P_B, Go straight to Zav and tell him you want a tripping paddle. Ask if he'll send you a Barton one (he owns the rights). It's a bit beefier then Zav's other paddles. But mostly see what he says. He can leave a little extra on the tip so you can sand down the graphite "hang nails" from chips. That saves the edge in the long run.

Barton built the first graphite paddles I saw. He later got 2 gold metals paddling kayak in Seoul and started Epic kayaks.

Zaveral is a pro canoe racer in New York.