In the kayak shop, a customer could sit on the floor or on a low stool to simulate the paddling position in her kayak. All you need is an adjustable length paddle shaft with no blades on it.
It’s time for paddle manufacturers to take a page out of the footwear playbook and create a paddle shaft sizing tool similar to the metal Brannock device ubiquitous in shoe shops and used to measure feet to determine shoe size. But what about people who are just getting into the sport? A new way to size customers for paddles Once you know what length paddle you prefer, it’s easy to compare shaft lengths and pick a new paddle with a similar feel. My paddle quiver contains paddles varying in total length, but they feel similar in the water, regardless of whether they are 205 or 215 centimeters long. I don’t pay much attention to the overall length. When I’m shopping for a new paddle, I compare the length of the shaft to what I’m already using.
#Kayak paddles trial
Through trial and error, I learned what length paddle shaft works best for me. This means the current industry approach of sizing kayak paddles by overall length is wrong. If all paddle blades were the same length, it would make sense to size paddles by overall length. Paddle shaft length determines how a paddle feels in use and whether it is best suited to use with a low hand position or an upright forward stroke. When I compared the paddles recommended, I discovered the shaft of the low-angle paddle was actually shorter than the shaft of the high-angle model. The other day I worked my way through an online paddle fitting exercise to see what size the manufacturer recommended for my height and boat width. This difference can result in some confusing paddle length recommendations. Kayak paddle blades optimized for low-angle paddling are typically longer and narrower than those more suited to an upright stroke. You might expect longer paddle shafts would lead to longer paddles, and vice versa, but this isn’t always the case. If you’re trying to keep the blade close to the boat for a powerful forward stroke, you need a shorter paddle shaft. If you’re trying to keep your hands low, you need a long shaft to allow you to get the blade fully immersed at a low angle. This means a paddle with a longer shaft requires the blades placed farther from the centerline of the boat. In the forward stroke, you want the blade of the paddle fully immersed without burying the shaft underwater. This is a problem because shaft length sets the angle of the paddle during the forward stroke. In my hand, the 215-centimeter paddle felt like a 220 or 225. With longer shafts, the paddles felt longer in the water. When I set the three paddles side-by-side on the grass, it was obvious the new paddles’ shafts were five to 10 centimeters longer than the paddle I was used to. The compact blades of the new paddles were shorter than the blades of my old paddle. Later, on the beach, I realized it didn’t have to do with the blades at all. Not as assertive.Īt first, I assumed this was due to the shape or size of the blade.
Despite this, something felt a little strange. They braced well and transitioned from stroke-to-stroke better than the paddle I had been using. On the water, the new paddles were light and buoyant. I grabbed a couple of the new paddles in 215-centimeter lengths and, for comparison, I brought a 215-centimeter paddle from a different manufacturer I had used for the past several seasons. They were carbon fiber with wide, compact blades and intended to be used with an upright, high-angle forward stroke. Years ago, when I was working at a prominent paddlesports retailer in Madison, Wisconsin, I had a chance to try some new sea kayak paddles.