Jantex Gamma Rio

I'm looking at getting a Jantex gamma rio, unsure if I should get the small plus or medium minus. I'm 47yrs, 83kgs, 185cm, been paddling skis for 20 years. Train 5-6 days a week, average 4 paddles on the water between 12-20kms, the other days are either ergo or exercise bike. A few people recommended the small plus however someone said it's not enough and suggested medium minus. Which one should I get????

Medium minus appears to be the same area (size) as many of the Gamma copies where the manufacturer only offers one or two sizes.

I looked into this when I was deciding what size to buy and tried a medium (too big for me) before settling on the med minus.

Also went for the soft shaft, soft and flexi appear to be popular among ocean and marathon paddlers.

Looking at your info i'd say you'll find that Med Minus is the right size, if not its a popular size so should be able to sell easily.

I bought a rio small plus 205-215 soft shaft at Chattajack (31 miles, 4-6 hours) last year. I was worried about blade being too small so I started at 212cm. It has a lot of bite, grip. More than I expected. It wore me down rather quickly and I was at 205cm within 8-10 miles. I am middle of the pack 52yr old, 200+ lbs usually paddling brasca (3, 4, & 8). I might see moving to med minus for short runs, but not for long ones. I do not paddle as much as you, though. I think I read a pro, maybe Austin keifer, uses med minus. I would consider getting flexi-soft shaft (green letters), though soft (white letters) seems fine, for aging joints. You will be fine with either, only 20 cm^2 difference.

I've got a Gamma Mid with soft shaft and a Gamma Rio Large Minus with the sprint shaft.

My opinion is:

If You are mostly paddling really confused water (not even so much downwind and waves, but just disorganised chop), then go for the smallest. It makes planting the blade at the catch easier and You don't get as tired trying to paddle continuously than with a bigger blade.

If You paddle more than 50% of the time on flat water, then buy the Med minus. Nothing pisses me off more than having to paddle in nice flat conditions with blades that are too small

I paddled with an epic small mid and mid over the years. I prefer the small mid on anything more than a 4-5 miles and the mid for doing intervals/ sprints. I moved to a gamma Rio small plus over the medium minus on the recommendation of several people and was concerned it would be too small. I’m glad I didn’t get anything bigger, It’s just right for me. To me it feels like it has more power than the epic mid when I really dig in and a tuch less that than the epic small mid when cruising. This worked well for me in a downwind, lots of power when I need it, fast spinning but not heavy feeling cruse when I need it. As for the shaft, I have the flexi soft shaft and to me it’s still stiff, but i came from very soft epic green shaft and really liked it. To me the flexi shaft feels like the epic maroon shaft in stiffness, or at least similar. I love! the Gamma Rio small plus on a downwind.. it does everything right for me. It really fast to spin up, super fast on the exit, powerful when I need it but doesn’t wear me out. But on a long flat cruse, I like the epic small mid better. It’s easer on my shoulders on a slog and has a longer more even power delivery. If I was sprinting I’m sure the gamma Rio would be my preference, Just more bite up front. For the record I’m 5’10”/ 178cm and set my paddle at 207-209 depending and feel I need the paddle about 1-2 cm shorter than I have the epic small mid set. Also I like it at 60° rather than 65° on th epic.

My first Jantex Gamma Rio was a medium minus and a soft shaft. While fine in the rough stuff on my skis, for marathons, in either skis, K1s or Long rec hulls, it just did not give me the power that I was after. In fact performance wise, it was on par with my emergency spare Epic mid wing.

So I bit the bullet an upgraded to the Jantex Gamma Rio Medium Plus, still with the soft shaft. Absolutely perfect.

I am a big unit, as people on this Forum who know and have met me will attest, weighing in at 118kg with a 46-48" chest (ranges depending on muscle mass). Shame about the 9 gallon keg around the mid-riff though, but at 61 years of age... whatever lol!

Getting back on track, for my upper body size and strength capability this blade ticks all the boxes. Can and have done 5 - 8 hour marathon races with absolutely no discomfort at all in my shoulders and torso. The reason I believe is that I use a 60 degree right hand offset, with the paddle length critical to maximising paddling effect, depending what hull I am using and distance being paddled.

In my K1 or Long Rec racing hull I have the length set at 214 and 213. On my ski (Stellar SEI) in calm conditions 210. In the rough stuff will drop down to 208.

Out local paddling coach with over 55 years of experience is always harping on that it is not so much the hull that makes a fast paddler, but the paddle and how the paddler transfers and maintains power through the water with the paddle. This is what ultimately makes him or her fast.

I hold the belief that choosing the right paddle is sometimes more important than the hull that is being paddled. In my opinion the Jantex Gamma Rio is the blade of choice... for me.

Mick