My own paddle is just a copy of Gerald's nice two-piece Aleut paddle, far away from his craftmanship. Its only definite advantage is its length: because it fits into the kayak bag I can have the luxury of a single-piece paddle. Something to consider. Because it feels so fragile I always carry Gerald's paddle on deck, assembled when that feels desirable. On the other hand, because of its shortness the storm paddle never seems to have received any decent stress. I use it like a low gear on a bicycle. Love the weight anyway.