paddle tape

My paddle seems a bit slippery in my hands at times, especially when wet.



Do you wrap the shaft of your paddle with tape or anything else where your hands grip the shaft?



If so where can I get it?



Two exaples I can think of:



I wrap my hockey stick where my top hand grips the stick with some “adhesive gauze” used to wrap the lower leg of race horses. I buy it from the local farmers association.



The wrap that goes on handle bars of road bicycles.



Craig.

surfboard wax
works very well. i use it in the winter when i am wearing gloves. feels fine against your hands when you take the gloves off. no slipping at all. seems to reduce blistering along the backs of my thumbs, as well. i use mr zog’s cold water wax.



andrew

Sticky Stuff
Try Mr. Zog’s Sex Wax. From surfing increases the tackiness without adding width. Works great but don’t use in conjunction with letherette paddling gloves. Yuck, mess!



Something else I’m trying is Stick-um. This is usually used to make candles stick into holders better. Going to try it, why not.



See you on the water,

Marshall

http://www.the-river-connection.com

Mr Zogs works well
I have lightly sanded my paddle shafts with very fine grit sandpaper to remove the sheen, and then rubbed on Mr Zogs Sex Wax and buffed it out. Makes for an interesting wet-handed grip: Not sticky enough to cause discomfort or blisters, but sticky enough to make your grip more secure.



Jim

info
The shaft is supposed to rotate in your hand so I use duct tape over a plastic straw that is paralell to the shaft with a raisin size knob under each pinkie to really hold on for a strong brace. Use the best quality duct tape. Original equipment is a shrink wrap thin rubber. Triangle shape shaft is an interesting option.

Don’t try what I did…
… I have some woodworking background, and know that a high quality “Wax” is good for wood items. I used a wax named “Butcher’s Wax”. It is a high quality wax for use on all wood products, inside or outside. I waxed my wood Kayak paddle and paddle shaft to protect them. (it works on metal or painted areas too)



… The wax made a “gummy” surface that gave me blisters the first time I used it. The water ran right off, but the hard wax surface gave me blisters! :frowning: I took the wax off real fast with mineral spirits. Now I use the Star Bright Boat Polish with Teflon. It protects the finish, with out making it hard on my hands.



… You might want to try the thin NRS paddle gloves, without the finger tips. They have a waterproof leather palm, that allows you to securely grip the shaft. They work well.



Happy Paddling

i like the gummy feeling!
Some of my friends use Butcher’s wax on their Greenland paddles as it gives the paddle some nice protection without making the paddle slippery. I just finished my most recent paddle with boiled linseed oil/mineral spirits as well as a couple coats of Watco Teak oil finish. I understand that having the paddle too gummy creates blisters but I prefer a gummy paddle to a slippery one. I guess it’s a fine line there.

These are great gloves.
The full finger thumb makes for great comfort and grip.



http://www.thunder-wear.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=thunder-wear&Product_Code=T-687-B&Category_Code=5



T-687-B – Mesh-Back Paddling Glove