Deb, do you have any way of knowing how much your improved speed was due to the wing itself, or to the extra effort you put into paddling? I'm an agnostic when it comes to the wing paddle--only one of our usual group of paddlers uses a wing, and even he isn't sure whether it's the paddle or what--he's just used to it now, and we all paddle along at whatever speed. IF the wing offers an advantage, I think it's the kind of tiny advantage that highly trained and conditioned athletes are always looking for to get a tiny edge over the rest of the pack. But I could be wrong; it's happened before!