The DAX OneTouch Winch Handle:
Simple Grab & Go Convenience:
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Our handles in use on the Extreme 40's.
We're not only about racing though .... most of our customers are day-sailors and cruisers.
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Henning Hansen aboard his winning boat 'piXeline'
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Groupe Edmond de Rothschild Wins at Kiel - Notice the winch handle !!
Dax Labs regularly supports the sailing community by donating handles. We've contributed to Women's Match Racing, Owners Rendevous, Collegiate Sailing Programs, and Offshore Sailing Courses held at the Merchant Marine Accademy, Kings Point, to name but a few.
Last year we donated a pair of Custom handles to the Summer "Sailstice" Sailing Event created by John Ardnt. The following is an excerpt from John's review of the event:
"Another winner! Dax One-Touch winch handle winner, Chris DeSimone, wrote to tell us she won a handy handle after sailing her Catalina 27 "Toy Box" out of Eastport YC in Annapolis, MD. Chris said, "We were thrilled and very surprised when the Dax One-Touch handle showed up at our doorstep. We took it right to the the boat and have been using it regularly ever since. We race the Eastport YC Friday Night Beer Can Series and it quickly became a crew favorite. The simplicity of being able to remove the winch handle very easily with one hand is wonderful."
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Quoted from Marine Products Reviews.com
Dax One Touch Winch Handle Review
"I won’t go back to my conventional winch handle…"
A winch handle is one of those things that you tend to take for granted until dropped overboard or it gets stuck in the winch mid tack. I have yet to do the former (knock on teak) but the latter became the norm with my “MegaMarine” brand conventional locking winch handle.
As a family cruiser I find the need for smooth, reliable and stress free tacks and sail adjustments to be as critical as any racer. A few weeks ago, I reviewed the Dax One Touch winch handle and absolutely loved it, it vastly exceeded my expectations (it’s just a winch handle right?!) and it stood out as a dramatic improvement over my conventional locking winch handles.
There are three reasons why the Dax One Touch stands above the others: ease of use, reliability and superior sail trimming.
- Ease of use. With the Dax One Touch winch handle, I was able to quickly put the One Touch into my winch with one hand and remove it with one hand. As a righty, I placed the One Touch in the winch with my left hand, the cranked with my right. Then grabbing the handle anywhere on the throat/grab bar with my left hand again, I quickly and without any sort of hassle at all was able to remove the Dax One Touch from the winch. Compared to some of the two handed mid-tack wrestling matches with my conventional winch handles, this was a breeze. Operating the One Touch was so easy that my 13 year old had no trouble at all in using the Dax One Touch as described above. If you have ever found yourself focusing on your winch handle rather than your sailing, you will appreciate this point.
- Reliability. I don’t know exactly how the Dax One Touch locking mechanism works, but I can assure you that it does, and every time. With my conventional winch handles, some times the locking square at the tip of the handle would be lined up and sometimes not. I always found this uncertainty to be stressful. With the Dax One Touch, I’m confident that it will work reliably every time I need it.
- Superior sail trimming. The Dax One Touch with the large orange knob lets you get a good purchase on the handle with two hands when cranking in your jib. This design helped me get my jib trimmed into position more quickly than with my conventional winch handles
I also happen to really like the way the Dax One Touch looks and feels. The One Touch is light weight, the bearings are ultra smooth and on a subjective level, I like the orange handle. I think it looks good and helps me easily find it pre-tack.
You can find out the details of the technology behind the Dax One Touch on the One Touch website, there is a lot on the technical side of things that sets this apart from the conventional products
Having tested and reviewed the Dax One Touch, I won’t go back to my conventional winch handle. The One Touch let me focus on my sailing, not my winch handle. Do yourself and your family or crew a favor and try a Dax One Touch, it will be one of those purchases that you won’t fully appreciate until you try it and once you do, you won’t want to switch back.
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(Written by 'Maine Sail')
Product Review - Dax OneTouch Winch Handle
It's not often that I am satisfied enough with a boating product to actually post a review of it. For that to happen it generally has to exceed my expectations for both performance and value. The DAX OneTouch Winch handles have done this.
While racing with Tim R. earlier this season he had a pair on board that he discovered over the winter. The first time I used them I was hooked. What really sold me was when I reached behind my back, blindly, while at the same time still trimming the main sail and simply passed it to our buddy Chris.. It was so easy to remove, without even looking away from what I was doing, that I had to have them on my boat too. Until you use them you'll probably have a hard time imagining how useful they really are. Once you do use them......... look out.... you'll be busting out the credit card in no time!
The DAX winch handle is marketed and produced by Don Steiner a sailor who actually invented the technology then licensed it to Lewmar.
Don smartly retained the manufacturing rights to all "composite" winch handles and licensed Lewmar the production of metal ones. From what I understand Lewmar is now pushing the envelope of their agreement and kind of flexing their "big dog" muscles against the little guy. I like buying from the underdog / little guys when possible after all Lewmar would never have this technology if it were not for a little guy..
I own LOTS of winch handles after many years of boating. Have you seen my anchor collection? I stopped using the heavy metal ones that can put a hole in your boat, or break a foot, a long, long time ago. For the last ten plus years have been using the plastic Titan handles. While not a particularly great product they don't chip my gelcoat when dropped or leave my decks with spider crazing like the heavy metal Lewmar, Barrient or Harken handles do. They work, but are so so on the performance level, and expensive for what you get.
The DAX handles take the light weight winch handle to a new level with simple one handed operation. Simply grip the handle anywhere along the gray colored spring loaded lever and this will unlock the winch handle so it can be lifted & removed. These handles also have palm grips and ball bearings in the handles for easy spinning.
For those looking for non toe busting, locking, lightweight ball bearing winch handles with a palm grip, and at a reasonable price, you can't beat the DAX OneTouch!
These handles have sooo many pros and only cons I have are: 1) The bearings in the handles can be prone to buzzing/rattling when the motor is running. 2) I really don't like the aesthetics of the neon hunter orange palm grips. I will admit that color to be very useful when looking for a handle during a race, they DO stand out, but it is just kind of fugly..
All in all these are great winch handles that I wish were invented a looong time ago.
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