The ULTIMATE Wing Blade Paddle Guide

[@IamNothing82]

Best info video abt wing paddles i've seen, thank you. I have a Jantex Gamma 760. Now I want an extra paddle, but it's hard to decide wich one. A Gamma 740 or 780 or a Braca?? It's hard 🤔. Any tips?

[@AB-uk4pd]

Very good explenation and good help. It's good that you explain what part of the blade has which effect

[@christophersousa109]

Great video. I have both the Braca IV and XI in 705cc (lucky to live within 20 mins of FastPaddler, so testing out new blades is quite easy!). I go back and forth between the two quite often... typically if I'm on the ocean I'll use the XI, whereas flat water the IV gives me a better stroke. All that said, one of my paddle partners informed me the other day that I was slicing the XI... not entering the water square (rather, an open angle) and just spilling all sorts of power, as well as exiting well past my hips. Went back to the IV this morning and had zero of those issues, so I'm thinking my rotation in the drysuit and multiple layers of fleece just isn't there right now, and that manifested in a really weak catch with the XI. TBD... something to work on this winter!

[@K2NOPS]

The twist blade probably changes that angle slightly for the slide. Identify the slide angle and adjust your feather to counter it and you wont need to change anything to stay square.

[@christophersousa109]

@@K2NOPS Good stuff, Robert! Thanks!

[@paddlefaster]

Funny I should come across this video today. I just saw Chris from Fast paddlers last week. I use the Stellar wing and am very happy with it. The one I don't like is the Epic mid.

[@melissabeck6592]

Fantastic guide! Thanks!

[@RichardvonWildemann]

Excellent 👌 Review

[@seathrunmagaoinghous4119]

Great discussion. All good paddles. RPC3 is a good alternative and lower cost to the Epic. Love both my epic and RPC3

[@michaelkeenan6668]

Extremely informative and helpful

[@K2NOPS]

I appreciate it! If you ever have questions feel free to reach out anytime.

[@michaeltowler2632]

For a start, I'm not a very good paddler. I started 8 years ago at 72. I Have a Stealthkayakspecialists Anglia wing blade. I also bought an Epic mid-wing S green shaft which I don't like, both paddles look almost identical in shape and surface area. It's much lighter than my Anglia which I use in my mirage 583 and Epic v8pro and keep the Epic in the ute as a spare. There are a couple of reasons why I don't like it. 1st is the oval shaft which I have never used before and don't like, in the cheaper Epic paddles, you don't have a choice, and funny enough because it's lighter! I'm very used to my heavier paddle and it drops into the water on the catch straight in. The Epic mid-wing S seems to flutter in my hand as it goes in. I think it's because being light the blade deflects or I should say lifts up slightly as it goes down, you can feel it and you have to push it in. Well that's what it feels like anyway

[@K2NOPS]

The video focus was primarily on blades and not on the shafts. But that is a great point on disliking the oval shaft (me too.) I just had a conversation on a paddler disliking round shafts so much they only use the Epic, so that preference spectrum is always funny. Blade flutter is from inadequate top hand pressure/downward force on the paddle-that is the stabilizer. The Angla has slightly more parallel edges longer, and the Epic is more tear dropped near the tip of the blade. This makes the Epic grab more water(through leverage) in the mid stroke which is causing that blade flutter. If you're using a very low angle stroke that Angla will feel more accommodating based on the shape too!

[@steveeb9567]

It's great to understand paddle characteristics but not the same as actually trying it. Most of us I'm guessing don't have access to a wide variety of paddles. So we end up with a recommendation or what our buddies are using. I wish paddle dealers would make 'demo' paddles available to clubs. In this scenario a club could keep a paddle for a month or two and then pass it on to another club. I think dealers would sell more paddles this way. Who wants to spend $450. only to find out you really don't like a paddle.

[@roaddog1m]

I have a fused right wrist with very limited range of motion. 5'10" 205lbs. For long distance racing, which paddle do you think is best for me

[@K2NOPS]

Kialoa used to make a curved shaft to keep the wrist neutral at the catch. The model is the Lolo but I've never used it myself only seen it.

[@Mr.Bryan1234]

I just started using winged paddles , which paddle do you recommend? I have a sea kayak but it is sporty and skinny so i can get a nice stroke. I do about 10miles each time i kayak and i want something thats gives power with each stroke and for long distance.

[@K2NOPS]

The epic small mid/braca 4 are good entry models. The ones on Amazon as a first one isn't so bad either.

[@tommyrq180]

When using a wing blade, how deep should each stroke be relative to the throat or where the paddle starts? Thanks.😊

[@K2NOPS]

That's a tough one since everyone is different with their preference and changes it depending on distance. When the paddle gets longer the distance from the pinky to the blade tip increases so the blade will go deeper. More leverage is more speed but on the diminishing returns scale can be bad for the wrong distance. 3-6 inches from the throat probably a decent general guide.

[@tommyrq180]

@@K2NOPS So 3-6” of paddle out of the water, or 3-6” of paddle under water? I’m interested because I see some people bury their paddle and some people with part of the actual paddle blade out of the water, which seems inefficient. Are you looking to just put the very top of the blade into the water on each stroke? There’s obviously a lot to keep track of with a 3-D movement like this, but blade depth is one you can readily see. For example, I see very inexperienced paddlers burying only like half the blade in shallow angle strokes; they are moving but hardly efficiently. My guess would be that you want zero inches of blade depth (meaning the very upper aspect of the blade) on each stroke. This gets to optimal paddle length and stroke angles, etc. If given a longer paddle, for example, would you keep the same angles and just bury the blade deeper? Or would you modify the catch and pull angle to get that blade just barely buried? I hope this isn’t too geeky but as I learn a more sophisticated kayak stroke I won’t always have the right paddle length and want to know the tradeoffs. 🙏 Thank you!

[@Alastair510]

Good guide. The one criticism I'd make is that you didn't talk much about paddle length, and suiting that to the type of paddling. The paddle length I'd use for K1 marathon is much, much longer than surfski - because in surfski you need to be able to make short sprints to catch waves. Marathon requires consistent output over a long time.

[@christinagonzalez8181]

That's interesting. I think that's another one where you have to match the length to what you want to do with it. I'm not a k1 gal but I know Tommy Yonley goes "short" (200-205) for marathon k1. I also know for Chattajack I used my blade at 200 cm because that was the shortest I could make it. My "test run" paddle I did the month beforehand, I started at 205 and after 2 hours it felt like too much load so shortening it helped.

[@K2NOPS]

Thanks for checking out the video! The video is on Blades more than anything else and using your preferences to match the boat/situation. I was hesitant on publishing a video 20 minutes long when most videos retain attention for 2-3 minutes... adding more content could of easily made this an hour long! I'll add paddle lengths to match seat height in a future video.

[@Alastair510]

@@K2NOPS I think it would be worth it. If you look at the surfski forum 'what paddle' is an oft-asked question.

[@christinagonzalez8181]

I remember at the beginning the thing I cared about more than anything was having an oval shaft 😂 now I've gotten picky. I like the catch soft with a twist in the blade. Size and length change with the distance I am paddling. Oh and I don't like oval shafts anymore 😅

[@paddlefaster]

I'm with you on not liking oval shafts. My first paddle was an epic mid wing with an oval shaft. I could never index properly on it. Using a stellar round shaft now and I love it. I'm told it's basically a copy of the jantex

[@seahog32]

Braca pronunciation is "bracha" or "bratsha" not "braka". Just in case you may be interested.

[@K2NOPS]

I've only heard of it referred to as "ka" at the end. Just watched a half dozen videos on KZbin where all the users say the same... can you find one where it's pronounced right and send it to me?

[@jimischulz]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/h162dGmBabibo5Isi=f5tBO-zcduAu8swf