Looking for paddle recomendations

[gettin closer]

I know that someone will say "spend as much as you can afford on a paddle, it is worth it..."

What I am looking for is best bang for the buck. I am concerned about getting an all carbon paddle as at times I will be in rocky areas and feel that might be too much on an all carbon paddle. My last paddle I had came with the kayak and was a junket but fit the bill and worked. I rarely ever paddle more than 3 to 4 miles on my longest trips. 1 mile would be an average trip. I want to stay away from the aluminum shaft and plastic blades. I know I need a long paddle with a 6'2" wingspan but what paddles have you owned and had experience with in a good/bad way. Going to go down to ACK in Spring this week to get a paddle and would like a good jumping off point.

Thanks.

[Ron Mc]

I'll always use the example that when I bought my daughter a Werner paddle (Shuna carbon, bent shaft) - I could no longer keep up using my top-line bent-shaft A/T paddle (bought on closeout).

When I bought myself a Werner Camano, I got my edge back ($325 on sale at Outside Outfitters).
Those paddles are basically $400 and change, and worth it - the Shuna is a charging paddle, the Camano a slightly larger touring paddle.
Werner blade design goes in and out of the water more efficiently than others, and uses more of your energy for go.
The little things add up at the end of the day, but the right paddle also makes a difference in keeping up with your friends in Hobies.

If you watch this website, may occasionally find deals on overstocked colors/sizes - I paid $220 there for my Coryvecken, and brought it down even more with a coupon.
https://www.outdoorplay.com/werner-corr ... -paddle-19

I added the fiberglass-blade Werner Coryvecken, because it's the largest blade area offered on a kayak paddle.
It's become the choice on my T160, and the Camano is a perfect match with my Kestrel


Werner also makes glass-reinforced nylon blades, still with a light and stiff carbon shaft that hits the entry level paddle market just right.
https://www.outdoorplay.com/werner-tybe ... ing-paddle - charging paddle
https://www.outdoorplay.com/werner-skag ... ing-paddle - touring paddle

[JW FunGuy]

Not trying to be the odd man out here just offering some food for thought.
In line with what ron says, it is how a paddle feels, to you. Different paddles have different shaft diameters, different variations of oval to them bent shaft/straight shaft, variable degrees of blade offset and some people like ones that have some cushion or padding. Different blades react differently in the water and they react differently if you are just cruising and if you are putting some muscle behind it. Some are really stiff and some have a flex to them.
All of the above reasons is why I still like using a wood kayak paddle. The way it feels in my hands and the spring that it has just feels like no other paddle. I have synthetic whitewater paddles but for touring I like wood. When my partner first saw it he said it looked heavy. I handed it to him and it is lighter than his carbon fiber.
Bottom line is, no they are not for everybody (I don’t think they require anymore care or maintenance) But just like a cane fly rod it is up to the persons liking. So my point is if you at all can I highly recommend trying them out. You will be glad you did.


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[mwatson71]

I am not one of those who will say spend as much as you can on a paddle. I don’t think it is necessary and, as you recognize, might not suit the paddling that you do.

I paddled close to eight miles the other night using a Carlisle Magic Plus with plastic blades. And I did so on an outing with three guys, all in Hobies, and I was able to keep up the whole time. Two were powered with trolling motors. I am not certain about the paddle shaft but it has plastic blades. I will qualify this with the fact that I have a T160.

What I love about it is that I can use it to push off of a rocky launch or go through really shallow water without worrying about scraping it on the bottom or hitting submerged rocks. Could I afford to spend more on a paddle? I like to think so. But why would I? This paddle seems to suit me fine and I have had it for about 4 years. Prior to that I used a Bending Branches Sunrise but the I think the Carlisle has slightly bigger blades.

[Ron Mc]

It should come as no surprise that a good wooden paddle performs much like a good composite paddle, since wood is a natural composite.
The same spruce they use in paddles built a lot of aircraft before aluminum flanges took over.

I crossed LHL to fish Lydia Ann shore one day with one.
But then there's the Werner blade design...

What you gain with bent shaft is always getting your hands in the right place - if you can do that from rote, it really doesn't buy you anything else - they're usually $100 more, and a couple of ounces heavier.

[gettin closer]

Lots of good info here thanks guys!

I really appreciate how you narrowed it down for me. I have now narrowed it down to anything from a wooden paddle to a bent all carbon paddle! I will just throw a dart at the board and go from there!

I was traveling and unable to make it to demo days as I was wanting to test and get a paddle then... it did not happen. Yall did give me some things to chew on and think about before going to the shop and looking around. I appreciate all of the quality and quick feedback!

[Ron Mc]

Yesterday was my nephew's first time to paddle a kayak, though he grew up on the water.
This is at the end of 5 miles, the perimeter of Boerne City Lake.
He's doing 4 knots, upwind - look at the wake he's making.
That's the glass-blade Werner Coryvecken paddle.
I have Yak Grips placed at the same position as the bends on my same-length Camano

I'm sure on the stretch to this beach I was doing 5 kts in my Kestrel, got there just enough ahead to get this photo of him.

[JW FunGuy]

Yeah, look at the size of his shoulders and forearms!

[Ron Mc]

he's smaller than me - we look a lot alike, though

You should see his older brother

Yeah, look at the size of his shoulders and forearms!

I e-mailed him his photos the day after the paddle, and he replied that he was surprised not to be sore in the morning, so he knew he was getting a workout.

And fwiw, we're not athletes - we're all musicians - my daughter is the athlete
here's her scraping me off on Estes - the Last Day of me using A/T paddle

I have another photo of me scraping her off on BCL with my new Camano

[Neumie]

What kayak are you paddling?

The paddles from Academy seem to be a decent deal (though, I'm not sure how well the painted blades will hold up), but each model has goofy lengths which you'd have to pay attention too. Another option I've seen is on Amazon is the Best paddle, but it only comes in 234cm. So depending on your kayak it may be too short.

Most of my paddles are Accent paddles (none are currently available, I've had them a long time). I've used my all carbon paddle for 12 or 13 years now. It's not factory fresh, because I've used it for pushing of barnacle crusted oil platforms 5+ miles off shore, as a push pole on the flats through oyster beds, to running rapids and pushing off limestone rocks on hill country rivers. It's a great paddle.

The Bending Branches offers a lot of bang for the buck; $130 and 30 oz. The blade shape is a little on the small size.

Under $200 take a look at Accent, Aqua Bound, Bending Branches, Cannon, or Werner. Above that price point Werner is really hard to to beat. Wilderness Systems has released their own paddles and they look pretty good, too. These days, Accent paddles over $200 don't offer as much bang for the buck as Werner.

[shoffer]

The paddles from Academy seem to be a decent deal (though, I'm not sure how well the painted blades will hold up), but each model has goofy lengths which you'd have to pay attention too.

Neumie is right. I have a Hobie Outback, and don't use my paddle much. I had an old Carlisle paddle that I bought at Academy for 40 bucks that did just fine for the little I used it. I snapped it the other day after 7 years, and went into Academy and replaced it with a 69 dollar, lighter Magellen Flare model (https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/magell ... id=4068054). It is lighter than my old one and 98 inches long - about 9 inches longer than what I had. I actually like A LOT more than my old one. That 9 inches makes a big difference. There is also a nice table on the Academy website that helps you decide what size paddle you need based on your height and the width of your kayak.

The chart says the new paddle is the right size for my height and kayak with.

[Ron Mc]

I think Stevo has a fetish for grabbing nice wooden paddles on closeout.
We often go places where his Mirage drive has to be removed. The stock Hobie paddle that came with his boat came up short on a maiden trip to Rattlesnake Bay at the mouth of Arroyo Colorado.
btw, this was a 10+mi day, but he got to use his Mirage drive for most of it.

His carbon shaft/ wood-blade has replaced the stock Hobie paddle.
Staging here the night before our February day trip to Estes - tides were so low, he had to paddle the whole trip, but likes this paddle for this job.


Werner used to have a really good on-line guide for paddle length, boat width, height, but so much has changed with stand up boats and tall seats.
Something else about height, when sitting, torso length is more important than height.
For people the same height, there can be 3" difference in sitting height, without factoring in boat seat height.
If you have long limbs and a low boat seat, you should be looking at a slightly shorter paddle than guides indicate.
Conversely, if you have a long torso and a high boat seat, should be looking for slightly longer.

When Steve tried the Kestrel in a coastal-blow on BCL - it's the first thing high in the hill country, with nothing between it and San Juan PR - he could not get acceptable stability in the boat and turned it right back to the beach. I stayed with it for a 2-hr maiden paddle in the rough.
He has much more experience in low-initial-stability boats than I do, he has his Kahuna from the late 80s.
My 220cm paddle was also too short for him. We're both 6'3", but I'm all limbs and he's all torso, so he sits at least 3" taller.
With its taller seat, even his narrow fast Revo has low initial stability - enough to freak me a bit in these waves until I got it moving.