Mitchell Sea Blade

Mitchell - Sea Blade

The Mitchell Sea Blade is beautiful, but burly. The thick, flat blades are laminated from cedar and spruce, surfaced with a tightly woven fiberglass cloth, and edged with urethane at the tip. The shaft is a vertical laminate of spruce and ash, giving a particularly harmonious appearance at the throat. The ferrule lacked any detectable wobble between the halves. The quality of the materials appears to be excellent. The wood grain is clear and straight. Other than a rough area at one side of the ferrule, the quality of the polyurethane finish was excellent. The weave of the glass cloth was very well and uniformly filled, and there were few dust particles.

The Sea Blade felt stiff and powerful, but it was not a joy to paddle. Its weight falls near the high end of the range of paddles tested; its high swing weight made the paddle feel heavy, discouraging a high-angle stroke. A low stroke lacked the sweet feel of some of the narrower blades. I could not get an entry without a fairly loud splash, and the square inside corner of the blades reduced the clearance alongside the kayak when setting up for the catch, despite a shaft already a bit longer than I prefer. Even without drip rings fitted, little water ran down the shaft to my hands.

Sweep strokes with this paddle were very good. The Mitchell turned the boat 180° with one stroke fewer than most of the other paddles tested, with a very steady and predictable feel while edging. The grip is a bit slippery, due to the high-gloss finish, but it could be sanded to make it more secure in the hand.

The big blades of the Mitchell were easy to control during sculling, and support in sweep rolls was good, but the paddle felt ponderous during the underwater set-up.

The Mitchell would be an excellent choice for beach surfing, as it feels as though only the most extreme abuse could break it. Unfortunately, this strength comes with a weight of 41 oz., more than I believe most paddlers would prefer for touring.