Wood paddles - which style and maker do you like?

[kbobb]

Hi All,
Looking for a wood paddle to use with my solo canoe. I have no experience with different blade and handle shapes having only ever use an old town beavertail, a ZRE bent and an old "Camp" wood bent.
Curious as to your experience and preferences for a straight shaft wood paddle.

BTW for lakes/flatwater day trips only.

Thanks

 

[Brightraven]

You can’t go wrong with a Bruce Smith paddle. Absolute delight to handle and paddle…
I have a 58” cherry Classic and it is my most favorite of all. Bruce has a lot of info on the site to learn about what may serve you best.

About Bruce Smith Paddles

Unique, one-of-a-kind canoe paddles with superior performance carved by hand by an expert canoeist.

www.brucesmithpaddles.com

I have found the Fishell “Ray Special” is wonderful for deep water solo paddling as well:

Handmade Canoe Paddles | Wooden Canoe Paddles

At Fishell Paddles, we take our time building various high-quality wooden handmade canoe paddles made just for your next adventure. Contact us to learn more.

www.fishellpaddles.com

 

[clemency]

Nothing really special. A Mitchell Northstar and a Bending Branches Arrow. Both have good tip protection and don't paddle too deep.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

No one in my personal experience makes better hand-made, traditional blade, solid wood paddles than Bruce Smith, already recommended above.

I have owned with pleasure several laminated wood Mitchell paddles over the past 40+ years—paddles for whitewater canoe, cruising canoe, seakayak, straight shaft, bent shaft and double bent shaft. Mitchell has made paddles under rebranded names for Mad River Canoe, Bell Canoe, and other canoe companies.

Mitchell Paddles - Wooden and Composite Paddles

Kayak, kayak, composite, canoe paddles, whitewater kayak paddles sea kayak paddles, paddle construction, wooden canoe, wooden kayak, wooden paddles

www.mitchellpaddles.com

Brad Gillespie has been making state-of-the-art bent shaft marathon racing and outrigger laminated wood paddles for decades. I have the first, and perhaps only, straight shaft paddle Brad ever made—the Gillespie Free—which he made to my custom specifications in 2010.

Canoe Paddle | GillespiePaddles

Canoe Paddle Outrigger Wood Paddle GillespiePaddles

www.gillespiepaddles.com

Sawyer has been making laminated canoe paddles for over 50 years. My first Sawyer was a big lollipop paddle I bought in Connecticut and stored in the first class coat closet an airplane back to my home in San Jose, California, even though I was a coach passenger. (How airline times have changed, for the worse). I love my custom Sawyer single bend Manta with its double scoop dihedral power face. Here is a video of Sawyer's current line of very attractive canoe paddles:

A lightweight, reasonably priced line of wood paddles, Camp Paddles which became Foxworx Paddles, unfortunately is now out of business after 50+ years.

After buying and discarding heavy wood clubs from Old Town and clunky plastic/aluminum paddles from Carlisle, Mohawk and Iliad, I almost always bought all of my wood (and carbon) paddles directly from the manufacturers, all of whom were willing to reasonably customize the blades, shafts and/or grips to my specifications. Mitchell was especially responsive and inexpensive in refurbishing wooden whitewater paddles in the 1980's and 1990's. (Don't know about today.)

 

[Cheeseandbeans]

I recently purchased a sassafras beaver tail at the WCHA assembly from Al Bratton. Paddles beautifully and is very well made. $110 was a steal in my opinion. http://woodstrip.wcha.org

I like my Bruce Smith otter tail very much as well.

Bob

 

[Waterdog]

For straight wood paddles I have had great experience with Mitchell Paddles for the last 20 years. For traditional tail style I like Fishell and Badger.

Mitchell paddles has been “temporarily closed” for nearly 2 years and leftover retail stock might only come from local shops. I keep on the lookout for them when I stop in paddle shops.

I recently bought an Old Mustache bent that I already considers favorite top 3 paddle. Weighs about the same as my black pearl carbon paddle. Unfortunately he doesn’t make straight shafts.

Good luck in your search. It seems like modern style wood paddles of the sugar island style are getting harder to find compared to more traditional tail paddles.

Cheers,
Barry

 

[PaddlingPika]

A straight shaft Sawyer Cedar Voyager (now apparently just called Voyager) is currently my most frequently used paddle. To avoid wear on the Voyager in shallow gravel streams I'll sometimes use a Bending Branches Sunshadow. The Sunshadow, which isn't a current model listed on their website, has a comfortable grip but the grip is not symmetric so palm rolls are more awkward. I also have a Bending Branches Espresso, also not a current model, which sometimes goes along as a back-up but doesn't get used much. Its grip is symmetric but not contoured in a way that is comfortable. For a straight shaft paddle I'd go for a symmetric grip and make sure that it fits your hand comfortably.

 

[Sdrew22]

My go to has been a Sassafras Northwoods paddle from Shaw and Tenney. I also enjoy my Bruce Smith Tripper

 

[Bob B.]

I strongly second the Sassafrass Northwoods from Shaw and Tenny. Wood and Bark canoe store sell a terrific ash paddle very similar to the Shaw and Tenny Northwoods as well. That said, I love the flex of the sassafrass, excellent paddle for the Canadian stroke as well.

 

[Robin]

I like my ash beavertail paddles, I picked up a few from a closed canoe camp years ago and they serve me well. I recently bought a ash beavertail from John Porter in Patten, Maine, son of the original Porter Woodworking who made Old Town paddles for years if I’m not mistaken, very nice unfinished paddle for $50.

 

[Bob B.]

Oops, the ash paddles I was referring to are from the Bark canoe store, not wood and bark.

White Ash Paddles, Hudson Bay Axes, Crooked Knives and more

Traditional canoe accessories for the birchbark canoe enthusiast

www.barkcanoe.com

they are really nicely carved, I have 2, but mine are older and I paid like 60 $ for them … they have gone up a little since then. John is a great guy to talk with as well.

Bob.

 

[ScottS]

I make my own, hand carved out of one, sometimes 2 pieces of wood (side scraps glued together). straight shaft, oil finish
My favorites for solo are wide beavertails. I like the fat part of the blade in the water for the j-stroke.
My current paddle is spanish cedar (cigar box wood). Stable, easy to carve, and very light, but definitely not a "rock" paddle.
For something more durable and a little heavier - cherry, alder, ash, birch, walnut. Maple is really durable, but heavier and it takes forever to carve because it's so hard.

 

[clemency]

Mitchell paddles has been “temporarily closed” for nearly 2 years and leftover retail stock might only come from local shops. I keep on the lookout for them when I stop in paddle shops.

I keep seeing this, but the website still looks live, though not recently updated. I'd drop a note if the paddles interest you.

Mitchell Paddles - Wooden and Composite Paddles

Kayak, kayak, composite, canoe paddles, whitewater kayak paddles sea kayak paddles, paddle construction, wooden canoe, wooden kayak, wooden paddles

www.mitchellpaddles.com

 

[Sweetfancymoses]

Between the first mate and me, we have several Camp/FoxWorx bent-shaft sugar island paddles, also some Bending Branches (same style). The pitch stroke works well with them. The Camp/FoxWorx are lighter and have a smaller grip, the Bending Branches have better edge protection. Maybe some day I'll splurge on a high-end paddle.

 

[Waterdog]

I keep seeing this, but the website still looks live, though not recently updated. I'd drop a note if the paddles interest you.

Mitchell Paddles - Wooden and Composite Paddles

Kayak, kayak, composite, canoe paddles, whitewater kayak paddles sea kayak paddles, paddle construction, wooden canoe, wooden kayak, wooden paddles

www.mitchellpaddles.com

I don't know for sure what Mitchell Paddle's status is, but I have tried to reach them by phone and email and no response. The Temporarily Closed status comes from Mitchell's Facebook page which doesn't appear to be updated in a very long time. I have seven Mitchell paddles so at this point I'm just going to keep on the lookout for old stock at the canoe shops and buy if it's a paddle I would use. Piragis, Rutabaga and Northstar, all used to list the rebranded Mitchell paddles on their sites but they no longer do.

Cheers,
Barry

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Oops, the ash paddles I was referring to are from the Bark canoe store, not wood and bark.

White Ash Paddles, Hudson Bay Axes, Crooked Knives and more

Traditional canoe accessories for the birchbark canoe enthusiast

www.barkcanoe.com

they are really nicely carved, I have 2, but mine are older and I paid like 60 $ for them … they have gone up a little since then. John is a great guy to talk with as well.

Bob.

That's a very nice looking and low priced paddle traditional ash paddle, Bob. I like the tapered grip for horizontal holds. John says the paddles are made for him, so neither he nor the paddle maker are making much money per paddle.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I don't know for sure what Mitchell Paddle's status is, but I have tried to reach them by phone and email and no response.

That's too bad. The business never seemed to flourish as much under the son, Peter, after his parents, David and Peggy, both world champion slalom racers, retired in 2005. I used to visit David and Peggy about every other year in the 80's on my way to or from our family cottage in Maine. Got tours of the shop and Peggy was always so helpful over the phone. Here is a 2012 article on the Mitchell family:

Olympic Kayak Paddles Made in New Hampshire: A Family Legacy

Earlier this week, at the London Olympics, the American team competed in the double canoe slalom. That’s when two men kneel inside a kayak and work…

www.nhpr.org

 

[Waterdog]

That's too bad. The business never seemed to flourish as much under the son, Peter, after his parents, David and Peggy, both world champion slalom racers, retired in 2005. I used to visit David and Peggy about every other year in the 80's on my way to or from our family cottage in Maine. Got tours of the shop and Peggy was always so helpful over the phone. Here is a 2012 article on the Mitchell family:

Olympic Kayak Paddles Made in New Hampshire: A Family Legacy

Earlier this week, at the London Olympics, the American team competed in the double canoe slalom. That’s when two men kneel inside a kayak and work…

www.nhpr.org

Going back through the Facebook page you will find some beautiful one off paddles Peter made as well as really old Mitchell’s that he refinished and documented the process in pics. I think the last entry is a picture of a wood frames mountain bike he collaborated on. It’s beautiful but too unwieldy for flat water. Peg refinished my WW paddle 3-4 times and it always looked brand new when I got it back.

Barry

 

[Woodpuppy]

My absolute favorite is my Bruce Smith Ottertail. I enjoy my Fishell, but the Smith feels so right when I switch back to it. Being that I paddle in shallow water so often, I wonder if Bruce would make me a shallow water paddle…

 

[Rubbaboo]

Been using a Grey Owl Tripper in oiled cherry for the last 20 some years. It’s been everywhere, lost count of the miles on it. Made a bunch and bought a few others paddles but always use the Tripper In the flat stuff. I don’t think the quality of wood is as good these days as it was when my original Grey Owl was built, the solid wood paddles I see on store shelves is hit and miss.