First outing with new paddle

I train (or at least try to) three times per week: Wednesday, Friday and Sunday . I reserve Sunday as a long slow distance day (or a race day), and the other two days are for long and short intervals, respectively.

Today I decided to skip the long intervals and do a tempo-esque one hour paddle to test my new Kajner 2 -XL. I've learned over the last couple of years that the best testing grounds are ones that remain consistent. I've found that Lake Bonaparte in Harrisville, NY (in the early morning hours) is a great place to test equipment.

For two weeks in a row, I've been greated with nearly perfect conditions. In fact, it has been like a mill-pond at 7:30 AM.

It is almost exactly 7 miles in circumference following the main (read deepish) shoreline, making it ideal for a 1 hr paddle.

I've averaged 7.22 mph on two seperate outings at comfortably hard (i.e. not race) pace. I repeated the same effort with my new paddle.

So, how was my first trip with the new paddle? The first thing I noticed, and was pleasantly surprised by, was the 'catch'. My k6 gurgles a bit on the catch and the new paddle has a Hollywood-esque sound of a ninja sword slicing rapidly through the air. In other words, the gurgle is gone and replaced with a slicing sound. I wasn't surprised by the release - there is no hesitation in the release (and least not at my ability level).

Here is a google earth image of my GPS tracks on Lake Bonaparte.

And the GPS results (6.58 miles in 53'42")

This is a speed of just over 7.3 mph with the new paddle. Compare that to my previous best of 7.2 mph with the old K6. Fantastic!

I am aware that I should repeat this process over (n>20) to have statistically reliable results. However, based on the feel at the catch, the lighter weight and the new locking mechanism - I think the new K2 is an improvement over the old (but still very nice) K6.