Hi Dave, Saturday, January 15, 2005, 4:28:21 PM, you wrote: > 2. How much blade area are you using? A more rapid cadence with > smaller-faced blades may also help alleviate shoulder strain, > with little loss of peak output. Though I never had any muscle or joint problems with my wide bladed old Werner "San Juan" that I used exclusively for several years, even with an 80 degree feather (though rarely with a severely high angle stroke, and even then, not raising my elbow above my shoulders), I've since switched to using a Greenland Paddle for the past few years, and I really enjoy it. The blade is long and narrow, with a maximum width of only 3 1/2 inches (so that it can be comfortable grasped, even at the extreme end for extended and sliding strokes. There are several reasons I now prefer the GP, but I've also noticed that without losing any cruising speed with my forward stroke, it does feel, in general, less stressful on my joints and muscles relative to the Werner (though as I said, I never had any real problems with that paddle either). Some people do use a relatively vertical stroke with the GP, and in some situations, I do too, but for most of my paddling around, I find that I still use a fairly low angle stroke. The cruising forward stroke with the GP does involve a more rapid cadence to maintain the same speeds I achieved in fewer strokes with the old Werner, but it doesn't cause any more fatigue after hours of constant paddling; if anything, perhaps even a little less. -- Melissa *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sat Jan 15 2005 - 20:05:25 PST
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