I took the newly completed and finished GP out for its first trial, yesterday. It works. Thats about as much as I can say about it so far. It has way less flex than my other GP and that's about all I can say about that. Don't know if that will prove to be better, or not.

Not having drip rings, the GP is wetter, but mainly only when doing maneuvering strokes.

I didn't have my GPS along, so I wasn't able to check the cruising and all out speeds, but I will say that it seemed to me that compared to a euro blade, the GP requires more effort to attain similar results. For maneuvering, especially in applying a bow rudder, or reverse bow sweep, the GP is no match for my favorite spoon.

The river was as flat as a mountain lake yesterday and I was able to determine from the bow wake that the euro is much more efficient. More testing will be in order, but my conclusion so far is that a stick is a nice diversion and conversation piece and they might also in fact be easier on the old body, but in the end, they are not going to fully replace a great euro.