After having and using a couple pair of counterbalanced Cataracts for a few years, and Carlisles as well for many years, I switched to Sawyers.
The first pair of Cataracts that I had were okay, but the 2nd pair that I had (first pair were 9' with Magnum blades, and the second were 9 1/2' with Magnum blades) did not seem to flex properly. I contacted the Cataract people, and after what seemed to be a laborious communication process, they seemed to agree to having me return the oars to them for testing, but then I had trouble getting a timely response from them, so I threw up my hands, got rid of the oars, and switched to the Sawyers.
Initially, i got the Sawyer 9 1/2' Square Tops with the Dynalite Shoal Cut blades, which had the graphite composit oar shaft that is similar to the Cataract shaft. However the shaft seemed a bit oversized, and heavy on the hands, so after talking at length to Sawyer's regional distributor, I purchased a second pair - the Square Top V-lams, with the Shoal Cut blades. While these are considerably lighter, and the shaft has a slimmer profile, I was initially concerned that the laminated wood blade, with a Kevlar tip protector, might not stand up to the rigors of regular use on the river. However, after using them for the past couple seasons, they have done just fine and I have nothing but nice things to say about them. I wouldn't want to use the blades as a lever between 2 rocks too much though!
More recently, Sawyer has come out with a new style of Square Tops with a fiberglass shaft (like the V Lams) but with Dynalite Blades. If and when I get back into the oar market again, that's what I would want to carefully look at.
Oh, I also use Sawyer's Cobra oar locks, but they aren't really an advantage on a drift boat, IMO.
John
