Choosing a Canoe Paddle

Paddle material, shape and size will all be dependant on the type of paddling you wish to do. whether it's whitewater, flatwater or river paddling. The main points that will need to be considered will be comfort, weight, durability and cost.

Bow Paddles: This type of paddling requires shorter and more frequent strokes, therefore a shorter paddle is recommended, in order to try to reduce fatigue.

Stern paddles: Longer strokes are required for this type of paddling. Steering and manoeuvring of the canoe is also needed, and a longer paddle is recommended for this reason.

Choosing a Kayak Paddle

When buying a kayak paddle, generally the shorter the paddle is in length, the better. However, exactly how short the paddle should be will be dependant on a number of factors. These include:

1. The width of the boat - The wider the kayak, the longer the paddle.
2. The style of paddling -

	For High angle paddling a shorter paddle is typically used to allow a faster style of paddling will be required. Shorter paddles are used for whitewater kayaking and also short distance touring.
	For low angle paddling a longer paddle will be needed for a more relaxed, low effort style. This longer style paddle will typically be used for long distance touring.

Paddle Blade Design

Surface Area - The larger the paddle blade, the larger it's surface area and takes lots of upper body strength to power the blade through the water on each stroke, this can cause injury to paddlers that are not very experienced. Smaller paddle blades with less surface area are much more suited to long touring as they allow more consistent stokes and limiting fatigue.

Surface Area Width - having more surface area at the very tip of the paddle blade creates more 'bite' allowing your paddle to have good grip initially to begin a large stroke, the majority of Carlisle whitewater paddles are characterised in this way. Less surface area at the tip of the blade is preferred and more suited for touring paddlers as it allows a more efficient, steady and rhythmic stroke.

Dihedral Shapes - Cross Section Geometry

Spoon and Dihedral blade shapes are most common in today's paddling market.
Dihedral shaped blades separate the water, they feel more stable than non-dihedral shapes as they don't 'flutter', they are also easy to paddle so are a great choice for beginners.
Spoon shaped paddle blades have a concave surface that grip the water allowing a bigger 'bite' and they tend to flutter towards the end of a stroke and are therefore well suited to intermediate and expert paddlers.