the founder and designer at Gearlab Outdoor, will be one of the instructors coming all the way from the Taipei design lab. At the Gearlab booth, there will be a number of new paddles to demo and the Deck Pod, which recently won a Paddling Magazine gear award at the Paddlesports Retailer show, will be on display.
Available to demo will be the latest, leanest, lightest model, the Kalleq paddle. The Kalleq (from the Inuit word for “lightning”), with its signature patent-pending swappable paddle tip, is now 13.5% lighter than the top-selling Akiak, and the Kalleq’s edge radius is reduced from 2 mm to 1.1 mm, which makes for a substantial improvement in performance.
Also in the Gearlab demo booth at Lumpy Waters will be the newly released polypropylene paddle called the Malik (named for the Inuit word for “smooth wave”). The designers at Gearlab have developed the perfect paddle to allow curious kayakers to experience the benefits of a leaner, longer paddle in open water at an introductory price. The new Malik inherits many of the premium features of a Gearlab carbon-fiber paddle, such as the ProTek tips and D-Clip quick-release carbon fiber ferrule. The high impact polypropylene blade makes the paddle durable, ensuring a smooth and reliable paddling experience for new users.
To book your spot in this fall’s Lumpy Waters symposium, please click here.
Gearlab’s accessory line is available at select specialty retailers nationwide and online at gearlaboutdoor.com.
About Gearlab
For the past eight years, Gearlab has designed and manufactured Greenland-style carbon-fiber paddles for ocean kayakers around the world. Created by a team of award-winning industrial designers and outdoor enthusiasts, the paddles are adapted from indigenous Inuit designs. Greenland paddles allow kayakers to travel farther with greater efficiency and precision, while reducing injury and fatigue. Made from 100 percent continuous carbon-fiber material, Gearlab paddles perfect thousand-year-old ergonomics with advanced material strength and durability. Gearlab paddles will open up a new realm of adventure for both recreational and advanced kayakers. Discover the benefits of Gearlab paddles at GearlabOutdoors.com
