New paddle

[swbrown1974]

I need some advice on paddles.  I currently paddle on an inflatable Boardworks Raven 12' 6" and starting to paddle about once a day for fitness and touring, 4 to 8 miles on a flatwater river.  I'm using the Werner 3 piece fiji paddle that I purchased for travel.  It has a plastic blade and I'm getting some "flutter" in my stroke.  Do I need to transition to a stiffer blade made out of fiberglass or carbon fiber?  And will I see a difference in speed or efficiency?  Thanks for any advice!

[ukgm]

I need some advice on paddles.  I currently paddle on an inflatable Boardworks Raven 12' 6" and starting to paddle about once a day for fitness and touring, 4 to 8 miles on a flatwater river.  I'm using the Werner 3 piece fiji paddle that I purchased for travel.  It has a plastic blade and I'm getting some "flutter" in my stroke.  Do I need to transition to a stiffer blade made out of fiberglass or carbon fiber?  And will I see a difference in speed or efficiency?  Thanks for any advice!

You will see an improvement in speed and efficiency but you can go too stiff. Accepting my loyalty to Quickblade (see signature below), I find the V Drive has the best catch I've ever had on any paddle but its very stiff and very fatiguing at race pace with most blade sizes once you get past an hour in length. I opt for the more compliant Trifecta. However, flutter can also be indicative of poor technique so its often worth working with what you have first to tidy that up before trying to mask it with a different (or bigger) blade from whatever manufacturer. I do recommend trying a few though - there can be a world of difference in the feel and quality between them.

[raf]

The Werner 3pc Fiji is an ok paddle if you are going to Fiji and need to bring one on the plane with you.  I would not want to paddle more than a mile with it though.  The blade won't flutter so much as bend.  Get yourself a decent fiberglass or carbon paddle, somewhere north of $250 from any of the major brands (Werner, Quickblade, Kialoa are the big 3 but there are others) and you will be much, much better off. 

The V-drive and Trifecta are probably going to be out of your budget ($500?).  Going from a Fiji to a V-drive is like going from a Kia to a Ferrari. 

[leecea]

Spec says that paddle is just over 2 lb, so you should notice a pretty nice change in weight too.