Top athletes around the world rely on Concept2 oars, with 64% of Gold medal-winning crews at the Rio Olympics were won with Concept2 oars and sculls.
Since bringing carbon fibre oars to the rowing community over 40 years ago, Concept2 has continued to revolutionise the sport of rowing with increasingly efficient oar designs.
We know from riding a bike that things go better if you are in the right gear. The same is true for rowing.
The length of the oar, along with other variables like spread (distance from the centerline of the boat to the oarlock), blade size, blade type, inboard (distance from the handle end to the collar), catch angle, and so on, determine the boat gearing, or “rigging.”
Concept2 oars can be ordered in adjustable or fixed lengths to help you achieve a comfortable, effective rig.
Concept2 adjustable length handles (recommended) enable you to adjust the length of your oars within a 5cm range. Adjustable length makes it easy to share oars between boats, adjust oar lengths for different wind conditions, and to test different riggings.
Fixed length oars should be ordered only if you are sure you will never want to change your sweep or scull length.
Oar Length Recommendations
Achieving a comfortable, effective rig is the key to keeping the load reasonable and getting the most out of your oars. In general, we recommend setting your sweeps or sculls shorter when rowing:
With more efficient blades, like the Fat2.
In a slower boat.
With a narrower spread.
With a longer reach/a greater catch angle.
When you need less handle overlap while sculling.
The following table outlines our typical oar length recommendations for sweep and scull. Custom lengths with 5cm ranges are also available.
Sykes stock a range of already assembled Scull and Sweep Oars.
You can view the list of our stock and order directly online shortly.
Custom Oars:
If you are after a custom set of oars, you will need to complete the order form below.
Please allow a minimum of 12 weeks from placement of order to the oars being ready for dispatch. These custom orders are placed monthly with Concept2 USA. Please note, that some additional fumigation charges may apply depending on what time of year your order is placed (anything leaving the USA between 1 Sept and 30th April). We will notify you if this is the case.
If you would like to complete the form online, please do not complete the form in your browser window. You will need to download and save a copy of the pdf first, then you can complete the form and email it back to us.
Concept2’s Comp blade combines the best elements of their existing designs to create a lightweight, efficient, stable, and easy-to-row competitive blade. The blade is wide like the Fat2, short like the Bantam, and rigged long like the Smoothie2. The Comp blade is specifically designed for the Skinny shaft, creating a powerful combination of stability and speed. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, seven crews medalled using Comp sculls (2 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze).
Over the last 15 years of rowing with the Fat2, Concept2 learnt that the blade width and Vortex Edge are the two most important blade features contributing to boat speed. With the Comp blade, they have retained these qualities but the less effective area has been trimmed away. The critical effective surface area remains, resulting in a lighter weight blade that features the same width as the Fat2. The Comp has the Fat2’s solid lock in the water at the catch with a greater acceleration into the finish.
They also learnt a lot about stability in the process of developing the Bantam oar. Its short, wide blade is very stable on the drive which contributes to confidence when applying power and overall comfort. “Weight in the hand” or “swing-weight” is lighter than oars with larger blades, saving energy and facilitating higher stroke rates.
Comp Blade Highlights
Vortex Edge
Reinforced carbon fibre sandwhich construction
Syntactic foam core
Dimensions
Sweep
Scull
Blade Length
43.5cm
37.5cm
Width at Tip
19cm
16.5cm
Width at Broadest Point
26cm
23cm
Availability
The Comp Blade is available in both Sweep and Scull options.
The Comp Blade is available with a Skinny Shaft only.
Currently it is not a Sykes stock item and will need to be ordered as a Custom Oar Order.