I just bought my wife a Werner Cypress 210cm bent shaft paddle for an Anniversary gift. What are good options for a storage bag. Right now our paddle halves lie loose in our vehicle or on a shelf in the garage. A nice feature would be to be able to hang the storage bag.
Any ideas?
Thanks.
Paddle Bags
Assuming you aren’t looking to DIY, I keep my 2-piece wings in North Water padded paddle bags. There are many similar brands out there NRS, Mocke, etc.
For hanging, most have a shoulder strap. Inside, there are compartments to separate the blades, and some bags (like the Mocke) have storage compartments for paddle clothes.
Greg Stamer
being poor
I cannot afford a real paddle bag.
But I found a padded bag at a thrift store that held a small surf-board or snow board. It was the perfect size for a take-down paddle and padded with carry handle and shoulder strap.
Make one
We bought felt “like” fabric. Maybe fleese is a more accurate term. We laid it out triple thick and laid the paddle parts on top of it. We then sewed arount the shape of the paddles except for one end. Leave one layer about 6 inches longer than the other two at the opening so you have a flap to close. Then turn it inside out and you have a paddle bag. Slide the paddle halves inside from the end into the two seperate pockets. It keeps them from rubbing together. This protects the paddle from the wear of them rubbing together but does not protect them from being crushed. They work great.
We like them so much we thought about offering them to Pat at a low cost to include with his paddles.
wally world
Get gun sock for longguns. Costs about 5 bucks and you can hang them. I use them for my Zavs
They’re not that expensive
And well worth the cost for protecting an expensive paddle.
Storage suggestion
It isn’t elegant, but the handiest storage option I have found for breakdown paddles is those tall plastic oval-based totes with the round perforations and pair of cut-out top handles (sorry, no link to a photo – though I see them in countless stores, from K-Mart to Walgreens, no images turned up in my various google searches). I call them “Swiss cheese totes”. I have several boats and sets of outfitting for them that I often share with friends, so I fill each bag with the two halves of a paddle, a PFD, a bilge pump and spray skirt (and, for my personal gear tote, also a pair of paddle gloves and a deck bag).
I also keep one filled with my cold weather clothing kit: neoprene dive booties, cap and gloves and dry suit. Easy to grab and I know everything I need is in there. And there is the whitewater kit with neoprene skirt, float bags, helmet and WW paddle
The paddles, tucked between the skirt and PFD, are well protected. everything can drain and dry easily and the totes are rigid enough to stand up in the hatch of an SUV or wagon, tuck behind the front seats or the vehicle floor or lie down in a trunk. Between trips they can be hung on a large hook on the basement or garage wall. The bottoms are solid, so when stuff is in the car after an outing, drippage doesn’t get on the carpet. You can set the thing in the yard and hose everything off right in the tote, handy for salt water or mucky pond outings. Then just hang it to drain and dry.
I tried sewing polarfleece and then neoprene “socks” for my paddles, but found them a nuisance. The totes routine is highly convenient, easier to carry and I don’t forget anything now when I get the urge for a spur of the moment paddling outing. It also makes it easier to inventory all the gear when you get back in the car – every paddler returns their kit to the bag that they brought it in. The totes are easily labeled with a Sharpie.
Since I’ve been using this system (about 3 years) I have not had one incidence of getting to the put in and realizing I was missing an important bit of gear. Sure saves time rooting through tubs of stuff when loading for a trip.
My Favorite Paddle Covers
Are the $60 Jantex Bag from Oceanpaddlesports of Costa Mesa, CA; and the $70 Burnwater Bag from Double 5th Dragon Boating of Vancouver, WA. Both bags are small, compact, padded and come with a shoulder strap. You got a $400 paddle, which deserves first class treatment. Compare measurements first, before buying, to insure paddles will fit inside the bag.