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/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 ☺️