Concept2 Forum

I wanted to mention Magik oarlocks here and ask if anyone has used them. I bought a pair 3 months ago and have been really impressed with the difference it makes with my old Van Dusen shell, I have much better control and feel of what's going on at the blade end and have had some improvement in recent club racing.

Anyone anything to say about them?

Frank

I used them for a few years in my single. They have some good points but generally I believe that they mask technique issues. They also wear out the sleeves on your oars by digging grooves in them over time. I prefer more sensitivity in my oars so that I know what they are doing when coming into the catch. Magic Oarlocks take that feeling away.

Well I've used these all summer now and I like them a lot. I did a couple of races this year and my starts are very much improved, some of that is due to the oar locks and some of it having a bit of practice at starts to get used to the Magik oarlocks

I've not seen any wear on my oar sleeves, I use Drehers so maybe the sleeves are harder than RockinRolands or maybe the material has changed over the years.

Very happy with them and looking forward to doing some sprints next season.

Frank

I've used them for two seasons and I appreciate their ability to mask my technique problems!

I row with them on my boat and I row with standard oarlocks in club boats. The main difference is in starts. Just the fact that the oar is pressed up against the bow side of the oarlock while I am at the catch has made me a lot less wobbly while I am at attention.

Crocker warns folks that magik oarlocks will cause excessive wear on their collars, but Concept2 collars are hard enough that there is no issue that I've seen.

I might try to go back to standard oarlocks as an experiment and to challenge my technique next spring just to see if I notice a big difference.