Werner Sherpa

Werner Sherpa 1-Piece Whitewater Kayak Paddle

The Werner Sherpa is a premium one-piece whitewater kayak paddle designed for river running, technical lines and demanding whitewater environments. It combines mid-sized fibreglass blades with a choice of straight or Neutral Bent Shaft, allowing paddlers to select the shaft style that best suits their preferred paddling position.

Werner positions the Sherpa as the mid-sized option within its river-running paddle range. Its 680 cm² blade area is intended to suit the majority of average-sized paddlers, while the larger Werner Powerhouse provides a bigger blade for paddlers seeking greater power.

Choose Your Shaft Style

The Werner Sherpa is available with two one-piece shaft options.

Straight Shaft

The traditional straight-shaft version provides a familiar and uncomplicated setup for paddlers who prefer consistent hand placement along the shaft.

It uses Werner’s straight whitewater fibreglass shaft and has an average weight of 985 g.

Neutral Bent Shaft

The Neutral Bent Shaft version features shaped hand sections that establish the intended hand positions along the paddle. Werner identifies this shaft configuration as its Neutral Bent Shaft and engineers it to balance flex, strength and dependable whitewater performance.

The bent-shaft Sherpa remains a fixed, one-piece paddle and has an average weight of 1,056 g.

Both versions use fibreglass shaft construction and are available in standard or small shaft diameters, depending on the selected stock option.

Smooth and Stable Forward Strokes

The Sherpa uses Werner’s dihedral blade design, which helps direct water evenly across both faces of the blade. This promotes smooth, stable forward paddling and helps minimise unwanted blade flutter through the stroke.

Its asymmetrical blade shape is designed to support an efficient forward stroke and provide the manoeuvrability required when linking strokes around rocks, currents and technical river features.

Reinforced Fibreglass Blades

The full fibreglass blades form part of Werner’s Premium Performance range, offering a balance of swing weight, stiffness and value.

A custom-shaped, low-profile reinforcement spine enhances blade manoeuvrability when linking multiple strokes while adding stiffness and overall strength.

The translucent amber blade finish gives the Sherpa its distinctive Werner appearance while improving paddle visibility on the water.

Fixed One-Piece Construction

Both the straight and Neutral Bent Shaft versions use one-piece construction, with no centre ferrule or adjustable joint.

Paddle length and feather angle are therefore fixed according to the selected option. Werner offers one-piece paddles unfeathered or with right- or left-hand control in five-degree increments, although the configurations available from this page will depend on current UK stock.

Werner identifies a 45° offset as its most popular choice for river running and a 30° offset as a common choice for playboating.

Who Is the Werner Sherpa For?

The Werner Sherpa is well suited to:

• Whitewater river running
• Technical river lines
• Paddlers who prefer a mid-sized blade
• Average-sized paddlers seeking controlled whitewater power
• Paddlers who want a fixed one-piece paddle
• Those choosing between straight and Neutral Bent Shaft configurations
• Paddlers who do not require the larger blade area of the Werner Powerhouse
  
  

Key Features

• Premium one-piece whitewater kayak paddle
• Choice of straight or Neutral Bent Shaft
• Mid-sized river-running blade profile
• Full fibreglass blade construction
• Fibreglass shaft construction
• Asymmetrical blade shape
• Werner dihedral blade design
• Custom-shaped, low-profile reinforcement spine
• Fixed paddle length
• Fixed feather angle
• Translucent amber blades
• Standard or small shaft-diameter options, depending on stock
  
  

Specifications

Paddle type: Whitewater kayak paddle

Construction: One piece

Shaft options: Straight or Neutral Bent

Shaft material: Fibreglass

Blade material: Fibreglass

Blade profile: River running

Blade shape: Asymmetrical with dihedral

Blade area: 680 cm²

Blade dimensions: 46 × 19.5 cm

Straight-shaft average weight: 985 g / 34.75 oz

Neutral Bent Shaft average weight: 1,056 g / 37.25 oz

Blade colour: Translucent amber

Paddle length: Fixed; varies by selected option

Feather angle: Fixed; varies by selected option

Please check the selected shaft style, paddle length, feather angle and shaft diameter before ordering, as each Werner Sherpa is manufactured as a fixed one-piece paddle.