I’m looking for a paddle for a 9 years old (average height) - hes going to be a bow paddler on 32" wide Seawave inflatable tandem. According to charts - for a wide kayak I should get him at least 220cm paddle, regardless of his height. Is this reasonable?
Also I wanted a 4 piece paddle, since I plan to fly with it. So I went for an Aquabound sting ray hybrid with smaller shaft size. apparently it has a fairly small blade and weights under 30oz. Will this paddle work for him? or should I look into other options?
That sounds like a good option on all counts. He needs a paddle that will clear the gunwales of the boat without banging his knuckles so getting one that long that has a slender shaft and smaller blade with decently light weight was a good decision.
I am not familiar with the 4-piece configuration of Aquabound paddles but I have a 230 cm Cannon 4 piece carbon that has the added feature of being able to assemble it with only 3 pieces, creating a shorter paddle (around 195 cm). If you are able to also do that with the Aquabound it would give your son the option of using it that way as a shorter paddle when using a solo kayak more scaled to his proportions. I set my Cannon up short like that when doing shallow or moderate whitewater sections or when paddling through close quarters like mangrove thickets where a longer paddle can get caught in overhanging foliage.
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Thanks,
I placed an order. Though I’ll have to wait till december for the small shaft option.
Also a carbon 240cm 4 piece eagle ray for me (I’m 6’1").
Not sure the configuration you suggested is possible though, since these paddles have a “posi-lok” ferrule system in the middle connection.
I agree with your choices.All of it. I am not a fan of ‘take a parts’, but they do have their uses. A 260 cm paddle that is a single piece is the very dickens to stuff into an over head bin. (I traveled once with three paddles, canoe type, straight, the longest being 67 inches 200 cm. Back pack and paddles in Downtown Chicago, train in, and plane out, buses on the Miracle Mile. I musta looked pretty silly.)
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