How to Buy a Touring Kayak Paddle

Choosing a kayak paddle is an extremely important decision as you outfit yourself for kayaking. If you make the wrong decision, you’ll have a much harder time paddling your boat comfortably and you could even tip your boat over. Be thoughtful as you shop for touring kayak paddles and try out as many as you can before you make your decision.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Most kayak paddles are feathered. This means the blades are offset by 45 to 90 degrees. This allows the upper blade to cut through the air during the forward stroke with little wind resistance. This is an important feature when you are paddling on flat water.

2. When paddling a feathered kayak paddle, it does take some getting used to so don’t get discouraged if you test a paddle and it doesn’t feel initially comfortable. In the beginning it feels awkward because you have to hold the paddle shaft with your right hand (control hand) and let the shaft rotate in your left hand.

3. Using a feathered paddle can cause repetitive stress on your hands and wrists and even aggravate carpal tunnel syndrome. Look for paddles with less than a 90 degree offset or you can even try an unfeathered paddle if you are concerned about stress on your hands and wrists.

4. Some paddles are jointed so you can break them down and store them. You can also connect them so the blades are not feathered. This allows you to try both positions and decide which you like best. Once you chose a position, remember it is best to stick with that style. Your muscles get used to one paddling style and it can very difficult to learn a different paddling motion.

5. If you plan to paddle on extremely long, open water paddles, you might consider an Inuit style paddle. These are long paddles with unfeathered blades. They are made for hard core paddling in very windy conditions.

6. Most people need more common touring blades. There are 3 characteristics you should look for: lightness, comfort and affordability. Obviously you can’t have all three of these so you have to prioritize what is most important.

7. Consider that comfort is essential. The shaft size and comfort of the paddle in your hand is very important to overall comfort. Oval shaped shafts are generally the most important.

8. Kayak paddles are sized in centimeters. Touring paddles are usually 220 to 240 cm, which is fine for the average recreational or touring paddlers. Whitewater paddles are shorter, usually 250 cm.

9. The best thing to do is to try a paddle before you buy.

Tips & Warnings

• You should always carry a spare paddle if you are alone or someone in your group should have a spare paddle.