Today I received my long awaited Begali Magnetic Traveler Light.
From before I have the Bencher BY-2 Chrome, and the Kent TPKA. I started out my "paddling" career with the Bencher, as everywhere I turned I was told that it was the best of the best. As my sending speed increased however, I became very aware of the serious limitations of that paddle. A fellow ham had a Kent paddle he didn't use, I tried it, liked it and bought it. The difference was like night and day, compared to the sloppy Bencher (I do know how to adjust it). I could manage fairly high speeds (30-35wpm) for longer periods of time without messing up. I still use the Kent, and will never part with it.
The Begali keys are a entirely different beast. They are as close to perfection as possible, I believe. Precision ball-bearings, and opposing magnetic fields instead of springs, removes most variables that can cause a paddle to deteriorate over time. All adjustments are super tight, and stay that way. It can be adjusted with so close spacings that sneezing towards it can make it trigger. With this thing the only limitation is the operator.
The Traveller is designed as a fold up device to make it survive being thrown in a suitcase, or in my case a huge duffel-bag. I have brought this paddle along on a lot of trips, both to sea and around the world, and there is not a single scratch on it. It's a bit on the light side, so it sometimes moves under my too heavy hand. This is by design however. Compared to the Bencher and Kent I'd say it's about the same weight. Mind you, this is not a small paddle, like ex. the Palm Radio paddle (wich I also own by the way), it's more like one-third of a brick.
I highly recommend it for anyone travelling. If I was to use it only at home, I would probably have bought the Magnetic Classic or the Sculpture instead. For for mountain hiking where weight is an important issue, I still use my featherweight Palm Radio mini paddle.
