Selecting The Right Size Paddle
Selecting the right paddle length and blade design is an important and highly individual decision. Your paddle is the most active piece of equipment used while kayaking and having the right fit can mean the difference between a good paddling experience and a great one. Although there are several factors that may affect your paddle length selection, your paddling style is an important factor and a great place to begin. Decades of experience have shown that most touring kayakers will use several diffferent paddling styles during a single outing, but will use one style more often than another. With this in mind we offer a few simple guidelines. For the average paddler who uses a low angle paddling style a 230cm paddle is the most popular length, with 220cm coming in second. A low angle style is commonly used during recreational outings and most touring environments. Our Kalliste, San Juan, Camano, and Little Dipper are designed to enhance a low angle paddling style.
If you enjoy paddling more aggressively and like to use a variety of advanced strokes, we recommend shorter lengths of 205cm or 215cm combined with a high angle blade design. This combination supports a faster cadence and maintains comfortable arm position during certain stroke techniques. We also recommend shorter lengths and stout blade designs if your boat has a skeg, no rudder, or has very little keel. The shorter length paddle will have less of a sweep stroke effect, reducing the tendency to zig-zag your boat. Our Shuna, Ikelos, or Corryvrecken are designed to perform best with shorter paddle lengths and high angle paddling style.
If you are petite, above average height, use a double kayak, inflatable kayak, or have an exceptionally narrow or wide kayak you may want to adjust your paddle length by 5cm or 10cm.
| Paddle Model | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paddler Height | Boat Width | San Juan Camano Kalliste Little Dipper Mid Tour Mid Tour S |
Ikelos Corryvrecken Shuna | |||
| * - Custom Orders, please contact us for details | ||||||
Less than 5'3" |
17" to 22" |
220 |
205-210 | |||
5'3" to 5'9" |
17" to 22" |
230 |
210 | |||
Greater than 5'9" |
17" to 22" |
230-240 |
215 | |||
Selecting Shaft Size Small or Standard?Shaft size, or correctly stated, shaft diameter, not only matters, but is very important. Hands come in different sizes and a shaft that fits properly allows a paddler to maintain a light grip, thus reducing fatique and increasing comfort and control. Medium and Small hands, and paddlers who wear gloves, shoud try our small diameter shaft. Medium to Large hands should ask for our standard diameter. Not sure what size hands you have? Look for our hand sizing chart, shown below, at your local Werner dealer or you can measure for yourself. Measure your hand from the base of the palm to the tip of your middle finger. If your measurement is 6 1/4" or smaller you should buy our small shaft. If your measurement is 7 1/2" or greater you should buy our standard shaft, UNLESS you wear gloves, then you might consider trying our smaller diameter shaft. If you measure 6 1/2" - 7 1/4" we strongly recommend trying both small and standard before making your decision. Werner offers two shaft sizes (diameters), standard and small, in both straight and neutral bent shafts on performance and premium models.
What is Werners Adjustable Ferrule System?The result of years of experience and a lot of hard work, we are proud to introduce our Adjustable Ferrule System with a revolutionary design (patent pending). It's easy to use, (pull, twist to desired offset, snap back), and it's durable without added weight or extra pieces. Our professional design is the most functional and elegant Adjustable Ferrule System available. Adjustable Left or Right in 15 degree increments. Standard on Neutral Bent Shaft and Neutral Bent Shaft-Small diameter. |
Adjustable Ferrule
