User Tools
paddles
Differences
This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.
| Both sides previous revision Previous revision Next revision | Previous revision | ||
|
paddles [2025/09/08 16:09] pstureavley |
paddles [2026/03/14 02:35] (current) pstureavley |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Line 65: | Line 65: | ||
| <WRAP indent> | <WRAP indent> | ||
| - | Smaller or less powerful paddlers usually prefer smaller blade sizes. Stronger paddlers may also go with relatively smaller blades if their paddle sessions and races tend toward longer distances and/or as they get older. There has been a bit of evolution toward smaller paddle blades across the range of paddlers, possibly due to a greater awareness of **repetitive stress issues** and the desire to be able to **paddle pain free** (or paddle at all) well into "old age". As mentioned below, shaft stiffness and the abruptness of the paddle catch also play into the overall cumulative stress from a paddle. | + | Smaller or less powerful paddlers usually prefer smaller blade sizes. Stronger paddlers may also go with relatively smaller blades if their paddle sessions and races tend toward longer distances and/or as they get older. There has been a bit of evolution toward smaller paddle blades across the range of paddlers, possibly due to a greater awareness of **[[:injury_prevention_recovery|repetitive stress issues]]** and the desire to be able to **paddle pain free** (or paddle at all) well into "old age". As mentioned below, shaft stiffness and the abruptness of the paddle catch also play into the overall cumulative stress from a paddle. |
| * **Choosing Blade Size - Opinions/Advice** | * **Choosing Blade Size - Opinions/Advice** | ||
| Line 78: | Line 78: | ||
| ===== Reducing Stress, Tendonitis ===== | ===== Reducing Stress, Tendonitis ===== | ||
| - | |||
| - | See also [[:injury_prevention_recovery|Preventing & Recovering from Injury]] - discussions about joint injury generally focus on care with technique and/or equipment options that can help | ||
| <WRAP indent> | <WRAP indent> | ||
| + | |||
| + | ---- | ||
| + | |||
| + | See also [[:injury_prevention_recovery|Preventing & Recovering from Injury]] - discussions about joint injury generally focus on attention to technique (relaxed grip, etc.) and/or equipment options that can help. For some wrist/hand problems some paddlers also report being helped by different paddle shaft shapes or sizes - some helped with oval shafts, others helped by using smaller diameter shafts. Or by slightly abrading the shaft with light sanding in the grip area (something that helps one paddler may cause a problem for another - YMMV) | ||
| + | |||
| + | ---- | ||
| ==== Shaft Stiffness ==== | ==== Shaft Stiffness ==== | ||
| Line 94: | Line 98: | ||
| <WRAP indent> | <WRAP indent> | ||
| + | |||
| + | ---- | ||
| ==== Flexible Shafts ==== | ==== Flexible Shafts ==== | ||
| Line 109: | Line 115: | ||
| </WRAP></WRAP> | </WRAP></WRAP> | ||
| + | |||
| + | ---- | ||
| ==== Other Factors Affecting Stress ==== | ==== Other Factors Affecting Stress ==== | ||
| - | * Stress can be also be increased or mitigated by how the **blade catches** (hard, aggressive, or softer?), so **consider** not only the shaft flex but **also the Shape and [[:paddles#blade_size|Size of the blade]].** | + | * **Blade Shape and Size** stress can be also be increased or mitigated by how the **blade catches** (hard, aggressive, or softer?), so **consider** not only the shaft flex but **also the shape and [[:paddles#blade_size|Size of the blade]].** |
| * Best if you can directly try out a blade yourself, otherwise you may get some sense of this from reviewers although there can be some variation in different paddlers assessments of how strong/abrupt a blade catch is (due to different reviewer's technique, size, strength?) | * Best if you can directly try out a blade yourself, otherwise you may get some sense of this from reviewers although there can be some variation in different paddlers assessments of how strong/abrupt a blade catch is (due to different reviewer's technique, size, strength?) | ||
| * **Paddle Length **some long distance paddlers going with smaller blades are also adopting higher cadences with remarkably shorter (than we are used to seeing in paddle length recommendations) shaft lengths to what they report is good benefit for their endurance, performance, and paddling health. | * **Paddle Length **some long distance paddlers going with smaller blades are also adopting higher cadences with remarkably shorter (than we are used to seeing in paddle length recommendations) shaft lengths to what they report is good benefit for their endurance, performance, and paddling health. | ||
| + | * **Paddle Shaft Shape and Diameter **some paddlers report reducing or resolving wrist/hand issues by going to either oval or round shafts and/or by going to lower diameter shafts. No one size fits all in this category - one shaft shape and either larger or smaller diameter may work better for you. | ||
| + | * … | ||
| + | |||
| + | ---- | ||
| + | |||
| ==== Torque Reduction ==== | ==== Torque Reduction ==== | ||
| Line 172: | Line 185: | ||
| * [[https://www.stellarkayaksusa.com/kayak-paddles|Stellar]] | * [[https://www.stellarkayaksusa.com/kayak-paddles|Stellar]] | ||
| * **Think **does not seem to show their paddles on their website, but you can find them on dealer websites - example [[https://www.coastoutdoors.ca/think-power-wing.html|Coast Outdoors Think Power Wing]] | * **Think **does not seem to show their paddles on their website, but you can find them on dealer websites - example [[https://www.coastoutdoors.ca/think-power-wing.html|Coast Outdoors Think Power Wing]] | ||
| + | * [[https://www.zss.com.au/|ZSS]] some of their paddles are made extra sturdy for surf | ||
| * **Inexpensive knock-off copies** - you're on your own - you may see them from a known brand lending their name (we're not even sure about the originality of all of the ones listed here), with oddball brand names, or as a generic wing paddle on a foreign sales website. | * **Inexpensive knock-off copies** - you're on your own - you may see them from a known brand lending their name (we're not even sure about the originality of all of the ones listed here), with oddball brand names, or as a generic wing paddle on a foreign sales website. | ||
| * … | * … | ||
| Line 229: | Line 243: | ||
| * [[https://flowkayaks.co.nz/paddles|Flow Kayaks]] | * [[https://flowkayaks.co.nz/paddles|Flow Kayaks]] | ||
| * <del>**Mark Porter** - long time Washington state, USA maker and repairer of paddles for Epic Kayaks makes a 4 piece Epic paddle</del> | * <del>**Mark Porter** - long time Washington state, USA maker and repairer of paddles for Epic Kayaks makes a 4 piece Epic paddle</del> | ||
| - | * <del>[[https://www.facebook.com/thepaddledoctor/|https://www.facebook.com/thepaddledoctor/]]</del> RETIRED 2022 | + | * <del>[[https://www.facebook.com/thepaddledoctor/|https://www.facebook.com/thepaddledoctor/]]</del>RETIRED 2022 |
| * … | * … | ||
Except where otherwise noted, content on this wiki is licensed under the following license: CC Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International
