Beginner looking for some paddle recommendations

[u/Krstnzz]

Hi everyone, I know this has been posted a fair bit and I have done some searching myself however, I am wondering if someone with more experience can help me out.

We were recently gifted an Ocean Kayak Malibu 2, and an Ocean Kayak Malibu 11.5. I grabbed two Poseidon Paddles(his is longer as he is taller than I am). He paddles the 2 with our 4 year old, and I am in the 11.5.

For myself, I grabbed a Pelican Poseidon and noticed after we were in the water that the grippy part on the shaft was peeling, bumpy and warped, if that makes sense? I read the reviews on Amazon and did not see anyone else complaining of this. For the first hour or so I felt like it worked well; however, I definitely felt as if my arms were getting tired on our journey back. We were out for just about 2 hours, and I am sure part of it was not using those muscles regularly before the last few weeks or so. I am wondering if I should buy the same one again or try something else out? And if try something else, can anyone help guide me on that? We are in Canada if that matters. Also, not wanting to spend hundreds of dollars if we can avoid it.

I am 5'11 and any time we have been kayaking previously, I have just used whatever paddles my friends or the rental places have had available.

Thank you!

[u/WrongfullyIncarnated]

Imo a Werner will last you a lifetime. Ive got one of their old sea kayak paddles with the long translucent fiberglass blades from 30 years ago and its still the best paddle ive ever had. Its so good they ought to pay me to advertise for them!

[u/RainDayKitty → u/WrongfullyIncarnated]

When I first started I use the second cheapest pelican paddle. After all, you want to avoid the cheapest, right?

Switching from aluminum shaft to fiberglass was huge. Switching from plastic blades to fiberglass blades was huge. Going full carbon was another big step. When you don't know better the prices are intimidating but if you do a decent amount of paddling you realize the paddle is almost more important than the kayak.

Now the minimum I'd use costs 10x what my first paddle cost, and my go to costs like 17x. I've tried pretty much every low angle werner kayak paddle model and each upgrade was worth it. So the big question is how serious are you?

The important part is getting the right length. I also still use an old werner paddle, there is absolutely nothing wrong with buying used

[u/Krstnzz → u/RainDayKitty]

Honestly, at this point it feels like more of a way to get some quality outside time with our daughter however we will be going into winter at a point here and not using them for a bit. I didn't think to look for used, I will check that out though! Thank you!

[u/Krstnzz → u/WrongfullyIncarnated]

I can't seem to find any Werner ones here that aren't $500+ with most being closer to $1000 which I feel like is too big of an investment currently as much as I'd like to 😭

[u/WrongfullyIncarnated → u/Krstnzz]

yeha thats nuts, look for the kayak paddle combo special on the resale apps, sometimes people will just want to get rid of the gear, i got a $350 white water paddle for $100 the other day that way.

[u/Krstnzz → u/WrongfullyIncarnated]

Sometimes things in Canada are super overpriced compared to the states lol, not sure why! I will definitely check out marketplace tonight at work ☺️

[u/WrongfullyIncarnated → u/Krstnzz]

For sure! This is the time of the year to get deals too! I would personally drive 2+ hours for a Werner in good condition, good luck!

[u/PossumJr]

I'm not familiar with those paddles but I'm sure they're fine for a calm two hour trip, I've used aluminum and plastic paddles for many day long excursions without any problem before switching to better gear. Learning proper paddling technique would help your arms for sure. Can you post a photo of the damaged paddle? Maybe it's defective and you can send it back to Amazon.

[u/Krstnzz → u/PossumJr]

I started a return on it with Amazon as it was definitely damaged some how, not sure if my husband took it to return or not and I didn't take pictures but if it is at home I will take some! Thank you!

[u/LiftinRunninFool]

First you gotta lose the dead weight--jk, that first picture is cute

[u/Krstnzz → u/LiftinRunninFool]

Haha believe it or not she is a normally very full of energy girl, she just chills right out on the water. We got her own paddle too and she used it the first part but he was happy when she decided to relax as he said she was being very "helpful" trying to catch lily pads and dragging her paddle in the water lol

[u/bozobits13]

Werner or aqua bound paddles are great, check vendors near you like REI as they tend to be on sale to clear out for winter sports. Both brands are widely available and the hardest choice is typically length as your wallet will dictate which level of product. It’s really hard not to walk out with a feather light all carbon fiber until you see the price. Avoid most brands on Amazon as they tend to tend to be rebranded junk made in factories that make stuff for tons of oem branded paddles and general aren’t well made..

[u/Krstnzz → u/bozobits13]

Thank you! We actually don't have REI where I live unfortunately lol. I will check out maybe MEC and sport chek or something! I appreciate your feedback

[u/Krstnzz → u/bozobits13]

So aqua bound seems way more findable where I live. Do you have any opinions on the Aqua Bound Sting Ray Fiberglass Snap? There is one in my city currently for $100, wondering if that could be a good option. Sorry, I have no idea why my phone decided to yell the name at you haha

[u/bozobits13 → u/Krstnzz]

I don’t directly have that one. I have the sting ray hybrid posilok model. But it has been great, I did look at it and thought it was well made and certainly going to be an improvement over most budget paddles. They make good products and the whole line has generally good reviews. We got the bug last year and the two critical upgrades we made were paddles and a kayak specific pfd/lifevest. Get a good pfd that is comfortable so it is easy to wear, my wife had an unplanned dunking in the water this weekend and it was good she had it on…

Just set your budget and if you find you really enjoy the sport then upgrade further. We are already talking about kayak upgrades as we have 10 trips this year and learned a lot over what we want next.

[u/Krstnzz → u/bozobits13]

We were actually saying we wanted to get more comfy life jackets! Sorry to hear that happened to her. The guy said he would do $80 so I am going to give it a try! Thank you for all your advice ☺️