Comment

Comment by Kelsey Helfrich on April 6, 2011 at 9:49am

Sounds good Mike, just let me know if you would like to pick up a pair.  Nice picture from the Illinois too!  You'll have to tell Will hi for me.  Sounds like their new business and river center is coming along great.  

 

Larry: everyone has different opinions of what equipment works best for them and different rivers can require varying equipment styles.  I don't really have the time to get into a debate that is based on person preference.  I don't think it would get us anywhere or accomplish much.

For me, it is neat to help develop new equipment for the industry and find things that work better.  As full time guides, the amount of time that we spend on the water and the large number of professional and recreational boatmen we work with creates a fun and energizing setting to brainstorm and work together on new technology and equipment designs.  While older styles can work great and stay great, change isn't always a bad thing.  

Don't knock it until you try it... : )

Kels 

Comment by Mike Dearing on April 6, 2011 at 9:20am

Kelsey, thanks for the phone #, I'll give your dad a call if I decide to go this direction, which I probably will. Hope your season goes well!

 

Larry, I hear ya on overstressing other things and have definately thought about that. I do always have two spare oarlocks with me, and since my raft and cat frames are NRS I bring a spare oar tower along too on the tougher river like the Illinois. Its not that I mind swaping out a lock that gets bent, I expect to if my boat flips in class 4-5 water like the Illinois, but neither of these locks bent from flips, and at 48 bucks a pop its getting a little expensive. I run the cobra locks together with my Large dia. MX-F Sawyers, but for the smaller dia. Smokers there just to big and I tend to get way to many poped oars for my liking, that why I started running these NRS locks they fit the smokers like a glove IMO.

 

Not hijack Kelseys thread, but heres a pic of me in Green Wall on a rare oct. Illinois trip taken by my good buddy Will Volpert, hope you guys enjoy it :)

 

Mike

 

 

 

Comment by lhedrick on April 5, 2011 at 8:14pm

Mike,

 

I have been on trips and seen oar locks bent.  Last season we had a raft go over at Lava and a steel frame bent at the base of the tower.  This changed the angle and it became difficult for the rower to get the blade down in the water.  We swapped out the standard lock for a cobra.  The cobra had a better range of motion and solved the problem.

 

While I'm all for stronger stuff there might be limit to what is reasonable.  A bronze lock with a 5/8 shaft is strong stuff.  Had the lock not bent, could it have broken a gunwale?  Being able to bend might have saved something else.  That's why we carry a spare on each boat.  I'm not knocking the SS locks, they might be just the thing but it's worth a thought that in some cases bending something soft might save something else.  A bent oar lock is not much of a big deal if you have a spare.  A broken mount point, socket or gunwale would me much more difficult to deal with on the river.

 

L

Comment by Kelsey Helfrich on April 5, 2011 at 4:45pm

All of our guides and all of my river friends have now switched over to these oarlocks without a single complaint.  They just simply work better than anything else out there.  They are smooth, durable and they also look better (which is never a bad thing) :)  I believe that these oarlocks are actually even easier on the wrap on the oars due to how smooth they are and also due to the rounded edges.  I have just seen too many of the bronze oarlocks break to ever go back to them.  I don't trust them anymore.  As you probably agree, the risk of breaking an oarlock mid rapid is just too dangerous to chance it.  Ken Helfrich started having these oarlocks made for that reason.  We are on the water with people's lives in our hands and we need to be safe and also be using something that is more comfortable to row with.

The internal diameter is 2 and 3/4.

If you would be interested in purchasing a pair of them you can either send me your info or I can get you in touch with Ken.  His email address is Ken@helfrichoutfitter.com or his phone is 541 896-3017

Hope this info helps,

Kels

Comment by Mike Dearing on April 4, 2011 at 10:26pm

Kelsey,

I have bent two Nrs Superston oarlock shafts on two of my last five Illinois river trips rowing a fairly light cat. I have no idea how either one got bent as my boat was never upside down. I really like these locks cause they are the perfect size for spot on oar retention for the Sawyer smoker whitewater and drifter oars I use on my rafts and drift boats....but...... needless to say, after bending two now I'm starting to lose confidence in them. I really like the looks of the locks in your picture above and I might have to buy a set from ya. I do have a couple question though, what is the inside dia. of the lock, and do you think these SS locks are any harder on rope wraps then the bronze locks are?

Mike