Greetings.
I’m wondering about the differences in blade shapes. I just started paddling about a year ago and I purchased the aqua bound stingray.
This past weekend I borrowed a buddy’s paddle briefly and everything felt quicker and more responsive.
He had some lower-end $60 one piece paddle, but the blades on his paddle were closer to an oval when compared to the more elongated shape of the stingray blades.
I’m also wondering if blades are interchangeable between brands.
Thanks
Lots of variables in trying to formulate an answer to your questions. Starting with the last one first, no blades do not disconnect to attach to other brands shafts.
Before opening the entire shipping container of worms, what kayak do you paddle and what sort of terrain? That’ll help.
See you on the water,
Marshall Seddon
The River Connection, Inc.
9 W. Market St.
Hyde Park, NY. 12538
845-229-0595 main
845-242-4731 mobile
Main: www.the-river-connection.com
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Elongated blades are typically used for low-angle paddling and more oval ones are used for high-angle paddling. Lower angle is easier on your body and more appropriate for longer distances and leisurely paddling, while high-angle is used for faster acceleration and a more thorough workout. But, that’s a huge generalization and I think most of us fall somewhere in between. So, it really just depends on individual preferences. I mostly paddle high angle with my Werner Cyprus but using a longer, wooden Greenland paddle I tend to lower my angle a bit.
Oh, and I’ve personally never seen a paddle with interchangeable blades.
Your Stingray is a good beginner paddle. I’d suggest you stick with it until you have a lot more experience. But in the meantime, try different styles of paddling until you find what suits you best, and try out every other paddle you can get your hands on!
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I have a Jackson Riviera and a Point 65 Apollo.
I’m paddling the Rio Grande in Texas.
There are long stretches of slow-moving water and some bumpy, rocky rapids. American Whitewater classes them l to ll, sometimes lll at higher flow rates.
But the blades are always smacking on rocks which is why I went with fiberglass, I figured it would be more durable than carbon fiber.
I did buy a nice Greenland paddle from Traditional Marine which I have used in the Amistad Reservoir and which I love, but I’m afraid to take it on the Rio Grande because of all the rocks.
Lendal 4 piece paddles were/are a paddle shaft that could use different interchangeable blades. very common paddle until the war for the lightest paddle ensued and Lendal started with the 2 piece paddle for weight and cost savings
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Yeah, that stingray I have is a 4-piece, so that’s why I was thinking maybe I could buy a couple of blades from aqua bound that would fit. No such thing listed on their website but I did send them an email just to see.
I would suggest for the Rio Grande, maybe a lower cost blade than fiberglass. You might get lucky and find one like I did.
Some brands have interchangeable within that brand, but I don’t know of any 2 brands that are interchangeable between brands. For example, the only likely interchangeable blades that you could stick on that Aquabound stingray you have would be other Aquabound blades, and even then it isn’t guaranteed they would fit (connection style and shaft diameters/shapes change over time).
Here is an article from this site on blades: https://paddling.com/learn/basic-kayak-paddle-shapes/
In the end, much does come down to personal preference. You have to try as many paddles as you can to figure out what you like. Some specialized kayak dealers do have demo programs but they are getting rarer and rarer.
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Nice! Do you have a website?
Thanks, good article.
Suggestion: for an extended trip you would definitely want a spare paddle – why not use the Greenland on the “long stretches of slow-moving water” but take along a whitewater paddle as your backup and pull it out from under your deck-lines as you approach the rapids. A whitewater paddle will give you the option of quicker turning, faster immediate acceleration and toughness for the fast rocky sections. Also will be shorter – usually 20 to 30 cm shorter than your touring paddle, which makes for more effective high angle paddling in fast water.
I mostly paddle with a Greenland (either a cedar or the two piece Gearlab that I have for travel) but I carry a standard blade paddle on the deck for a spare and to switch off if I need a wider blade or want to avoid banging the GP on rocks.
If you need a 4-piece due to packing for travel, Aquabound makes a 4-piece “Shred” model for whitewater with the typical wider blades for more “push”. Perhaps the blades would be interchangeable with your Stingray shaft too which would enable you to have two different paddle lengths and two sets of blades for 4 different configurations. I don’t know how your 4-piece Aquabound is, but my Cannon carbon 4-piece paddle can be assembled with just one of the shaft halves (as a 3-piece), which enables me to create a shorter paddle for mild white water. Here is a link to the “Shred”.
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I’m not a vendor. No web page. Just a simple paddler .
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I have had that very thought about carrying my Greenland paddle and switching off. The thing is I have sit on tops so I don’t have deck lines.
I did buy some taco clips and I was going to install them so I could carry the Greenland for use in the calmer stretches, but the one I have has a rectangular shaft and I wasn’t convinced the taco clips would hold it.
Interesting thought about using one piece of the shaft to create a shorter paddle.
That shred looks seriously tempting.
The stingray I bought is 230cm and I’m 5’8 1/2.
So, for the shred you would be suggesting 200 to 210 cm?
Thanks
I think the Shred only comes in a 196 cm size which would be fine. Back when I had a whitewater paddle it was 190 (i am 5’ 4” and my GPs are 213 and 220).
Sit on tops are tough to rig since you can’t get inside the hull to fasten bolts through for hardware attachments. I.m curious how you plan to secure all your gear if you are embarking on an extended journey in a boat without decklines. Sounds like what we call a “yard sale” when you capsize.
Looks like nowadays the shred can be ordered from 192 to 200 in increments of 2.
I’m not planning on taking extended trips, at least not yet and with the boats I currently have.
The run we’ve been doing on the Rio Grande is probably 12 to 15 miles, so we’re just going out for the day.
I have a few smaller dry bags packed into one big dry bag that I slip under the bungees at the rear. The stowaway compartment at the front of the Riviera is pretty much useless so I am quite limited on space.
I did buy an assortment of well nuts and some hooks when I bought the taco clips, but I haven’t installed anything because I’m wondering just how well they would hold up.