We think that the products we sell help athletes and coaches to move boats faster and improve rowing and sculling technique – but it’s important that you find this out for yourself and that’s why we encourage customers to test out our products.
We requested Bryan Sparks a coach from Exeter Rowing Club, one of our Dreher sculls customers, to fill in this survey after trying out the demonstration before he bought the product.
Which product(s) did you try?
Dreher Sculls – Apex carbon adjustables
What comparable equipment do you usually use?
I have been using an old set of Crokers which are about three years old. As a coach myself and seen many makes on the market. It was good of Nick to let me try the apex sculls out.
How long/many outings did you do?
I tried the sculls out straight away and as I was doing the Boston Marathon in September so I was doing a lot of distance work on the river and letting some of WJ164x+ try them out with some very good results.
What were your first impressions?
Very light, clean through the water and at finish. Making you sit better through the whole movement of the stroke. Feeling the catch at the start of stroke to the finish. Having not to rush and making the boat move smoothly under you. As my juniors said, “they lush”.
When you did your first outing was it easy to use? And if it was not easy, what did you find hard or not intuitive?
After changing the length, and in boat, and moving my stretcher, I found the sculls a bit twitchy at first, but after a couple of outings, it got easier and boat got quicker.
Did you do any tests to compare to your previous equipment?  And what did the tests show?
I usually scull about 12k per outing. On a Sat/Sun morning weather permiting at steady rate took about hour, but doing the same with the apex sculls was a lot less than one hour.
What did the coach think?
As a coach myself, I let my WJ164+ try out the sculls and using Markus’ sculls as well, the improvement in their whole body from the catch to the finish and core management and grip size help to more control.
What did the atheletes think?
They were surprised on how light they were and strong in the water, and that they could feel the catch every time, and how the boat ran smoother under them.
Anything else you want to tell us that could help us improve our service or product range?
I think that maybe you should focus more on the junior side of rowing as they are the future and as my girls would like to try a full set of Dreher sculls for their quad.

Related articles

• Maintenance and Cleaning Dreher Sculls and Oars for Maximum Life (rowperfect.co.uk)
• Adaptive sculls going to GB Rowing for testing (rowperfect.co.uk)