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/