Got my surf ski, now I need a paddle. Looking for advice from female paddlers. I’m around 140 lbs./5’7" and looking for fun, not racing. Any similar paddlers out there…what do you use? Thanks.
the women racers in our group
use Epic small wings as do a few of the guys.
http://www.epickayaks.com/products/paddles/small-mid-wing
or Fenn’s #5, the small one.
Most surfski paddlers are going a couple of cm shorter in length these days than the paddle length calculators suggest. shorter= Faster turnover, better speed changes and less torque on your back.
My wife loves her ONNO
She uses the smaller blade size, but talk to Pat and he’ll help you decide. He’s a really good guy to deal with.
Hand Made In Hawaii Too!
Couldn’t believe it at first that the wing paddles my daughter uses are hand made in Hawaii. She now owns three(3) of them, which were all made personally for her by Patrick in his shop in Hilo. She paddles them without gloves in San Francisco Bay and Kaneohe Bay. She loves the Onno Lever Lock system for adjusting length and feather, which Patrick invented years ago and now most of the large paddle makers have adopted without giving Patrick any credit. So far, her Onno wings have held up to all the hard use she’s given them and haven’t delamed or frayed along the edges. But just in case, I’m storing the boxes they came in, if she has to send them back to Patrick for emergency repairs. Now that’s peace of mind: being able to personally contact your paddle maker by phone or email.