[Paddlewise] Paddles

Melissa wrote: I need some paddle advice.  not as in paddling, but as in
buying a
paddle.  by profession I'm a violinist so very protective of my hands

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My wife has a congenital bone disorder, and is developing early arthritis.
On a recent 50 day canoe trip in the Arctic, she had a very painful
experience (battling headwinds as the bow paddler).... her hand and wrist,
which occasionally goes "numb" while paddling,  felt like it was "on
fire".Excruciating (sic). We had to stop, PERIOD. She was using a Bending
Branch bent shaft paddle with a "pear shape grip" which she has always been
comfortable with, a beautiful light weight multi-laminated paddle. In
desperation, ( a suggestion and a stroke of genius on my part,.. ehem...)
she switched over to the T-Grip spare paddle that we carry, a wretched
Carlisle aluminum and plastic thing, suitable for clubbing a Grizzly Bear
with, given it's weight and lack of aesthetics.  End of problem. I think the
pear-shaped grip allowed her to use too much wrist extension, and irritated
a nerve. The T- shaped grip I think allowed her  hand to grip the paddle
better, allowing  a more natural  ("neutral" or slight flexion) of the
wrist. This occurred mid-trip..there were no problems afterwards,

My $0.02... neither of us are much as paddlers (technique wise), although...
we have gotten pretty far afield of late, and returned.

rich dempsey
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
See our canoe tripping website
http://communities.msn.com/RichWendysAwayFromHomePage


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