In message
Bill Oldroyd wrote:

Keith Meredith wrote:
Hi

What kit would you advise a new paddler to spend money on?

Keith

Have you looked here ?.

http://www.bcu.org.uk/aboutus/gettingstarted.html

Bill

1 Cag
2 Thermals
3 wetsuit boots
4 Paddle
5 Buoyancy aid
6 Helmet

Then the order gets more difficult depending a lot on what sort of paddling is planned, and what time of year

Car
Roofrack
Waterproof Kitbag
Boat (yes I meant this to be last).

--
Alan Adams

http://www.nckc.org.uk/

"Alan Adams" wrote in message
...
In message
Bill Oldroyd wrote:

Keith Meredith wrote:
Hi

What kit would you advise a new paddler to spend money on?

Keith

Have you looked here ?.

http://www.bcu.org.uk/aboutus/gettingstarted.html

Bill

1 Cag
2 Thermals
3 wetsuit boots
4 Paddle
5 Buoyancy aid
6 Helmet

Then the order gets more difficult depending a lot on what sort of
paddling is planned, and what time of year

Car
Roofrack
Waterproof Kitbag
Boat (yes I meant this to be last).

I'd take a different approach since I teach kids, as I suspect will Keith.

1. Light footwear, preferably wetsuit boots, but something close fitting and
compact - save the complaint of feet getting stuck.
2. Cag - one with neoprene cuffs and a velcro neck seal will do initially.
By the time they get to 3 star most kids will need another one anyway.
3. Thermals

Since we provide all the boats, helmets etc there is no need for any more
purchases - but...

4. Helmet
5. Buoyancy Aid

Depending upon how comfortable the Club ones are...

Then look at a paddle and boat.

By this time they should also be looking at building up their first aid and
emergency kit. The contents of the latter being a source of much debate
perhaps they should be best left for another thread.

Of course it helps if they have some way of getting their boat to the water.
If the newbie is under 17 the car doesn't figure, here they usually have a
pre-available parent for transport. Or a club with a communal trailer.

Waterproof kitbag.... hmmm. So that the wet gear can be dumped in it and
forgotten till birds fall out of the sky when you open it :-)

Ewan Scott

And add a spraydeck in there about number 4...

For chucking real money I would spend all the extra or available cash (
after food and rent ) on a BA and a paddle. If you love the sport a
high quality BA and Paddle willl make a huge difference.
You have some really great information from the other posters.
The Forst Aid / Emergency kit mentioned does deserve a string of its
own.

wrote:
For chucking real money I would spend all the extra or available cash (=

after food and rent ) on a BA and a paddle. If you love the sport a
high quality BA and Paddle willl make a huge difference.

But what paddle? My sea paddle would set you back about =A3200 if you=20
went and bought one yourself. I like it a lot for sea touring, but it's =

too long for whitewater use and the blades aren't up to the abuse of=20
bouncing off rocks. A polo player would probably have little use for=20
variable feather, and so on. A good paddle is indeed worth spending on, =

but only when you know what "good" is /for your own situation/.

And it's also the case that a good paddle isn't /necessarily/ a lot of=20
money. A friend paddles his home made baidarka with a home made=20
traditional wooden paddle, basically a long stick with flattened ends.=20
Cost nothing but time, works very well, and it's easier to roll with=20
than my carbon fibre confection.

Pete.
--=20
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Peter Clinch wrote:
wrote:
For chucking real money I would spend all the extra or available cash (
after food and rent ) on a BA and a paddle. If you love the sport a
high quality BA and Paddle willl make a huge difference.

But what paddle? My sea paddle would set you back about =A3200 if you
went and bought one yourself. I like it a lot for sea touring, but it's
too long for whitewater use and the blades aren't up to the abuse of
bouncing off rocks. A polo player would probably have little use for
variable feather, and so on. A good paddle is indeed worth spending on,
but only when you know what "good" is /for your own situation/.

You are quite right . I made an assumption that a sea paddler is a
different bird than a white water paddler. I play in both but i believe
white water paddling , sea kayaking, open canoeing , single skull
rowing are all different sports. I play at all of them but the BA is
often the only peice of gear that moves from one to the other.
Armed with that information, ( will I paddle on the ocean, do I preffer
battering through white water or would I like just paddling on inland
water ways for short distances.
Each had a different set of tools.
Assured of where I want to paddle I can then go shopping for
appropriate gear.
I think a paddle is a pivotal piece of gear.

And it's also the case that a good paddle isn't /necessarily/ a lot of
money. A friend paddles his home made baidarka with a home made
traditional wooden paddle, basically a long stick with flattened ends.
Cost nothing but time, works very well, and it's easier to roll with
than my carbon fibre confection.

I made a Greenland paddle too. I like my Carbon Fiber confection.
I do agree about cost though . I bought a lovely used paddle some years
back, I can't get it back off my wife. It is the best paddle I have
ever used. This year I spent a lot of money on a bent shaft paddle (
the Scottish one ) It is my spare, Very disapointing.

I consider WW and Sea kayaking different sports. The only reason I ww
kayak is to speed up my bracing and rescue skills. Well that and
showing off seal launches and the likes. It is seasonal here while the
sea is always open some where.
Alex



Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

wrote:

I think a paddle is a pivotal piece of gear.

Indeed it is, but to be honest you can come a long way off "top of the
range" and still have a very capable bit of kit that will do everything
you ever need.

I made a Greenland paddle too. I like my Carbon Fiber confection.

And I like mine, but it doesn't have it 100% its own way despite being
an order of magnitude more expensive. For example, the Greenland paddle
is much better for inside leaned turns, because you can use it as a long
float.

ever used. This year I spent a lot of money on a bent shaft paddle (
the Scottish one ) It is my spare, Very disapointing.

I have a mod crank Lendal. I can take or leave the cranks and I
wouldn't bother with them if I had to replace the current shaft, but
friends I know with a lot of experience are very keen on them and find
they make a tangibly useful difference to wrist fatigue over a long day.
Personally I find that changing the feather and/or blades makes more
difference (I have Paddloks so can change the blades easily, I started
off with polypro Nordkapps and Archipelagos, found I preferred narrower,
got the Archs in carbon). Some people I know find cranks make their
wrist problems worse, so I would say try before you buy if at all
possible and also that you really need ones made for your own
thumb-thumb distance. If you buy a "standard" shaft off the shelf it's
entirely possible the cranks will be at the wrong distance apart, which
makes it worse than pointless.

I've used carbon Nimbus in a couple of the narrow flavours and they were
fine, but not obviously better or worse than my own Lendals.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

In article , Ewan Scott
wrote:


I'd take a different approach since I teach kids, as I suspect will Keith.

1. Light footwear, preferably wetsuit boots,

Footwear, yes. But definitely not wetsuit boots. Cheap plimmies are the
best for beginners.


but something close fitting and compact - save the complaint of feet
getting stuck.
2. Cag - one with neoprene cuffs and a velcro neck seal will do initially.

Windproof outer layer, certainly. But definitely NOT neo cuffs and neck
seals. Lots of reasons, but basically they are crap, uncomfortable and
unnecessary.


Allan Bennett
Not a fan of kit junkies

--

Allan Bennett wrote:

Footwear, yes. But definitely not wetsuit boots. Cheap plimmies are the
best for beginners.

I prefer sandals. If the cockpit is dry enough for your feet to get out
of any puddles therein then a foot in sandals will dry out quickly from
body heat and as a result be warmer than if it's covered in a layer of
wet plimmie or wet neoprene.

I was very surprised when I found my feet stayed warmer /without/
neoprene socks, but if your feet aren't permanently awash and/or in the
open air then you're actually better off without anything wet covering
the foot IME.

Windproof outer layer, certainly. But definitely NOT neo cuffs and neck
seals. Lots of reasons, but basically they are crap, uncomfortable and
unnecessary.

Depends what you're doing. I use a semi-dry cag if I use a cag at all
for comfort reasons, primarily around the neck. But in surf I'm happy
to borrow a dry cag because comfort while upright is a bit of a
non-issue battering through breakers, and comfort upside down or
shortly after such is greatly improved.
Similarly with cuffs: the paddling/water style will determine how much
water gets up one's sleeves or not.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/