paddle shaft options (med flex or stiff)

I intend purchasing the epic mid wing paddle. There are a few choices for the shaft. They are the standard signature series, the med flex (burgundy shaft), and the stiff blue shaft. I understand the blue shaft to be more for sprint paddlers and the med flex for long distance paddling. I am interested more in fitness paddling and taking part in a few medium distance races in a not so competitive role. It would appear that the med flex is the paddle of choice for me.
Can anyone give me any advice or personal experience with the above mentioned paddles?
Thanks

Haven't used them myself, but I can confirm that most ski paddlers who use Epic paddles here in Cape Town use the burgundy shaft.

The flex shaft is significantly lighter. Obviously, the sprint shaft will be more durable. Unless you plan on abusing the paddle, I would recommend the flex shaft.

You might also want to check out the small mid rather than the mid. I own the mid size paddle but I have tried out and prefer the small mid. My mid wing is 210 to 220, but I always have it set near 210, so unless you are really tall, I would recommend the 205 to 215 cm size.

Also, if you don't mind the round shaft, you might check out Onno paddles. These have a similar blade shape to the Epic, but you can get a custom layup for how you want the paddle and they offer more blade sizes (or you can get solid carbon blades and cut it to whatever size you want). The new Onno angle/length adjuster is superior to the Epic. These can even be a bit lighter than Epic depending on the layup. The price is a bit less as well. I own the small endurance 18"x6" (yes, this is much smaller than the epic small mid) which is probably a bit small for use in the ocean, but for flatwater marathon use it seems very nice. I did some repeated time trails measuring time/speed and heart rate and was not able to detect a speed advantage (at a steady ~7.0 MPH) for one paddle over the other. Obviously for an all out 20 second sprint (from a moving start), the mid wing was indeed faster.

Thanks for the advice guys.

I bought the one with the flex shaft.
That's the best choice if you intend to paddle medium or long distances.
I never tried the stiff shaft from Epic but, as an outrigger canoe paddler I tried both type of paddle (stiff or flex shat) and I can tell you that stiffer shaft ==> tendinitis... The stress that is not taken by the shaft will be taken by your joints, and you don't want this to happen.

I bought the one with the flex shaft.
That's the best choice if you intend to paddle medium or long distances.
I never tried the stiff shaft from Epic but, as an outrigger canoe paddler I tried both type of paddle (stiff or flex shat) and I can tell you that stiffer shaft ==> tendinitis... The stress that is not taken by the shaft will be taken by your joints, and you don't want this to happen.

I have paddled a good deal with both a red shaft and a blue shaft and I have not noticed much difference between the two other than the fact that the blue shaft is heavier. I think that claiming that a stiffer shaft leads to tendinitis is a bit of a stretch.