Just checked the NRS site and
didn’t find the clip I’m using. It’s like an oversized caribiner with a bit more shape to accommodate a paddle.
Found one on NRS but has a
different name and a has a bit of change in their design and is not noted as a “paddle clip”. I think when I purchased mine it was noted as that. Anyway, it’s been a handy thing to have and takes up very little space.
@Raftergirl said:
Taco style
I added taco style paddle clips, right & left. Easy in & out. Helpful but not foolproof. I don’t care for paddle leashes.
That’s the one I’m looking at. Are these better/easier than the two separate clips that work the same way?
Yes.
I’ve been using a kind of paddle leash for years and I feel incomplete without it. I use the bungee type tether that they give you for your club card at most casinos. Mostly it’s kind of a placebo, but it is practical for keeping the paddle near by if it does get dropped. Of course it wouldn’t work well in a violent capsize, but then it also wouldn’t be something to get tangled up in either.
When I first used a leash it got me hung up getting out and caused a lot of amusement to my paddle buddies at my shallow water exits. I don’t use a leash any more and stay a lot drier.
When paddling I lay the paddle across the cockpit for short hands free so I can quickly grab it and brace if necessary. A one hand brace with a greenland wood paddle is possible. Otherwise it goes blade under the forward bungees to be nearby for quick deployment and bracing. Clips, bungee hook rigs take too much fiddling.
When I first read a few years back about paddle leashes I was amazed. As an “inland” paddler I’d never heard or seen anyone who used such a device. I did know some old school c1ers who bungied a spare on their deck but that was as close as I had come to encountering anything that even resembled a leash or clip.
I’ve given it some thought since then and I can see where a leash or clips would be useful if you’re in a large open water environment (ocean, great lakes) where your paddle could be swept away should you swim. I guess you would need a way to secure the paddle while you reenter the boat from the water.
The only times I’ve reentered a boat in water over my head is for practice and that practice only involved canoes. Paddles were stowed in the boat for that drill.
I did encounter folks with paddle leashes that they attached to their body on the Greenbrier River (wv) this past year. I just assumed they were morons since the leash and paddle would pose a major hazard should they end up swimming in the class II rapids of the Greenbrier.
So how have I managed to survive all this time? I just hang on to my paddle. It’s a good idea to have a spare breakdown paddle stowed away in someones boat, but one is enough for the group. I guess if your fishing some sort of leash or clip could be useful but I like my paddle in hands, sometimes I tuck it in my armpit while shooting pictures so I can get two hands on the camera. I can even steer a little bit with the paddle tucked in the armpit.
I’ve used a leash (as a crutch) since I began paddling. As my skills and knowledge have improved, I’ve become more comfortable going out without it and making it easier to swap paddles while on the water.
I had an “interesting” experience paddling down a river, where I cut really close to a tree in the water and it snagged my leash (the phone cord type). It didn’t take much to break the cord and my paddle was left attached to the tree. I ended up downstream, just a little surprised, and quickly grabbed my spare and assembled it.
By the time I had my spare reassembled, another member in the group of paddlers (novice, you might say) tried to go back and get my paddle before I saw him doing it. He got caught sideways against the current and flipped over.
The point to take from this is that as long as you have a spare on deck, losing your paddle isn’t a really big deal. You have some time to figure things out once you get your spare in your hands.
@Ohioguy25 said:
Clips or a place to hold your paddle when you need your hands free? I found these folding clips but not sure how flimsy they are and if they stay up when you remove your paddle.
On the water your paddle must be as available in less than a fraction of a second. I have clips to hold the spare paddle and for portaging, but never ever have the paddle where it will take more than a blink of the eye to employ. My rule is to hold that paddle no matter what happens. You know that warning about pryin cold dead fingers…applies to paddles. Any leash or ropes can lead to disasterous entanglement or get caught on a branch in fast water on a small river and if light enough to break free, you are no better off than before you ‘lashed’.
http://winterbearrising.wordpress.com/
I tie some bungie to a couple of pad-eyes and mount a hook near the cockpit. It keeps the paddle secure and handy.
@pirateoverforty said:
No
Half my yaks have paddle holders. I never use it. Never use a paddle leash. Last instruction I give to anyone I’m taking paddling as I am pushing them off the shore, “hold on to your paddle”
same advice my old man gave me, said the same thing about the shotgun when duck hunting haha
I use a paddle lease when I am taking photos so I can just drop the paddle in the water beside me and pull the camera out for a quick shot. I mostly kayak big water and marshes. I mostly use a canoe on rivers and swamps and don’t see a need for one there. I always carry an extra paddle. I never had a problem with the lease. It is one of the coiled type with a Velcro closer around the paddle shaft.