Amen to this. My first time using my bent shaft paddle, I thought I was doing something wrong because paddling seemed so much easier, almost effortless. A bent shaft paddle is WAY more efficient than a straight shaft. The face of the paddle stays nearly perpendicular to the water through the most powerful part of your paddle stroke. I love my Bending Branches paddle. http://www.bendingbranches.com/oldsparkey said:I use a bent shaft at times and found it offers a lot more thrust for forward movement with less effort then a standard paddle. As far as maneuvering with it , it took a little practice but works OK for me.