New to paddling, and recently got a new one. It's lighter with less feather... but when I use it I feel as if I'm flapping my arms in the air to fly. Could that be psychosomatic? If it is smaller, it's probably safer on my shoulders... but it just doesn't feel like it's "grabbing" the water. How big is too big? Seems to get me where I need to go... but I feel as if I could put a great deal more force into my paddle if it would just dig in more. Just thought I'd hear what opinions where out there on paddle envy..

Complex and age old question. I like big blades for ww and sea, but you can both exhaust and hurt yourself easier with fat blades if you dont use proper technique. Lenght, that is all up to your paddling style wether its high angle ( shorter paddle) or low angle( longer paddle). Werner has an online resource for new paddlers to select blade and lenght and its a good starting point.

The only way your going to wear out a Werner is if you smash it into the rocks or drive over it with your car...just saying...all paddles will last a long time if you take care of them.

It's personal preference for sure. You might be feeling that by reducing your feather that you are not rotating your torso as much. I have found that when paddling a low angle-0 feather that it promotes more arm paddling than full torso rotation, for me at least. Try out different blades and lengths.
I like a longer paddle. I like the leverage and extra power, especially in my sweep and boof strokes. I am 5'7" and paddle with a 197cm Bent. Powerhouse 30 deg.

It all depends on what your doing. If your racing, then you may need a race blade, boofing, big blade, relaxing, whatever is comfortable.

One significant benefit of the carbon blade is durability whilst digging holes. I find that when I need to take a dump it stands up really well to scraping a little hasty hole, I don't think a wooden blade would prepare near as many defecation stations. Sometimes I also make sandwiches on my paddle blades using it like a table, but size should not matter for that operation unless your trying to make a party sub for the whole group. Oh and if you dig a dung hole, be sure to paddle a few rapids before you make the sandwiches just for sanitation purposes.

I like getting paddled with a big blade, and I like sandwicthes!

I use a 200 cm AT Eddy, 12 degree offset. I also have a much nicer AT2 Superduty which is 197 cm with 30 degree offset that I never use because I simply find it too short and prefer the 12 degree offset. Anybody want to buy a paddle? :) I'm 6'2".

I do advise not using a Select paddle, I had one that broke after about a month of use right where your hand grips, and the rep refused to believe it wasn't from being chalked. I now use it (repaired) as my main breakdown.

The technique I see least utilized is forward strokes using the core muscles. Most people "bicycle" with their arms.

I use a relatively short Werner Powerhouse because I like the feel, and the response. I do currently have a shoulder issue, but it came from a four hour surf (ocean surf, on a surfboard, lots of over head arm swinging) that was preceded by a day of paddling. I have had the paddle for a while, but have been padding a lot before and after I got it (my muscles and technique were tuned and up for the extra stress). As has been mentioned, proper technique is critical, and while I'm not perfect I can say that my soreness from large blades is felt in my abdominal muscles, especially when I play hard (I know the Powerhouse isn't a play paddle, but I was used to the feel vs. down-turned blades).

I feel the difference with smaller blades, now. I've switched paddles a few times with people and can certainly notice how the blade ends up in a different location than I'm expecting, but that is the key: familiarity. Nothin wrong with how the different blade area works.

Another point to consider is blade stiffness. Stiffer blades are faster to give response but are tougher on the shoulder. Flex, or whip as it has been called in the past, spreads out the energy, absorbing some initially (reducing strain on the paddler), and releasing it after the paddler has finished the stroke (giving a last kick when you're not supplying much energy).

I was taught that your most useful energy application during forward and standard sweep strokes was when your body was unwinding to a neutral position. Past that, you're pulling water up in a forward stroke as you go past your hips. You're also countering spin energy when the more you recover from rotation, so sweeping should be treated the same (as well as actually drawing an arc, far from the boat, not just a little to the side from normal. After all, the more parallel your blade becomes to the boat during your sweep, the more like a forward stroke it essentially becomes). Of course, the more perpendicular it begins, the more effective it is as well. I feel a bigger blade works for me in this sense, as I have grown as a paddler to understand what I'm doing, what my intent is, and how the paddle blade feels in the water.

I wonder about the higher stroke rate being easier on the body, but please, I'm not calling you guys out. With proper technique, is either bad? If, for the sake of numbers, a large blade and a small blade take 100 and 125 strokes, respectively, to reach a destination, is the lack of stress on one stroke uprooted by the extra strokes needed? Kinda like the length ratio. Levers teach us about forces applied over rotational distance, and it still takes certain amounts of torque to do certain amounts of work. Longer the lever, the less mass at the end, but the same force applied: balanced equation. Just a few questions, no accusations or fight starting intended, I admit I don't know.

Anyway, I'm a fan of large blades in whitewater; fewer strokes; power and intention. I like more trim blades for longer distances, though, and that is regardless of the water medium. Doesn't mean I'd do a week long trip with a toothpick, but havin spent many trips up in Canada that were over a week (up to nineteen days), we brought both slim paddles and short fatties (the first for lakes, second for rivers). That might have been in canoes, true, but the lesson was the same for me.

Good thing I'm not talking, someone would have told me to shut up a long time ago! :)

Um, ok... There is a paddle that is called the big spoon that some use to race and seakayak with. I tried one once and talk about a big digging blade! Not sure I could get used to the big spoon though, very hard to brace with.