At the risk of starting one of those 'religious' wars I would suggest you consider a 'native' style paddle. You have to use them differently than a modern one and it takes some getting used to if you have extensive time with other styles (probably not as much issue with a beginner). but I have found them to be superior in performance than modern designs. They are way more efficient in terms of energy spent over long distances and I have found they are easier to roll using Greenland technique. I had not yet succeeded in ever rolling a sea kayak using conventional gear and after watching a Greenland demonstration once I went home and made my own from a red cedar 2x4. I went to local lake and played around with it, I wanted to try a roll despite never having instruction. I went to the shallows (where I could push off the bottom to get a breath of air if I wanted to) and laid over on my side and started sweeping the paddle back and forth holding one end of it to get the feel of it. I roll up my first attempt, tried it again from all the way over just to make sure it was not a fluke, and succeeded again. You do not even have to do it perfectly, there is so much power in that high aspect ratio blade that if you botch it, you just sweep the blade the other way and keep pushing. I have found there are a lot few joint problems than with conventional blades and now I would never consider anything else. You need to use a slightly different stroke but I never even think about it now. I guess several thousand years of trial and error development by native paddlers have come up with an outstanding design. It is inexpensive and easy to make one yourself (there are detailed plans available on the 'net) and there are a few companies that make them. Unfortunately most of the commercially available ones are made from laminated hardwoods which are unnecessarily heavy in the 27 to 32 oz range, but they work just fine. Now if someone would make a carbon/epoxy one, that would be light. All the ones I have seen are wood and cost in the $140 to 240 range. Making one would cost less than $10 assuming you had the tools (all I used was a saw to rough it out and a belt sander). If you can not make one it would be best to try and borrow or rent one before you spend that much just to make sure it suits you. Some basic instruction by a knowledgeable sales person (one familiar with Greenland technique) in the store should be all you need to give it a try. Peter *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
From: "Peter A. Chopelas" <pac_at_premier1.net> > Now if someone would make a carbon/epoxy one, > that would be light. > > Superior Kayaks, makers of skin on frame kayaks, sell carbon fibre Greenland style paddle. They are very light! I've nver used one, but got to examine one at the Great Lakes Symposium Mike *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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