On 15-Jun-2004, "Rick" wrote:

A little side note is that most carpal tunnel injuries are caused by
feathered paddles,

Caused by improperly feathered paddles. If the feather angle is set
to your technique, your wrist doesn't have to move significantly.
However, many paddles are designed for large feather angles.

Brian B asked how many let their variable feather paddles find their
own angle - he found 22 degrees for himself. I set mine to about
30 degrees for low stroke and 50 degrees for a high stroke. A
lot of commercial paddles have conventionally been set to 75-90
degrees, though smaller angles are now available. At 75 degrees,
you'd have to use your wrist to adjust the offside blade.

My Greenland-style paddles are unfeathered and require angle correction
with each stroke. However, due to the way they are held, that
adjustment is done with my thumb and fingers more than my wrist.

Mike