Has anyone used bamboo lumber for a GP? If so, how is to work with and where did you find it? The specific gravity is similar for WRC and bamboo. I think it would be strong and lightweight for a traditional style paddle.
You may be the first. I hope
you will not find you have been bamboozled.
Too heavy, TOO hard.
But have fun. Has potential in a more complex buid, hollow core, a laminate over foam core, etc.
I did a bamboo norsaq out of a cutting board, once.
Please try it
I’ve thought of this briefly - especially since Brian at Cape Falcon is using laminated bamboo for deck beams in his boats (but I’m too lazy to figure it out). If it’s not too heavy as Greyak fears, I bet it would be a nice springy paddle. Bamboo does absorb water like crazy, so it would have to be sealed, I think.
Bamboo paddles are popular …
… for outrigger paddling and surfboards:
http://www.bamboosurfboardshawaii.com/paddles.html
Sawyer makes a bamboo bent shaft in the US:
http://canoekayak.com/features/paddling-news/sawyer_paddles_art.jpg
“Devil’s in the details”…
… or “Bamboo is skin deep” L
From that site:
“Bamboo standup paddles are a hybrid laminate of epoxy, carbon and bamboo that tend to be light and durable.
The bamboo outer skin looks naturaly good and tends to stay cooler than the ‘carbon finish’. The stiffness of the paddle shaft can be adjusted by changing the ratio - more carbon for stiffness, more bamboo for flex and toughness.”
Those paddles are pretty sweet …
I see him in the post office once in a while.
Besides balsa, another wood to seriously look @ is Paulownia.
Paulonia
Still looking around for a local supplier up my way Patrick…
Will email you soon about some other stuff too 
Cheers…Joe O’
http://www.joeoblenis.com/
it has been used, even by Greenlanders
There have been some discussions of use of bamboo for skin-on-frame boats over in the QajaqUSA.com forums – you can do a search over there for the particulars.