I have an old and completely abused pair of Cataracts that I just finished replacing the rotten wood handles on. Believe me when I say these things are strong! I thought I was going to have to cut the end off to get the old rotten handles out of them. I pried, bent, drilled and basically beat the crap out of these oars. I would have never believed this material would flex and rebound like it did. I would never, ever, buy any other oar.