GPs and long trips
I have used Greenland paddles exclusively for my long trips, although I use a wing for racing and own a stack of Euros. For my recent Iceland and Newfoundland circumnavigations I used 86" and 88" Superior 2-piece carbon GPs. This allowed a paddle length of 86",87" or 88" as has been mentioned.
These were cold water trips so I used (Level-6) mittens most of the time. With any paddle that I have used, blisters are most common (if mitts are not worn) within the first 2-5 days, then cease to be an issue.
These last trips involved crossings of greater than 50 miles so I used a Northwater leash at night and whenever the conditions made me worry about the consequences of losing a paddle (although I carried a spare).
Greg Stamer
It is just fact:
A gp or better yet an Aleutian paddle (I have three now, two made by Greyak and one I made out of knotty spruce that works equally well as a shovel) is much easier on my body than a euro blade. Like Greyak said, on a river and a whitewater boat it is a no brainer, or for racing with a wing.
Of late I have taken one of the Aleutian paddles out with a single bladed Aleutian paddle that Chris Raab from Tuktu paddles made just for the variety. I also throw a storm paddle with the single blade on the back because after 6 or 7 miles it is a welcome change to do a sliding stroke or try my hand at single bladed paddling for a few minutes.
but for eat up the miles, light in your hand, and versatility, the two piece Aleutian paddle I have is by far my favorite paddle these days.
Paul
Both?
I paddle with a GP, and use my featherweight, very expensive carbon crankshaft paddle as my spare - it’s an AT, a beautiful creature, which is now my wife’s primary paddle (rarely used). I de-feathered it last season which makes me like it even more. I sometimes carry a second GP as well.
Anyway, I find it nice to change paddle types occasionally, but I don’t do multi-day tours. I figure it would be better to have a Euro to lend to another paddler who might need a spare and has never used a GP. I haven’t had to do that, but I have loaned it to many newbies using crappy rental paddles and boy do they love it.
which is why
it is important to use every piece of your equipment on the boat as much as you can. I love paddling with a storm paddle as it definitely uses different muscles.
Paul
Thanks
Thanks to all who responded to my original post. I found many of the answers very helpful.
In particular, thanks to those who cautioned about using the storm paddle as a spare. I’ve been paddling with the storm lately (and I spent tonight’s pool session rolling with it), so I can see what you mean when you say it demands its own skill set. I’ll continue to train with it over the next couple of months and see how I feel come spring.
Thanks also to those who told me to stop wasting my time by asking stupid questions and simply go for what feels right. That is (with some qualification) valid advice. Rest assured, however: I was an impressionable eight year old when Star Wars was released and I first heard Obi Wan advise Luke to stop relying on technology and just “use the Force”. If anything, I have followed that advice a little to closely over the years, so it is actually a sign of growing maturity on my part that I ask advice about equipment.
Thanks again.
no no no
Use the force!
you will never be wrong young padowan.
(My nine year old and I just got back from Wallyworld with a poster with all the Star Wars characters over the years. He knows them all!)
not to mention the legos and the Legos Starwars WII
Paul
Storm paddles are cute…
But they don’t instill confidence in me. I’ve found them to be almost useless in big water. But that’s just me.
I prefer a single blade for backup. I switch between the gp and single on long trips just to use different muscles and dry my hands.
I agree with Matt
I have tried using a storm paddle in varying conditions and have not felt comfortable that I could provide an adequate brace in rough conditions. I always carry a full length paddle on my deck for a spare.
The design makes a big difference
I commonly see "storm" paddles with 8"-12" looms, which results in a short blades with reduced surface area. That's the way I made my first one and I hated it, as it had little bite and gave me no confidence that I could brace or roll with it.
IMO, a storm paddle should have the same length and width blades as one's preferred full-length paddle. You shorten it by reducing the length of the loom, not the blades. In my case, my regular paddles have a 22" loom and my storm paddle has a 4" loom (one fist sized), but the blades are identical in size. It provides a feel and propulsion similar to my regular paddle, though my cadence is reduced slightly with the sliding stoke, at least until I get into a rhythm with it.
The one downside to a storm paddle is that it's not as easy to brace quickly on the offside as it is with a full length paddle. Otherwise, it's fine and it seems to me that it would be better than using a single blade, at least for people who are not canoeists.
Seems to me
that the best “storm paddle” is one of full length used with the sliding stroke. I think the only logical reasoning with the short gp is stowage. My single blade was designed by King Island kayakers and is not necessarily a canoe paddle but I do use canoeing strokes more or less. It does take some getting used to. It is though a paddle designed for paddling that stows on my deck quite well. My King Island paddle is very similar in cross section to a GP which gives it the same dynamic properties when sculling and bracing.
If you haven’t already you should give one a try. Once you get a good in-water recovery stroke it’s very cool.
Offside brace
I agree about the offside problem: if you’re sliding right but need to brace left, you’ve got no paddle to brace with. I was out yesterday in chop off a headland and felt uncomfortable with the storm. I switched to the full GP.
Regarding rolling, I actually find rolling with the storm paddle to be easy and fun (at least in a pool). It is so easy to move from side to side, forward and back underwater that no set up is required. Big grin factor.
Never broke a paddle on a trip have you?
The reason for the short paddle…
…is quite simple. When used in high winds, there is no upper blade to catch the wind and slow you down or otherwise compromise your stroke.
I haven’t tried a King Island paddle, but I have seen diagrams of how it’s used and it seems pretty effective. My objection to it is that to switch sides, at least one hand has to release the paddle. With a short GP and a sliding stroke, both hands remain on the paddle at all times. In really tough conditions, that could make a big difference.
Yeah, rolling with it is easy
I’ve had to do it “in anger” a couple times when I had my regular paddle torn from my grasp by breakers. In both cases, I pulled the storm from the foredeck and rolled right up. In one case, when I rolled up, my other paddle was right next to the boat and I instinctively grabbed it. So there I was, with a paddle in each hand, a wave coming in and no time to stow either one, thinking “now what the heck do I do?” 
Paddle in each hand…
… equals two outriggers! One handed/center loom brace on one side, or angel/butterfly finish position with both hands out and ride it out is waves are small enough? Bigger wave/tumbled - probably gonna have to let one go (more like wave decides vs it being optional).
Rolling bracing with a paddle (or whatever) in both hands might be something to play around with…
Best reason to have a storm is the rolling benefits of less length when doing things less orderly/planned.
Sliding stroke is fun too. Can be practical, for those who practice it anyway. A storm is a much better teacher of that than a full sized GP (I can’t really see needing to slide as a regular thing with full sized paddle. Once and a while for a few strokes just because - but just an awkward slow over leveraged stroke - compared to normal power/fee with storm).
Agree
and I always carry a storm on the deck…
Answering a post above from … kwikle…
even when I go out for a couple of weeks, I carry a storm paddle…mine have an add in loom so can become a full length paddle if I need to use it rather than paddle for days using a storm…don’t like the come back just to have a full length paddle in case something happens to my main paddle.
http://www.geocities.com/roym52/5P-paddle-1.jpg
but I still have the convience of a storm paddle for in caves and tunnels and for ease of stowing and carring on the deck as a quick spare.
Best Wishes
Roy
In the case in question…
…I simply dropped the storm paddle so I could brace with the other one. I was stuck in a small pool in the rocks, so neither the boat nor the paddle was going anywhere and I really needed to be able to brace hard into the oncoming wave. After it passed and I was still upright, I had time to stow the storm and concentrate on getting out of the pool before I got hammered again. It took a while, but I finally got out without capsizing again.
That’s an interesting solution
Didn’t you have some pics of your construction process somewhere?
With a full paddle
and the sliding stroke you may have a few more inches of paddle exposed to wind but more importantly you have more paddle in the water for stability and propulsion force. IMO the full paddle is a much more flexible tool because you can have the advantages of sliding your stroke in gusts and then switching back to normal strokes.
The King island paddle is more of a novelty for me which makes it fun. It’s very effective but you’re right about having one hand. I chose to put a T-handle on mine so I could have a better grip.
GPs are great!
I very recently switched to paddling a GP after taking a Greenland Traditional workshop last summer. I orderded a paddle that felt right for me after demoing it. I used the paddle for a day with windy conditions and used it every day on an Everglades multi-day trip this past week. I wasn’t temtped to use my Euro blade at all. Wrists, hands, elbows, back, shoulders felt good. Enjoy. Steve F