Hercules Paddle Review

A few weeks ago we got the opportunity to demo a new Adventure Technologies Hercules paddle. We've only had a limited time with the paddle so far but wanted to get out an initial review ASAP! This paddle is part of the new advanced series paddles that introduce the use of AT’s new composite material called “Duraweave.”  Duraweave improves the impact resistance and increases abrasion resistance by three hundred percent as opposed to their previous paddle line up.  This also dramatically improves the paddles secondary strength helping to create a shaft that wont break when you need it most.

The Hercules glass is made for a blend of river running and play boating.  The shaft itself leans to taking good powerful strokes, with some flex.  The blade is able to grab a nice amount of water allowing for good strokes and good boat control.  It's not overly powerful, allowing it to be more friendly for your shoulders for down river play, while still giving you the power you need. For comparision, a fiberglass Werner Powerhouse has more power, but the larger blades lead to more catch than the Hercules. An AT2 Superlight carbon is significantly stiffer in the blades than the Hercules so less flutter but more stress on your shoulders. As far as weight is concerned, it is extremely competitive with other whitewater paddles and is about the exact same weight as a bent-shaft fiberglass Powerhouse.

We tested the bent shaft version of the Hercules, as you can see in the photos. We have not had a chance to try a straight shaft of the same paddle but the ergonomics compare to our AT Eddy paddles. Will update the review when we try a straight shaft, to compare. 


You know how we like to test stuff pretty hard at WeStroke, so we decided to take it down a local creek as well. Even though the paddle is not the best for creeking, it still provided enough power for a good boof stroke when we were bouncing off some rocks. Although their Geronimo series would be better suited for this abuse, the hercules did very well and suffered no significant visible abrasions during our creeking test. 

Click to see the gallery

We would recommend this paddle for boaters that want a good all in one solution for the river. It is has a good balance between river running and playboating, allowing you to avoid having to purchase a separate paddle for each activity. We will provide additional insights into the paddle's performance after we take it down a few more runs.

One thing to note, there was a recall on the new AT paddle line a while ago. This is a newer version but be careful when considering purchasing a used version of this paddle for the time being. We will update if we come up with some visual way of figuring out if it's the newest version or not.

Pros

• Paddle is a good river running and play boating combo paddle
• Paddle shaft and blades are not too hard on the shoulders

Cons

• Would not recommend for creeking, as the Geromino would be better suited

Specs

• Price (MSRP)(USD): $300 ergo, $230 straight shaft
• Shaft Material: Ergo: Fiberglass Blend Duraweave™ with Innegra. Straight: Carbon Blend Duraweave.
• Blade Offset: 30 degree although custom is available
• Blade Material: Fiberglass Duraweave
• Blade Size: 700 sq cm