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Choosing the right kayak paddle

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Although more expensive paddles are widely available, we feel our selection provides exceptional value. To get a paddle with hand made glass lay-up blades in a take apart version, you have to spend double to triple what our better ones cost. Spending three times as much will generally get you a better balanced paddle that weighs maybe 6 to 8 ounces less, but the vast majority of our customers are not looking to spend $600 on two paddles for their $950 kayak. That said, very few of our paddles are clunkers, and the couple above that are clunkers are described as such.

Hardshell kayak shops often over-emphasize weights to justify high paddle prices, but unless you plan on circumnavigating the Baja peninsula or the Gulf of Alaska a small difference between two similar models won't make much difference. Most burn you feel in your arms at the day's end has to do with the effort you put out to propel your boat, not whether you are hefting 32 ounces or 36. Blade design is more critical, though as with any "tool" the more you use it the more it becomes justifiable to get a better paddle. Properly designed curved or "spooned" blades will decrease wrist, forearm, and shoulder strain no matter what type of water you enjoy. You can also make more work for yourself by gripping the shaft too far toward the center, which decreases leverage. Hold the paddle more out toward the blades, and push forward with your high arm. Many of the paddles found in this section have asymetric dihedral blades (where the lower edge is shaved away) for decreased flutter and the associated wrist fatigue. Inexpensive lexan and polyethylene blades used on the low-end Carlisles and Caviness products are often as strong and less brittle than fiberglass and graphite blades on many $300 paddles, but they may not be designed for efficient paddling. Another noteworthy detail for whitewater boaters is the direct relationship between a paddle's cost and the chances of losing it on a river. Novice river runners should never begin with a pricey paddle since it's likely at least one will be eaten in the rapids early on.

Ovaled or contoured grip areas on the shaft assist with blade control, and are very helpful for learning to paddle in the offset position. Knowing how to brace will keep you right side up on the river, and bracing is easier if your paddle blades are offset with the "dry" blade parallel to the water. If you suddenly upset to the opposite side, you can sweep this blade across the surface and push up on the shaft at the same time. This is the basic form of low-bracing. Paddling into the wind is also more efficient with your out-of-water blade cutting the air rather than pushing into it. Round shaft paddles can be "ovaled" by creating a grip area for one or both hands. Just take a 6 to 8" long strip of foam (1/4" thick by 1/2" wide window weather seal), soft rope, or something similar, place it on the shaft under your middle knuckles while holding the paddle as you would in a boat, and wrap around it with bicycle handle bar tape, bicycle inner tube scraps, or better yet large diameter shrink tubing if you can find any.

What about overall length? Just how long should your paddle be? Is there a convenient formula like hardshell kayakers use? Most inflatable kayak designed for whitewater require a length in the 88" to 92" range because most of the river i.k.'s are at least three feet wide. For a handful of very portly models like the AIRE Outfitter - especially the tandems - you may want to go close to eight feet, or in the 240cm to 245cm range, Narrower inflatable kayaks designed for touring with widths of 30 to 33" should use a paddles ranging from 220cm to 230cm. The exact size for a touring i.k. may depend on whether you plan to paddle it by yourself a lot, or always with a second person. Short paddles (82 - 86") may be suitable as spares. The Innova Safari, a mere 28" wide inflatable, and one that appears on both our Solo Whitewater section and in our Solo Touring kayak area, should be propelled with a paddle no more than 220cm (7'2"), and even a 210 to 215 is sufficient. Tall, long-armed folks may be able to get by with a slightly shorter axe, but lengths for inflatables do not have to be precise down to the centimeter. Remember that a too-long paddle can actually make your inflatable swing left and right, especially if it is a kayak designed for whitewater. The stroke arc is further out from the hull with a super long paddle, and inflatables tend to be shorter and more likely to zig-zag off course. Fin-equipped touring models will be more forgiving in this regard.

To repeat, all paddles we carry are take-apart, and all of them come with drip rings. If we manage to leave them out of your shipment just email us and we'll mail you some.

Choosing the right touring paddle.