Paddle size

[phil.workshop]

Hi all.  I’m going to start a V3 build sometime in August, and am ready to upgrade my paddle.  I use a cheaper Aluminium two piece, 220cm long, right now.  How do I figure size for a packraft vs kayak (touring)? What I’m reading says you use a higher angle stroke typically, and a shorter paddle.  Thanks for any insight.

Edit: I’m a short guy, 5’ 4” with a low angle paddling style. Looking at Aquabound paddles, but open to other thoughts.

Phil

• This topic was modified 5 years, 9 months ago by phil.workshop.

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[phil.workshop]

Matt,

 

Thanks for the reply.  Some good observations there.  I’ll have to go back and reread some stuff, your thoughts on longer vs shorter make more sense than what I was remembering.  The Aquabound Manta Ray Carbon is the paddle I’m looking at.  I may go ahead and go for it in the size needed for my kayak, and just see how it works out for the packraft.  I know it will make a difference in the kayak.

[Matt (Admin)]

Hi Phil,

Thanks for this question – I’ve been thinking about writing a paddle review/comparison, so this will be a quick preview.

To some extent paddle choice depends on the type of paddling you’ll be doing in your packraft, but here I’m assuming you’ll want to do a little bit of everything and you’re looking for a good all-around paddle.

Because packrafts are wider than kayaks, your low-angle paddling style will work well in a packraft (it’s harder to use a high-angle style with a wide boat because the boat gets in the way unless you’re sitting up really high).

When I’m sea kayaking or canoeing, I like to paddle with a high cadence using a relatively short paddle with small blades (such paddles are often marketed towards women, but I like them too). When I’m packrafting, it’s the opposite: I like large, whitewater style paddle blades on a fairly long shaft. I think this is probably because packrafts yaw a lot more than sea kayaks do during each paddle stroke, so if I use a small paddle (like my Aquabound touring paddle) it feels like it doesn’t grab enough water. Even 5’2″ (157 cm tall) Nikki prefers a large-bladed paddle when we’re packrafting together, so it’s not just me. (That’s a sample size of n=2 though, so take it for what it’s worth.)

My newest paddle is a Werner “Pack-Tour M” 4-piece paddle, which I had high hopes for, but to be honest I’m a bit disappointed with it. It’s quite expensive, a bit too heavy (for my needs), and one of the four pieces is much longer than the others, which is its biggest problem from a packrafting perspective. I don’t have it here at hand, but I measured the longest piece a while ago and I think it was 38″ (97 cm) long or something ridiculous like that. I took it travelling earlier this year and it barely fit in my giant 80-litre backpack with the pack’s top extended. I worried about the paddle getting damaged every time I checked in to a flight or set my pack down on concrete. Werner should have made all four pieces the same length… hopefully they’ll do that in the future. One cool feature of the “Pack-Tour M” is its adjustable length (220 or 240 cm). It’s quite robust, too, with fiberglass blades and a carbon/glass shaft.

I haven’t tried any of Aquabound’s 4-piece paddles yet, but they’re a quality brand that’s been around forever and their prices are much more reasonable than the boutique and luxury brands. Their carbon paddles are really light, too. I’d like to try the “Shred” and the “Manta Ray” – if I get a chance, I’ll write about them.

As far as paddle length goes, I would err on the long side for packrafting because of the packraft’s width – I’ve seen some YouTubers packrafting with short whitewater paddles and if you watch closely you can see that often they can’t get the whole blade into the water because the shaft is too short for the width of their boats.

On the water, my favourite packrafting paddle is a discontinued 215 cm carbon 2-piece paddle with large blades (a hand-me-down from Nikki’s mom). It’s only 750 grams, which is very light for a stiff paddle, but being a 2-piece I don’t really consider it a good packrafting paddle as it’s much too long for hiking or air travel.

I’ve also tried a Greenland-style paddle when packrafting in the ocean and those long skinny blades worked quite well. Again though, I would have preferred a longer paddle than the one I tried.

If you’ve read elsewhere that some people prefer a shorter paddle when packrafting, it must be a matter of personal preference. If that’s the case, I recommend trying several paddles before you buy one to at least get a feel for what different lengths/blade sizes/weights/stiffnesses feel like.

If there’s a paddling shop in your area I would ask them if you can try some different paddles before buying one, or see if they’re planning a gear demo day when they’ll let people try stuff on the water. The people working there are unlikely to have any packrafting experience, so take their advice with a grain of salt. Alternatively, if there’s a paddling club in your area maybe you can meet some people there who will let you try their paddles. Make sure you test them in your packraft though, because they will feel different if you’re paddling a different boat. (At this point, don’t worry if the ones you try aren’t 4-piece paddles – you just want to get a feel for the different options.)

Having the right paddle has a significant effect on your packrafting experience, but sometimes a cheap aluminum paddle is the right choice, so don’t feel like you have to spend a bunch of money on something fancy if what you already have is working for you. Aluminum paddles with plastic blades are usually lighter than fiberglass paddles, and their strength is adequate for most flat-water paddling.

There’s also the DIY option – if you look back through the blog you can see at least one example of an ultralight DIY carbon paddle!

[Author]

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