What Paddle do You Recommend

[adkron]

Hi,

I need advise on a Kayak paddle.

I am not selling Passports (fake or real), Cell Phones or anything. I can't believe those posts.

I did just purchase an Old Town Cayuga 160 16 foot kayak. It is 24 inches wide and I need a paddle. I will use the kayak mostly in lakes in the Adirondack Mountains of NY for recreation, touring, and fishing.

I have only been in a kayak twice for short trips so I am inexperienced, I have been canoeing for over 25 years so I am used to light "boats" in the Adiromdack lakes and calmer rivers,

I am 6'2" tall, athletic (but aging) and have been reading reviews on paddles for two days now.(Checked out Bending Branches, Warner, Swift, Seven2, Carlisle, and others.

What length, weight, type and/or brand of paddle do you experienced ?kayakers? recommend?

Thanks,

adkron

[AJarvi]

My advice is to go to several shops and talk to the folks that really know there gear. Here in Central Ohio we have two excellent outfitting stores with guys that are an absolute wealth of information.

[clvrmonkey]

I second that. I'm a new paddler as well and did some reading, but talking to an outfitter really helped me settle on a choice. Besides your height you'll also want to consider your paddling style (high- vs low-angle) and budget. For my money I finally went with a Warner Skagit, which seemed like it offered a bit of flexibility on angle as I'm still developing a technique, and was fairly light for the price.

[jillklein]

When I started I asked all my questions at a local kayak shop. Then with the prices of paddles I went to rei and got a great paddle on sale and my dad even uses my paddle when we go out and he's 6'1" and it works out great. I use mine recreationally in lakes oceans and rivers. It's been fine!

[admin]

Check out http://www.kayakonline.com/choosing_a_paddle.html

They have good information on selecting a paddle.