this is not a troll. i have my own opinions but maybe there are legitimate users for a kayak paddle this long. many shops are full of them, but they seem almost comically long for just about anyone in any boat.
can anyone tell me what the benefit of a paddle this long is? is it really reach over an extremely wide boat?
I would say maybe for SOTs
especially the new models coming out for fishing are both wide for stability and you sit fairly high out of the water.
rec boats & canoes & long paddlers
Canoes.
Rec boat paddling
with a laid back low angle paddling style.
they work great if…
the water is only 2 inches deep !
Cheers,
jackL
I’m skeptical
I use a 218 in my big fat Cabo tandem (aka Barge-O) and find it plenty long, and I’m 5’11" with stubby legs and a long torso. Admittedly my stroke is fairly vertical, but even with a lower stroke 230 would seem plenty long.
canoes?
I guess canoes and maybe rec. doubles. My gf paddles a 28.5’’ wide SOT just fine with a 220 paddle, both me and her paddled a 28" wide rec kayak just fine with a 220. i am 6’1 and i preffer 220, she’s 5’8 with much shorter arms than me. i think 240 length paddles are pretty pointless. actually i think 230’s are too long too, used one few days ago after using my 220 for a long time and it felt un nessesarily long.
the long & short of it
Tom Watson has a pretty good article on this topic right here on p-net in the Guidelines section.
http://www.paddling.net/guidelines/showArticle.html?132
It’s good reading for those who assume ‘their way’ is the only way.
250
At the risk of being banished from p-net, I must confess my favorite paddle is a 250.
What jackL said…
jackL hit it just right. I fish from my yak and my 240cm sometimes is just a little too short when I’m sneaking up in real skinny water on a place to fish. My next paddle will be another 240cm or a 250cm if I can find one that:
1)I can afford
2) is not half the weight of my yak.
Budd
I use a
240 narrow bladed wood touring paddle and love it. But then I’m from Illinois.
240 paddles…
Jeez, I only have 4!
Andy
I bought a 240 to use while kneeling
in an canoe, and it really was not long enough. But for sea kayaking, I use a 215, even though I am very tall and could certainly manage a longer paddle.
Overall lengths only half of the story
– Last Updated: Jun-06-06 4:58 PM EST –
I used to use a 240 Werner San Juan (RIP) with a WS tarpon 160 SOT. It was a good match. That particular 240 had big blades, so the shaft was same length as on as some 220s.
Going to narrower kayaks I've also gone to shorter paddles. 215-220 max for touring. 212-215 wing. I most paddle Greenland stick though - which are sized to me so the actual length number is less of an issue than with off the rack stuff.
I am 6’5"; 240 is just fine except I
need a 250 in my canoe that doesn’t weigh half what the canoe does.Mohawk paddles are a great bargain, but you will pay for it in weight.
Well, I’m not saying I’d need it
or anyone else for that matter, but I could see a lot of “fishermen first, kayakers second” THINKING they need it. Heck, so many of that breed down here are pretty fat - maybe an extra long paddle helps them compensate for being physiologically incapable of any torso rotation.
Depends
I sweare by 240 paddles, and advise people at least try them once. i can make do with shorter paddles, but will not do if i have a choice. i find lots of people on trips frome the shop who do much better with longer paddles.
and i hated(now just dislike) any thing under 240.
240?
240cm paddles? Sure, they hold the dining fly up higher than 215cm paddles. 