Bent Shaft Vs. Straight Kayak Paddle

For centuries, Greenlanders and other natives of the far north have been making the boats that inspired modern kayaks and paddling them with hand-built wooden paddles. The traditional Greenland paddle looks a lot like a stick: straight, but flattened on either end. Advanced kayakers give credence to the originators of the kayak, but modern ergonomics for the weekend paddler has its share of benefits.

  1. Wrists or Waist?

    • The classic paddling technique is to hold your straight paddle in front of you as if you were holding a basket; make your strokes by rotation your waist. The motion doesn't come from your upper body, arms or wrists. However, if you paddle with your shoulders, arms and wrists, you'll probably be utilizing them in a way they're not used to bending -- often leading to very sore joints -- if you're using a straight paddle.

    White-Knuckle Grip

    • Whether you're spending a placid morning on the bay or riding the barrel of a wave -- it's easy to translate the stimulation of the kayaking experience into a tight grip on your paddle. You want to avoid a tight grip, especially with straight paddles, as that too will cause sore joints. It takes time and practice and the awareness that comes with experience to adapt your technique.

    Ergonomics

    • A bent shaft paddle has forgiving ergonomics. Get in your boat and paddle how you like. Use a tight grip. Use your wrists and shoulders. Paddle however you like, and your bent shaft will lighten the load on your body. While you may forego some of the benefits of techniques prescribed by ancient and expert kayakers alike -- if you're a weekend paddler, it might be a great trade-off, giving you a more pleasurable experience.

    Technique

    • A long list of paddling techniques all benefit from a straight -- not curved -- paddle shaft. Here's just one example as explained in Rogue Paddler. Kayaks are light boats, easily pushed around by the wind. This phenomena is called "weathercocking". To compensate, a straight paddle can be grasped off-center, to provide more paddling leverage on the leeward or downwind side of the boat, compensating for weathercocking. It's easy to make such an adjustment with a straight paddle, but awkward with a bent paddle