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Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Group Forum: Solo Tripping :: Paddle choice
 
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DanCooke
07/14/2019 10:05AM
 
I typically paddle with a straight shaft paddle, that has a symmetrical grip and blade with fine edges. I enjoy the feel of the water, and sometimes paddle with an in the water recovery. Other paddles have their specific purpose and are used for shorter periods of time while in the BWCAW.

 
Blatz
04/17/2019 04:59PM
 
Double Blade, Bent and Straight. All depends on the situation and my mood
 
jhb8426
05/04/2019 07:10PM
 
I've traditionally used a single blade, both straight and bent. When using the bent shaft I tend to paddle harder, just seems to happen. Using a straight shaft I can paddle more leisurely w/o giving it a lot of thought. Last year I bought a 280 cm BB Slice Solo. The vote is still out on that. Like the bent shaft I find myself paddling harder rather than leisurely w/o really a need to. It just happens. It's probably a learning curve thing. I find when I use the double blade I will start out with it, but tend to tire and switch back to a straight shaft single.
 
AmarilloJim
04/23/2019 09:09AM
 
MReid: ""That's because you were using it correctly"



Yeah, they scoop so much water!"
LOL
 
bct
04/30/2019 11:27AM
 
+1


I have a Zaveral that I cut to my preferred length.


butthead: "Took a while to convince myself they were worth the cost, Zaveral Z Lites. A 48 inch, 15 degree, 8 inch blade, day long distance. And another straight shaft 50 inch, 8.5 inch wide, to fish do technical strokes, and play with. I always carry 2 and use both (just not at the same time), when on water, 2 different tools for specific purposes. I found for myself a shorter paddle I less tiring and quicker to transition



butthead


PS; Doubles are sacrilege and cause warts! bh"

 
sns
04/17/2019 10:55AM
 
Double blade as primary, bent shaft single blade as backup.
 
TomT
04/17/2019 06:45AM
 
I use a 260 cm double Bending Branches "Slice" for travel days and a Zaveral Rec carbon fiber bent shaft for fishing or tight streams. Switching from wood to carbon with my single paddle was a great investment. The weight difference is substantial.
 
HappyHuskies
04/17/2019 06:46AM
 
The last few years I have taken a long "kayak" paddle (250 cm) and a 15 degree bent.


I bought my first solo canoe in the mid 1980's, a DY Special, and paddled exclusively with canoe paddles until 2010 when I decided to try using a kayak paddle. I liked using the kayak paddle enough in some conditions that I have continued to bring it along on most trips since then. That first paddle was a 215 cm paddle that I use with my sea kayak. I thought it was too short for my canoe, so picked up the longer paddle I use now.
 
em8260
04/17/2019 06:28PM
 
Single blade, I like being a traditionalist I guess. zre,sanborn, bending branches, badger, bruce smith. Cant beat the weight of a nice carbon blade and a kayak paddle will never hold a candle to a nice wooden canoe blade, I do like some of the Greenland paddles though. Too many to list, I counted 19 last week. For all the kayak paddle people, you know what they say.....half the paddle, twice the man. : )
 
gravelroad
07/16/2019 08:42PM
 
justpaddlin: "gravelroad: "butthead: "campnfish, I'll take a shot! "a kayak paddle made from a tree." that involves sharp cutting tools and potential bloodletting!





Ever wonder why Greenland paddles look as the do??? Very few trees grow in Greenland so they are made from the biggest chunks they can find.





butthead
"





A statement commonly made by folks who have never used one. The paddle shape and dimensions are very well-suited to traveling long distances in ocean waters. And Inuit paddle makers knew how to make wide objects from the materials at hand




Greenland paddles "




I'm pretty sure he was just kidding. Besides, he uses a bent shaft paddle and everyone knows those are only good for scooping up stuff that people dropped into a river or lake. "



Well, I guess I’ve seen this statement made so often with serious intent that I missed that intent.
 
butthead
07/16/2019 09:23PM
 
"PS; Doubles are sacrilege and cause warts! bh"
"that involves sharp cutting tools and potential bloodletting!"
"BH, you used my original thought and joke that i use a 6lb tree limb with bark for the blade, but only in my dugout canoe."


I can understand missing potential humor as slight as this.


butthead




 
bwcasolo
04/17/2019 05:46AM
 
i take a 7 degree sanborn bent, and a straight bending branches, i usually push off shore with the bb straight, while keeping the tip on the sanborn in good shape by paddling it in deeper water. the sanborn is a beautiful paddle. i forgot how long they are.
 
Tomcat
04/17/2019 05:39AM
 

 
paddlinjoe
04/18/2019 09:02AM
 
Main paddle is a 50” Northstar Vodoo bent shaft which has a walnut,cedar shaft and carbon fiber blade. I too like the feel of the wood, but appreciate the relative light weight with the carbon fiber. The backup is a 15 year old 54” Bending Branches Expedition Plus, which gets used about 10% of the time.
 
justpaddlin
07/13/2019 07:09PM
 
I like lightweight straight shaft paddles with stubby blades, like a Zav with zero degree angle. I sit and switch to cruise and drive upstream and can use the same paddle for lazy j-stroking or playing around.
 
egknuti
05/02/2019 07:53AM
 
I use the Wenonah Black Lite Elbow Carbon Paddle. While it's a bit pricey, it's also incredibly light and durable.
 
justpaddlin
07/16/2019 01:23PM
 
gravelroad: "butthead: "campnfish, I'll take a shot! "a kayak paddle made from a tree." that involves sharp cutting tools and potential bloodletting!




Ever wonder why Greenland paddles look as the do??? Very few trees grow in Greenland so they are made from the biggest chunks they can find.




butthead
"




A statement commonly made by folks who have never used one. The paddle shape and dimensions are very well-suited to traveling long distances in ocean waters. And Inuit paddle makers knew how to make wide objects from the materials at hand



Greenland paddles "



I'm pretty sure he was just kidding. Besides, he uses a bent shaft paddle and everyone knows those are only good for scooping up stuff that people dropped into a river or lake.
 
bhouse46
05/02/2019 09:28AM
 
Once we get habituated we tend to be loyalists. After years of paddling an aluminum barge with plastic blades and aluminum shafts my paddling companions all moved away. That boat was stolen one winter...yeah I wondered about that, too. When I got back into paddling it was kayak and double blade and a new learning curve. When I got my first canoe it was solo and the double blade just felt more comfortable. I have tried to return to the single blade picking up a nice wood bent shaft. I like it, but I cannot find a comfortable J stroke so turning and maintaining course is more difficult for me. I suspect some of you have mastered that.
For now I paddle with a double blade and have the bent shaft as back up. I intend to pick up a good straight shaft and work with that awhile. In the long run I likely will travel with the double blade and use the straight shaft single for slow paddling and rivers where sometimes the double blade is too long.
It is what I am comfortable with and I am grateful for so many choices so we all get what we want. Or, at least, have plenty of things to check out seeking that best fit.

 
Banksiana
05/02/2019 09:44AM
 
ZRE Power Surge Light 12degree bent. 8.5oz. Don't leave home without it.


Best equipment dollars ever spent.
 
butthead
04/17/2019 07:59AM
 
Took a while to convince myself they were worth the cost, Zaveral Z Lites. A 48 inch, 15 degree, 8 inch blade, day long distance. And another straight shaft 50 inch, 8.5 inch wide, to fish do technical strokes, and play with. I always carry 2 and use both (just not at the same time), when on water, 2 different tools for specific purposes. I found for myself a shorter paddle I less tiring and quicker to transition


butthead

PS; Doubles are sacrilege and cause warts! bh
 
MReid
04/17/2019 08:22AM
 
butthead:
PS; Doubles are sacrilege and cause warts! bh"

and rashes.....


Bent shaft all the way here--Zaveral carbon, with either Wenonah carbon or Grey Owl wood for second. I have some straights around for serious whitewater--Seda bludgeon and a Wenonah wood.
 
singlebladecanoe
04/16/2019 08:53PM
 
To those who solo, what is your choice of paddle and why? Canoe or kayak paddle?
 
MidwestFirecraft
04/16/2019 09:10PM
 
260 cm double blade and 54 inch Wenonah carbon Fiber straight shaft. I am not proficient enough with a single blade in a solo canoe to keep up with tandems or fight the wind. I like the single blade for tight streams and landings. I hope to take some classes from Dan Cooke this Spring, but that is where I am at right now.
 
MReid
04/22/2019 12:50PM
 
"That's because you were using it correctly"


Yeah, they scoop so much water!
 
boonie
04/16/2019 09:22PM
 
I take one of each, but mostly use the double. Like MidwestFirecraft, I'm not very proficient with a single blade. I'd like to get better, but usually only paddle on my BW trip, maybe another day or two.
 
minnmike
04/17/2019 10:02AM
 
ZRE bent shaft and BB straight for me too
 
gravelroad
07/15/2019 06:11PM
 
butthead: "campnfish, I'll take a shot! "a kayak paddle made from a tree." that involves sharp cutting tools and potential bloodletting!



Ever wonder why Greenland paddles look as the do??? Very few trees grow in Greenland so they are made from the biggest chunks they can find.



butthead
"



A statement commonly made by folks who have never used one. The paddle shape and dimensions are very well-suited to traveling long distances in ocean waters. And Inuit paddle makers knew how to make wide objects from the materials at hand.


Greenland paddles
 
OCDave
04/17/2019 10:24AM
 
singlebladecanoe: "So those that solo, what is your choice of paddle and why? Canoe or kayak paddle."


I once saw a video of a guy move his canoe sideways, all the way around his dock then back again, keeping his canoe perfectly perpendicular to the dock the entire time without taking his paddle out of the water. He was demonstrating the sculling draw and sculling pry strokes. To my eyes, he was performing magic and his paddle was his wand.


I canoe because I like the aesthetics. On smooth water, with the sky and clouds reflected off the surface, canoeing feels like flight. A Canadian/Northwoods underwater-recovery stroke feels like I am winged and soaring.


I also like the aesthetics of one piece of solid wood, shaped and sanded. A solid wood paddle is fine sculpture. It is art worthy of display but, also feels like a quality tool in the hand.


I have a few paddles but if forced to choose I like my Badger Sliver and my Fishell Ray Special. Both are long, straight and narrow. They reach deep into the water. They move me.
 
gymcoachdon
04/24/2019 10:13PM
 
ZRE bent carbon, with a older wenonah bent wooden paddle as back up. My first trip I took a double blade. Didn't feel it was any better, and I got wetter using it. Switching sides with a paddle got my pack in front of me wetter, but I stayed drier. Also, the double blade was a bit more cumbersome on the portages.
 
Ausable
04/17/2019 11:31AM
 
I tried a double blade for one day in a kayak, but it felt clumsy. Maybe I will try again someday. My primary paddle is a carbon bent shaft (I like 10 to12 degrees), and my 2nd is a straight shaft for when I need to do a lot of maneuvering or correcting strokes.
 
campnfish
04/18/2019 12:24PM
 
Thread Hijack,
Sub-Poll:
What is less manly, less traditional, and less sacrilegious, a 7.5 OZ Carbon Fiber bent shaft single bladed paddle, or a kayak paddle made from a tree.


PS. If you reply to this, you missed my joke.


To the OP, I bring both, and now cannot get my man card renewed, which is fine because we are leaning towards a more gender neutral society anyways.


I kid, I kid.
 
butthead
04/18/2019 01:34PM
 
campnfish, I'll take a shot! "a kayak paddle made from a tree." that involves sharp cutting tools and potential bloodletting!


Ever wonder why Greenland paddles look as the do??? Very few trees grow in Greenland so they are made from the biggest chunks they can find.


butthead

 
campnfish
04/18/2019 01:44PM
 
BH, you used my original thought and joke that i use a 6lb tree limb with bark for the blade, but only in my dugout canoe.



 
Blatz
04/18/2019 03:34PM
 
campnfish: "Thread Hijack,
Sub-Poll:
What is less manly, less traditional, and less sacrilegious, a 7.5 OZ Carbon Fiber bent shaft single bladed paddle, or a kayak paddle made from a tree.



PS. If you reply to this, you missed my joke.



To the OP, I bring both, and now cannot get my man card renewed, which is fine because we are leaning towards a more gender neutral society anyways.



I kid, I kid."

Everybody thought I was weird when I brought my bent shaft up to the BW in the late 80s
 
butthead
07/16/2019 01:47PM
 
justpaddlin, they, wide Bent blades, are also excellent spatulas great for extra large pancakes! Thank you.


butthead
 
AmarilloJim
04/22/2019 11:05AM
 
Blatz: "campnfish: "Thread Hijack,
Sub-Poll:
What is less manly, less traditional, and less sacrilegious, a 7.5 OZ Carbon Fiber bent shaft single bladed paddle, or a kayak paddle made from a tree.




PS. If you reply to this, you missed my joke.




To the OP, I bring both, and now cannot get my man card renewed, which is fine because we are leaning towards a more gender neutral society anyways.




I kid, I kid."

Everybody thought I was weird when I brought my bent shaft up to the BW in the late 80s"

That's because you were using it correctly

 
mapsguy1955
07/15/2019 07:57PM
 
ZRE bent and a Bending branches double kayak paddle, but will not do the double again. The carbon fiber paddle is so light it is no issue changing sides often.