I went up to Silver Lake this past July. I was researching paddles beforehand, and the general consensus was that paddles suck. My brother and his girlfriend had geckos, they never seemed to complain, but I decided to get something different. I ended up with the Sand Stars, and I like them a lot. The thing is I didn't notice much of a difference between the two (when riding their bikes vs my own). I say get whatever ya want.