Tip 1 was about finding the “Right Paddle for You”, and both Kai and Annabel offered tips focusing on paddle length and blade size. Questions about paddle length and blade size are undoubtedly the most common ones asked by paddlers looking to purchase their first paddle. Choosing the right height and blade size for you can make your paddling a lot more pleasurable and help you perform a lot better. Choosing wrong can have a huge negative impact on your performance and make your paddling more frustrating and less enjoyable. It can also result in injury. Clearly choosing the right height and blade size is important, and Kai and Annabel offer really good advice.
One of the things that is much more rarely mentioned when discussing paddles is shaft stiffness. In my experience, shaft stiffness is a pretty important factor to consider as well.
Conventional wisdom suggests that a stiffer shaft is better than a more flexible shaft for serious racers. When the paddle shaft flexes it represents a loss of energy and means that less of the force you’re generating is applied against the water to move the board forward. While I can’t disagree with that, as with many other things in paddling it's not always that simple.
When I was paddling C1 I found that the paddles I liked best were stiff, but still had enough give to them that it helped me “feel” the water. In the early 1980s we used to get our paddles from Hungary. They were beautiful wooden paddles, not unlike the pieces of art that I see EJ Johnson make for SUP. I remember when I was very young picking one up on a European tour one year and coming home excited to try it, only to find out it was far too flexible for my liking. My catch and the first part of my pull felt too soft and ineffective because so much energy was lost in the bending of the shaft. While it felt like some of that energy was returned in the later stages of the stroke when the shaft straightened out again, the loss at the catch was something that I couldn’t live with. Remember the most effective part of the stroke is the part in which the blade angle is positive through to vertical. You don’t want to be giving anything up in that part of the stroke in exchange for something gained when the blade angle has passed through vertical and is negative.
Later in my career, when carbon paddles were starting to become popular, I got a paddle that was super stiff. Remembering my experience with the soft shaft paddle, and thinking that a stiff shaft preserved energy and would allow everything I put on the paddle to be exerted against the water to move my boat forward, I asked for one to be made as stiff as possible. I had no idea exactly how strong and rigid carbon fiber could be.
While this super stiff paddle was lighter than anything I had used before it was a disaster. The first time I used it I was shocked to find that I had virtually no feeling for the water I was trying to hold on my blade. Thinking that I just needed to get used to it, I continued to use that paddle twice a day for another three weeks. Surprisingly it didn’t get any better.
At that time I was as physically strong as I have ever been in the gym, and I have always been strong on my paddle. Yet I didn’t have the strength to deal with this paddle. The paddle was so stiff, with so little flex in the shaft or the blade, that it was incredibly hard to feel the water with. And since I couldn’t really feel the water gathering on my paddle blade at the catch, I couldn’t feel it being held there during the stroke. The blade was hard to control through the water and my paddling felt terrible. In fact, my speed decreased markedly while I struggled with this paddle while the energy I seemed to expend each stroke increased.
Experience has shown me that the perfect paddle is not only one which is the right height and blade size for you, but also the correct stiffness. Just as it’s possible to have a paddle that is too soft for your ability, it’s also possible to find one that is too stiff. Neither is good.
Most SUP paddles have enough give that a strong, top-level paddler isn’t going to encounter one like the super stiff C1 paddle that I couldn’t handle. But if you’re a middle of the pack paddler or more on the novice side, don’t rush out and get the stiffest shaft paddle you can buy without at least trying it first. You’ve got to match the stiffness to your strength, fitness and technical abilities in the same way that you do blade size and paddle height. You’ll have to go by feel when you try it. You’re looking for something that is stiff but still allows you to feel water gather behind it and that you can control through the water.
Even top-level paddlers might want to keep a paddle with a softer shaft in their quiver. This season I asked Jimmy Terrell to make me a V-drive with a softer shaft to use when I am doing high volume paddling and I start to feel it in my 52 year-old joints. When I really jack up the volume I tend to get sore, particularly in the elbows, to the point where they are extremely tender. Ice packs and anti-inflammatories become my best friend. I’ve found that switching to a softer shaft paddle in training can ease that and help me do the high volume training without exacting the same toll on my joints and connective tissue. I can easily go back to a stiffer shaft paddle a few days before I race and immediately adjust to it.
So this week’s Tip of the Week is to consider shaft stiffness as well as blade size and paddle length when purchasing your paddle. If possible, try before you buy, and match paddle stiffness to your ability. And if you are an experienced paddler who logs a lot of mileage and occasionally suffers from sore shoulders, elbows and ribs, try training using a paddle with a softer shaft. You’ll find it really reduces the load on joints and connective tissue, and you can always go back to the stiffer paddle before you race.
