New Paddle Length Article

[PonoBill]

Way too much information on paddle length, an extension of Carles . http://www.kenalu.com/ under the How-to tab. Also Dave Kalama's blog has a fine post on race tips: http://www.davidkalama.com/

[Evan Lloyd]

Bill,

That was a very interesting article.  Now I'm more confused than ever about paddle length.  I think you could could use any one of those techniques as a quick rule of thumb, but as with most things in life, you just have to experiment to see what works best for you.  I enjoyed the article.  Keep up the great work.

Evan

[Easy Rider]

Hi Bill
Thanks for the article.
It got me thinking so I grabbed a new paddle last night - made it about 3 inches longer than my current ones (I went with the Dave and Laird length to start) and went for a paddle on the river this morning.

Not only was I a little bit faster on my up current leg - I did it with an average heart rate 9 BPM lower than the same paddle on Sunday.

The extra length really made me focus on my stroke and getting full reach out the front.  

Personally - I have never understood the   _X_ amount of inches over your head.  I am only 5'7" but have longer than average arms.  Any method that involves your total reach makes more sense to me.