By John Winters
A casual and unscientific study of canoe boutiques leads me to believe that most paddlers buy their paddles based upon price, appearance, and someone’s recommendation. Sometimes these are good reasons. If all you have is $25, the merits of a $100 paddle are academic. But suppose you want the paddle that best suits your needs? Paddle buyers should consider six important details. (I list them in no particular order of importance.) __ Durability __ Weight __ Shaft size, length and grip __ Blade size __ Feel __ Efficiency
Durability
You probably won’t break a paddle just messing around the cottage lake, but the demands of wilderness tripping can reduce a perfectly lovely paddle to a piece of expensive kindling very quickly. Aluminum shafted thermoplastic blades probably offer the ultimate in abuse-resistant paddles. Reinforced tips and clever laminating have made the word “lightweight” almost synonymous with durability. Why not consider two paddles – one for regular use and a heavy spare for challenging conditions? Somehow that thought seems defeatist to me, so I take two lightweight paddles. My wiser friends tell me I will regret it some day but I tend towards studied laziness.
Weight
In this age of miracle adhesives and materials, no one should suffer with a heavy (more than 24 ounces) paddle. You’re going to lift that paddle a lot during a long trip, so it makes sense to lift as little as possible. But, will a light paddle be strong enough? The qualified answer is, “Yes,” if properly made. My own 18-ounce paddle has survived a cavalier attitude to paddle care and feeding; it’s also survived my love of shallow whitewater creeks. Yes, it has been cracked and dinged and repaired, but it always gets me home.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to look at $250 worth of carbon fibre and know if it was well made or not, so you must rely on the manufacturer’s reputation. You can, on the other hand, do some evaluation of wood paddles by eye. (Wooden paddles have come a long way in recent years.) The grain should be straight. The shaft should be laminated with the outside layers made from the hardest and strongest woods – usually ash, which is hard enough to withstand gunwale rubbing. Lighter woods work for blades, but need some form of impact resistant material on the edges, such as cast urethane, fiberglass or hardwood. Of course, the paddle should be no larger than necessary since size is weight.
Shaft Size, Length and Grip
The diameter of the shaft depends upon the size of your hands. If the shaft is too small, you must grip the paddle more tightly; this constricts the blood vessels in your hand, and promotes fatigue. So, how big should a paddle shaft be? Let your arm fall naturally to your
Photo by Allen Macartney.
How to buy a paddle: the fluid dynamics
