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- Feb 28, 2025
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Some of you might recall a side quest I've been on involving this particular style of paddle. After encountering a Ray Porter paddle in an antique store 4 years ago I've always wanted a paddle made in that style for myself. Unlike a lot of other guide paddles I've had the chance to handle in years past which all felt overbuilt to a fault, Mr Porter's style created a very well balanced, efficient and relatively lightweight (for the materials used) paddle.
After many months spent trying to reach out to Mr Keim at Dri-Ki with no success, I eventually stumbled upon a stash of his works at Old Town Trading Post by pure chance. Back in early September I placed an order for a Maine Guide paddle through them and just last week I got the call from the clerk that a few guide paddles were found to be in stock at their other location and would be brought down for me. The shortest remaining stock were both 60" so I picked the one that felt better to my hands and set off.
The blade is 7.5" wide and ~24" long, (although I was expecting it to be the full 8" wide listed pn the website; after actually using the paddle I don't think I'm missing out on anything hidden in that half inch.) The grip is around 3.5" wide and in the traditional northwoods style spans around 15" from the crest of the palm swell to the final tapered facets which begin blending into the shaft. It has a bit of give when you really dig in but not enough to feel willowy underway. It's a hard feeling to describe but to anyone who has ever felt it, you immediately know what I mean. I quickly fell into a rhythm of shorter power strokes and gentle underwater recoveries to silently propel the boat upstream. With the massive amount of surface area I was able to pry and steer the canoe with very little effort. A slight change in angle and the boat was already going where I was thinking it ought to.
Pictured below: top to bottom, self made northwoods, Dri-Ki Beavertail, Dri-Ki Maine Guide. All approximately 60" long
Pictured below: flexion of the northwoods style grip (left) when digging in for a pry during a box stroke. Grip straightens out during recovery portion of stroke (right.)
What most surprises me with both the guide and beavertail is the amount of available stiffness that is present despite the overall thinness of the stock present. Ash is truly a wonderful wood for this application. The local river was running extraordinarily low so I was able to try a couple variations on the normal stroke I use, including choking up on the flat part of the grip while in very shallow water. I know it may seem odd or unintuitive to the modern efficiency minded paddler, but I think a lot of the intricacies and use case scenarios regarding these northwoods style paddles came from the unique circumstances people found themselves in. If you were tasked with paddling a cohort of hunters, fishermen or trade goods on a long trip you might come to favor a paddle which was well suited to deep and shallow water paddling. A paddle which provided strong steering strokes and afforded multiple grips simply because doing so allowed you to keep making progress while exercising different groups of muscles, or reducing or transferring strain more gently to ligaments and tendons up and down the length of your arms. In the modern day this design represents at least one part heritage and one part function and a certain undeniable yet unmeasurable amount of aesthetic appeal. Like a pair of bean boots, this style of paddle offers a sort of rustic charm. I would never say this is the best paddle for any particular person without knowing them very well, but I would always encourage a person to give this paddle a shot if they haven't tried it before. It may very well change the way you experience time on the water.
For me this is very nearly the perfect paddle and I am so grateful to finally have one after all this time. Although now I have 2/3 of the offered styles perhaps the Dri-Ki ottertail will become my next white whale. (Solid ash paddle with a northwoods grip and a 5 3/4" wide blade)
As for anyone looking to get one, I do wish you the best of luck. The beavertails can be found on eBay but the guide and the ottertail are rare birds indeed.
Below I have attempted to attach a link to a demo with all three paddles. Hope you all enjoy.
After many months spent trying to reach out to Mr Keim at Dri-Ki with no success, I eventually stumbled upon a stash of his works at Old Town Trading Post by pure chance. Back in early September I placed an order for a Maine Guide paddle through them and just last week I got the call from the clerk that a few guide paddles were found to be in stock at their other location and would be brought down for me. The shortest remaining stock were both 60" so I picked the one that felt better to my hands and set off.
The blade is 7.5" wide and ~24" long, (although I was expecting it to be the full 8" wide listed pn the website; after actually using the paddle I don't think I'm missing out on anything hidden in that half inch.) The grip is around 3.5" wide and in the traditional northwoods style spans around 15" from the crest of the palm swell to the final tapered facets which begin blending into the shaft. It has a bit of give when you really dig in but not enough to feel willowy underway. It's a hard feeling to describe but to anyone who has ever felt it, you immediately know what I mean. I quickly fell into a rhythm of shorter power strokes and gentle underwater recoveries to silently propel the boat upstream. With the massive amount of surface area I was able to pry and steer the canoe with very little effort. A slight change in angle and the boat was already going where I was thinking it ought to.
Pictured below: top to bottom, self made northwoods, Dri-Ki Beavertail, Dri-Ki Maine Guide. All approximately 60" long
Pictured below: flexion of the northwoods style grip (left) when digging in for a pry during a box stroke. Grip straightens out during recovery portion of stroke (right.)
What most surprises me with both the guide and beavertail is the amount of available stiffness that is present despite the overall thinness of the stock present. Ash is truly a wonderful wood for this application. The local river was running extraordinarily low so I was able to try a couple variations on the normal stroke I use, including choking up on the flat part of the grip while in very shallow water. I know it may seem odd or unintuitive to the modern efficiency minded paddler, but I think a lot of the intricacies and use case scenarios regarding these northwoods style paddles came from the unique circumstances people found themselves in. If you were tasked with paddling a cohort of hunters, fishermen or trade goods on a long trip you might come to favor a paddle which was well suited to deep and shallow water paddling. A paddle which provided strong steering strokes and afforded multiple grips simply because doing so allowed you to keep making progress while exercising different groups of muscles, or reducing or transferring strain more gently to ligaments and tendons up and down the length of your arms. In the modern day this design represents at least one part heritage and one part function and a certain undeniable yet unmeasurable amount of aesthetic appeal. Like a pair of bean boots, this style of paddle offers a sort of rustic charm. I would never say this is the best paddle for any particular person without knowing them very well, but I would always encourage a person to give this paddle a shot if they haven't tried it before. It may very well change the way you experience time on the water.
For me this is very nearly the perfect paddle and I am so grateful to finally have one after all this time. Although now I have 2/3 of the offered styles perhaps the Dri-Ki ottertail will become my next white whale. (Solid ash paddle with a northwoods grip and a 5 3/4" wide blade)
As for anyone looking to get one, I do wish you the best of luck. The beavertails can be found on eBay but the guide and the ottertail are rare birds indeed.
Below I have attempted to attach a link to a demo with all three paddles. Hope you all enjoy.
