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Consider the type of paddling you wish to do. Major trips? Day trips? Just quiet evening paddling near the cottage? Photographing, fishing, hunting on twisty little rivers or into marshes? Maybe you teach paddling? Most Kettlewell paddles will do everything with grace, but you may not want a Quill for paddling in shallow, twisting streams or major trips. You definitely should not choose a Tripper if you love to do all the graceful maneuvers a canoe can perform.
Will you do most paddling solo, or tandem? If tandem, and you think you'd like a Special or Quill, your partner should have something similar in order to match your stroke. How do you choose the right size? If you want an Ottertail, Modified Ottertail, or Tripper, measure the distance from the floor to your chin or nose. That gives you the approximate length of your paddle. Young people who are likely to grow should use to floor-to-nose or even floor-to-top-of-head length. If you want a Special, paddlers 5' to 5'4" tall should choose a 58" Special. If you measure 5'4" to 5'8", choose a 61" Special. If you are 5'8" to 5'11", choose a 64" Special. Paddlers 6' and over need a 66" Special. If this is confusing, or even if it isn't, just tell us how tall you are. |