The Best Kayak Paddles of 2024

Oct 14, 2024

A good kayak paddle is essential for getting out in the water, and without one, well, you’ll be up the creek. We’ve paddled the best of them, and through years of casual and strict comparison alike, we’ve settled on the quiver of paddles we’d take anywhere.

No one ever paddles the same river twice, and with kayaks ranging from sea-worthy expedition shells to plunk-around rec boats, using a paddle that is primed for the style of paddling you’re after is key to getting the most out of your kayak. Like an extension of yourself, a good paddle is your connection to the water and needs to be up to the task.

Our testing team consists of sea kayak and whitewater guides, packrafters, and even a few SUP tourers thrown in for good measure, and we used and abused these paddles over the course of many miles to figure just what makes them tick. We played with different lengths, feather angles, and blade profiles, and along the way, we formed a pretty good idea of what makes a great kayak paddle great — pulling that together here.

Our selection spans the spectrum of water out there, and if you’re interested in the finer details of paddles, dive into our detailed Buyer’s Guide and Comparison Chart, where you can count ounces and measure these paddles against one another. For everything else, the FAQ should be illuminating.

The Werner Shuna ($335) is a paddler’s paddle, and touts a high-angle touring design that impressed with its even-keeled performance, light weight, and long-standing durability. Combining lightweight fiberglass blades with a full carbon fiber shaft, this paddle provides a powerful stroke that doesn’t flutter, and from weekend overnight tours to splashy whitewater, we’ve about done it all with the Shuna.

The Shuna’s wider power face is more conducive to powerful strokes and ones with a high angle of entry. This makes it ideal for muscling around strong ocean swells or even pushing through occasional whitewater. If your paddling style is more low-angle, the Werner Camano is the contemporary paddle to consider.

The dihedral face of the paddle is a bit more muted on the Shuna compared to some other touring paddles, which helps to retain more power while still reducing flutter. With a good high-angle stroke we found this paddle moved water excellently. Mated to these blades is a carbon fiber paddle shaft, which sports a light texture to improve grip.

The Smart View Adjustable ferrule was undeniably the favorite design of any we laid our hands on, and is an incredibly simple construction that offers 60 degrees of feather angle in either direction, in 15-degree increments. This connection had zero play in our testing and is the closest to a single-piece paddle you can get out of a ferrule. Externally, only a small push button and a window to display your angle give it away.

Durability on a fiberglass paddle certainly isn’t lacking, but you will start to notice the battle scars build up as you use it. We noted a fairly thin edge on the Shuna, which while ideal for hydrodynamics, will need to be treated with care. There’s no durability-enhancing materials used on the blade edge here, and that’s where you’ll see the most wear.

Available in lengths from 205 to 220 and both carbon and fiberglass blades, the Werner Shuna is happy to do most all of it. If you’re a larger paddler (or have the muscles to paddle it), the Corryvreckan is the same paddle, just blown up, but for day-to-day ease of paddling, we’re sticking with the Shuna.

Let’s start off by saying there are some bunk paddles out there. Cheap plastic blades, ill-fitting aluminum handles, and push-button locking mechs that rattle away into the shaft, never to be seen again. The Carlisle Magic Plus ($125) is not one of these — but it still hits the budget pricing we’re after for a casual paddle.

A slight upgrade paddle from the brand’s Magic Mystic — an aluminum shafted paddle — the Magic Plus hits in all the right places and combines a fiberglass shaft with glass-reinforced polypropylene blades. This is the perfect compromise in our minds, providing a better paddle with little to no flex under pressure.

The paddle shaft is wrapped to provide a measure of grip for wet hands and is slightly ovalized for indexing your hands when the paddle is feathered — with an option of 60 degrees in either right- or left-hand control. Going with a fiberglass shaft over an aluminum one lightens things up and is also warmer to hold.

The available 220-250cm lengths make this paddle ideal for flatwater paddles and long, sweeping strokes. The push-button ferrule was a bit loose from the start, and while we could feel it if we really paddled hard, it didn’t manifest often.

One metric the Magic Plus comes up short in is weight at 2 pounds, 9 ounces. Only the NRS Ripple was heavier in our testing, and even the super-budget Bending Branches Whisper weighed a bit less than the Magic Plus. For quick jaunts in the lake, however, we’d be lying if we said it’d ruin your good time.

Highly comparable to the Aqua Bound Sting Ray Fiberglass, the Carlisle Magic Plus is the paddle to grab if you’re just getting into this kayaking thing, or need something to outfit a new paddler in the family.

For extended days in the saddle and long transits where efficiency is key, the Werner Kalliste Bent Shaft ($550) squeezes every last drop out. This low-angle stick sports mid-sized blades that cut effortlessly through a stroke, and the bent shaft variant puts wrists in a more neutral position as a safeguard against fatigue. When hefted in one hand, the Kalliste feels like a weapon.

As a full carbon design, the Kalliste is solidly in Werner’s tip-of-the-spear ‘Ultimate’ performance line, which is aimed at eking paddling efficiency out with smart blade tweaks. At a lofty 1 pound, 9 ounces, this paddle is feather-light and makes for effortless strokes. The sea kayak guides among us especially praised this paddle as being one of the easiest to move through the water.

Available in both regular and small shaft diameters, the grip and fit on the Kalliste is made for long tours, and the bent shaft puts your wrists where they need to be during the power stroke, limiting the strain that can creep on late in the day. A straight shaft version is also available, but for extended tours, we’ll take every percentage we can get.

On the backside of the paddle blade is a smooth face that dips in and out of the water easily, and the ultra-buoyant design springs from the water during strokes. Along the edges of the blades is a material called Dynel, a composite reinforcement that adds chipping resistance where needed most. We’ve had issues with full carbon paddles wearing along this edge in the past, and the addition here is well appreciated.

In terms of critiques, it’s tough to rustle up any to hold against the Kalliste, though the bent shaft design does make storing the paddles on the deck of our sea kayaks awkward. The price is obviously glaring, and with some paddling around entire kayaks that cost as much, this paddle is certainly for folks who get out often, or who want to simple paddle the best.

Even for the price, though, the Werner Kalliste Bent Shaft won praise from all of our long-distance paddlers, who commended the ease of paddling and credited it for keeping their shoulders from going numb. For paddling a touring kayak, this is the paddle to do it with.

For the money, the Aqua Bound Sting Ray Hybrid Posi-Lok ($180) is a rightfully popular paddle and nails the needs of flatwater paddlers. The hybrid nylon/glass blades are robust enough to be bumped on the bottom repeatedly, while the carbon shaft lightens things up where it counts.

Perfect for low-angle touring strokes, this paddle had us moving across lakes and bays with ease, and the mid-sized blades are well balanced with a defined diherdral that prevented flutter deep in the stroke. The face of the blade is just under 600 cm², making this a fairly low-volume paddle that’s easy to move through the water.

The Posi-Lok joining ferrule on this paddle is something special and is neck and neck with the best out there in terms of ease of use. A simple two-button release splits the shaft, and infinite feather angles can be dialed in 15-degree increments. The carbon ferrule insert has a tighter interface than fiberglass and will stay that way for a good bit longer.

Compared to the other injection-molded low-angle kayak paddles we reviewed (the Werner Skagit FG and Carlisle Magic Plus), the Sting Ray Hybrid slides in a handful of ounces below both of them at 1 pound, 14 ounces. This might not seem like much, but for long tours the swing weight can certainly add up, and with the jump up to a full fiberglass blade being an extra $200, this paddle has some serious value.

For most folks, the Aqua Bound Sting Ray Hybrid Posi-Lok would make an excellent daily driver of a paddle. The broad range of sizes makes it easy to dial in on what you need, the light weight won’t fatigue you prematurely, and the ferrule is a joy to use.

The Werner Sherpa ($325) and its larger cousin, the Powerhouse, are classic whitewater paddles that have sliced, boofed, and skipped their way through some of the most wicked water on the planet. We tested this paddle in the rapids of British Columbia’s Cheakamus and Elaho rivers, where it hung tough through class III+ rapids.

With a broad 680 cm² face, this paddle is near the upper end of blade volumes, and is primed for digging into high-angle paddle strokes and pushing water. A subtle dihedral across the blade keeps it from fluttering during heavy strokes, and a broad reinforcement spine along the back braces against the flex that some fiberglass blades can have.

Werner’s whitewater offerings all use stainless steel push-button ferrules to join multi-piece paddles — a choice we can get behind. While not as adjustable as some of the nicer ferrules used on other Werner paddles, there’s also less to break on the Sherpa, and it’s arguably the stronger interface.

This paddle is available in one-, two-, and four-piece designs, as well as straight or bent shafts, and fiberglass or carbon blades. We paddled a fiberglass-bladed version of the Sherpa for our testing, and while a full carbon tool won’t flex at all, we actually enjoyed the nimbleness of the fiberglass — which felt more forgiving.

If heavy water is all you’re after, a full-carbon one-piece surgical tool like the Werner Stikine might be more up your alley. But for a more well-rounded paddle that’s up for whatever you toss at it, the Werner Sherpa is our go-to.

Packrafters have some unique needs when it comes to a paddle, and one of the primary among those is the ability to be broken down and stashed away. The Aqua Bound Shred Carbon 4-Piece ($265) is a killer option for those looking for a whitewater-ready paddle that can be split and packed into your drop-in.

Featuring a full carbon shaft and carbon-reinforced blades, the Shred isn’t a boat anchor either, and has a stiff flex that transmits power when you need it. We used this paddle to packraft down the Sauk and Dosewallips rivers in Washington, where it had enough oomph to keep us out of trouble in rapids.

Those four pieces tuck away nicely in packs as well, with the longest being 25” in our tested 200 cm paddle — easily fitting on the outside of our packs. This paddle also takes the possibility of a ferrule failure on long expeditions off the table by using a time-tested snap button system to unite the sections.

This does, however, mean that this paddle has no feather angle or length adjustability, and you’ll need to decide exactly what you need when purchasing.

Thankfully, the Shred is available in 4 different angles in both right- and left-hand control, and five sizes, ranging from 191 to 203 cm. It’s important to remember that sizing a paddle for packrafting is different than for a hardshell kayak, and you’ll need to opt for a longer length to clear the wide tubes of your raft.

It’s important to note here that while the blades of the Shred are reinforced with carbon (in the same way that a fiberglass-reinforced nylon blade is), they still retain most of the characteristics of a plastic blade, with added stiffness. This can be a boon for paddlers who can’t keep from bumping around in rock gardens but don’t expect a feather-light blade here.

The one aspect you weren’t as stoked about on the Shred Carbon is the blade interfaces with the shafts, which aren’t as confidence-inspiring or tight as full fiberglass or carbon ferrules. We don’t anticipate any blades flying off anytime soon, but we’ll be watching in our long-term testing for any slop in the fit.

If you’re using your packraft to mainly traverse calm lakes or river crossings, you’ll likely be better served by a low-angle paddle like the Aqua Bound Manta Ray Carbon, or even the ultra-minimal Supai Olo Paddle. For packrafters who like to chase heavy water, though, the Aqua-Bound Shred Carbon 4-Piece is where it’s at.

Ideal for bashing about while kayak fishing or during low-water passages, the NRS Ripple ($150) is a rugged paddle that honestly surprised us with its performance. It’s no sleek and willowy sea kayaking paddle, but the fit and finish are high-quality, and there are a few features not found on even our high-end daily drivers.

Using hardier ABS plastic instead of polyethylene, the blades on the Ripple are just plain tough, and are mounted to a fiberglass shaft to keep things light. The swing weight on these blades is noticeable compared with fiberglass, but that’s not even on the radar for the types of paddling we used it for.

With a blade profile similar to the Werner Shuna, the Ripple has a high-angle shape that responds well to deep strokes, and is powerful enough to get you moving quickly in rougher water. The blade is noticeably thicker, however, and we saw this manifest in a sloppier entry and exit while paddling.

Decked out with a simple push button ferrule and three angle options, the big news on the shaft is the built-in hand index grip — a raised section added to the right side of the paddle to register your fingers on and know you’re lined up with the paddle. While this is accomplished with ovalizing the shaft on other paddles, we liked the execution on the Ripple, and found it worked well.

The weak point on the Ripple is certainly the blade to shaft interface, secured with rivets — not our favorite. Were you to beat on the paddle mercilessly enough, this is certainly where it would give up the ghost. In all of our testing so far, however, we haven’t seen any loosening occur.

The NRS Ripple may well be our favorite angling paddle — if it had a notch in the blade for retrieving lures. Even still, We were impressed at the ability this $150 paddle had, and for everything from flatwater to some splashy rivers, it paddled admirably.

The Wilderness Systems Pungo Glass ($350) is the perfect companion for a good rec kayak, and it performed admirably across all of our flatwater testing. The full fiberglass blades are noticeably lighter to paddle than plastic versions, and the 50% fiberglass, 50% carbon shaft is rock-solid through the power phase of a stroke.

It’s the novel ferrule system on this paddle, however, that really got our motors running. The Leverlock ferrule uses an expanding rubber stopper to hold fast, and can be adjusted in both length (220-240 cm) and infinite feather angles. While initial hold had a bit of slop, after snugging up the mechanism a bit the Leverlock held strong.

The adjustable length makes this paddle ideal for passing around to different paddlers, or for someone who paddles a 20” wide touring shell one day and a portly fishing kayak the next. Adjustable length mechanisms are typically a little bulky, but the simple lever on the Pungo Glass keeps it out of the way.

Like other fiberglass paddles, the Pungo Glass will start to accumulate marks and scratches as time goes on, and the unique print design highlights these. You’ll need to take care not to leverage too harshly on the tip of the blade, such as pushing off during a launch, as this can damage or even snap the blade.

Like the kayak it’s named after, the Wilderness Systems Pungo Glass paddle is an absolute all-arounder, even-keeled across all the metrics we tested, and paddled well wherever we used it. The hybrid glass/carbon shaft is even a step up from some of our other similarly priced recommendations, and that Leverlock still continues to impress.

Solidly in the budget-minded touring paddle camp, the Werner Skagit FG ($174) has some impressive value on board, and paddles near as well as some of the high-end low-angle paddles we’ve used. For many, this will be an excellent intro to kayak touring paddle, or even a backup to keep on board on longer journeys.

We tested the Skagit in its namesake river, where broad muscling flows make for an enjoyable down-river float, and the paddle excelled. Its longer available lengths make it ideal for low-angle paddle strokes, as well as clearing the broad beams of recreational kayaks. For slow-moving water or relaxed paces, this paddle makes it happen.

The fiberglass-reinforced nylon blades keep the price down on this paddle, but in typical Werner fashion, don’t skimp on the design, and a sharp dihedral on the power face split water well in our tests. The 605 cm² blade volume is pretty middle of the road, and this paddle was easy on our joints after full days in the cockpit.

As most nylon blades do, there is some deflection in the depth of a stroke, which while not the best power transfer, does provide a bit more of that shock-absorption we appreciated on long days. The Skagit’s carbon-fiberglass shaft bumps up the performance of this paddle compared to fiberglass sticks like the Carlisle Magic Plus or Aqua Bound Sting Ray Fiberglass, and the Smart View Adjustable ferrule is leaps and bounds ahead of the snap buttons on those paddles.

Another solid do-it-all type paddle, the Werner Skagit FG should be on the short-list for anyone serious about moving up from their rec boat and paddling further in a touring shell. The low-angle blades slip in and out of the water easily, and the carbon-blend shaft is an upgrade over similar paddles — making it well worth the extra $40 or so bucks.

Greenland-style paddles are curious-looking things, and draw a lineage to the first paddles used to ply the waters of the Arctic coast — where driftwood was in short supply, and hunters needed a paddle to both transit and surf the waters. The modern Gearlab Outdoors Kalleq ($468) dresses the classic design in new materials, and takes the simple stick design to the nth degree.

Available in three sizes (210, 220, and 230 cm), the Kalleq — which, by the way, is Inuit for lightning — is a full carbon fiber build that weighs all of 24 ounces. The paddle feathers down to a blade-like 1.1 mm at its thinnest, and enters and exits the water beautifully. Otherwise very simple, the Kalleq is a two-piece design that joins with a super-minimal ferrule, and sports polyamide tips to act as sacrificial bumpers in rocky waters.

While it might seem impossible even to get moving with such a narrow paddle, the volume of the power face is all there, just stretched out, and requiring a more refined stroke to unleash the power behind this stick.

By cocking the upper edge of the paddle slightly forward, the paddle behaves much more like an airplane wing, creating a low pressure in front of the paddle and pulling you forward. It is efficiency that simply can’t be matched by Euro-style paddles.

That low profile also pays dividends above the water, as the Kalleq has no need to be feathered, as it doesn’t catch wind. While paddling, we felt much more connected to the water, and should you capsize, rolling with the Kalleq is also easier, as you don’t have to worry about the angle of the blade. This paddle isn’t relegated to only sea kayaking, either: Our tester even used it to paddle his canoe — to surprising success.

Many will choose a Greenland paddle as a backup option on long sea kayak trips because of their super low profile when secured on decks, but we’re not convinced that many wouldn’t be served better by the opposite arrangement. The Gearlab Outdoors Kalleq is absolutely a ‘try it and you’ll love it’ type of paddle, and it’s earned a few new adherents to the faith on our team.

Read Review: Greenland-Style Paddles: Gearlab Kalleq Review

Budget-friendly and ideal for bulking out your stash of loaner paddles, the Bending Branches Whisper ($80) looks like many cheaper paddles but has a higher-quality, American-made fit and finish that distinguishes it from the rest. This won’t be the last paddle you buy in your life, but when it does kick the bucket, you also won’t mourn it.

The aluminum shaft is robust and gives this paddle a good backbone, and is a durable choice for sticking into the hands of kiddos who might choose to jettison it into rocks and trees. Two sections of rubberized grip provide a bit of thermal protection, as metal shafts can be a bit colder than their fiberglass counterparts.

The plastic blades are fairly simple and incorporate very little dihedral into the paddle face, which leads to a bit of fluttering when cranking on the Whisper. Expecting an $80 paddle to perform flawlessly isn’t our bag, and the paddle makes the grade for clunking around the lake.

At 2 pounds, 5 ounces, the Whisper isn’t exactly light (level the blame at the aluminum shaft), but it also won’t weigh you down, and we’d instead make the trade for durability here. We had no problem tossing this paddle on shore or in the back of our pickups, knowing it’d be just fine.

Even with its shortcomings, it isn’t hard for us to drum up a number of folks who would be excellently served by the Bending Branches Whisper: new and young paddlers who might not have the perfect stroke yet (or the ability to avoid hitting the dock) would do well with it. Folks who use a kayak as a ferry between shore and their bluewater boat would also appreciate the Whisper, as it’ll be just fine being stored on deck, and deployed when needed.

Kayak paddles are your connection to the water you’re moving through — like an extension of your arms — and can be pretty personal so far as recreation equipment goes. Each behaves a bit differently while using, which often boils down to some pretty minute differences in angle, thickness, or material.

A casual glance might conclude that most paddles are the same, but it’s all this we aimed to hone in on in our testing. Our testing team is well qualified for the job, too: Lead tester Nick Belcaster is a kayaker and packrafter out of Washington State, where he takes full advantage of the Cascade Range and the waters that flow from it. His testing for this guide saw him making a few multiday kayak trips in the Salish Sea, and paddling hard in rugged water in British Columbia.

Tester Wil Henkel brings a depth of experience to the team, with a history as both a sea kayak guide in the Pacific Northwest and a whitewater guide and teacher in Ecuador. He’s paddled everything from full-on touring shells to agile creek and play boats, and used just as many paddles. Wil handled our heavy water paddles for this review and gave them the proper blessing required before mashing on them.

Our testing was just as much structured as it was casual, with testing revolving around performance, ease of use, and value. We spent entire days in the lake passing paddles around, and focused intently on the entry, power phase, and exit of each stroke. Every paddle was used by both a seasoned vet and a beginner to gauge relative approachability, and each was set up and broken down scores of times to survey for wear.

And, to best understand the sport-specificity of these paddles, we used them to where they were most comfortable, and where they stood out like a sore thumb. This meant paddling fully loaded sea kayaks with whitewater paddles, using Greenland-style sticks in our canoes, and while we wouldn’t suggest paddling your bash-around creek boat with a $500+ full carbon touring scalpel, we did it so you don’t have to.

All of this testing gave us the best idea of what makes a paddle good at what it does, and shook out our list of the best available today. Our testing continues on a year-round basis, and as new paddles become available, we’ll loop them into the circuit to ensure our selection is as accurate as possible.

While there are plenty of paddles on the market, nailing your purchase the first time is not only a great feeling but will provide you with the performance you’re after and complement your kayak. Besides a good PFD, a paddle is essential to getting out on the water.

There’s a surprising amount to consider baked into kayak paddles — from dihedral angles to power face volumes and entire textbooks on hydrodynamics that we won’t pretend to understand. We do, however, know a good paddle from a lackluster one, and the following should get you up to speed.

Before exploring anything else, you’ll need to determine the type of kayaking you’re looking to do with your paddle. Some paddles are versatile enough to be used for multiple styles of paddling, while others are hyper-focused and designed for a specific kind of paddling.

The majority of paddles out there will fall into this category and are used for casual day boating or going a little deeper with your touring kayak. Typically longer to accommodate a shallower stroke angle, these paddles can be found between 205 and 260 cm and feature what are called Euro-style blades, which are roughly flower pedal-shaped and made for efficiency.

Recreational paddles are often constructed using fiberglass handles and nylon blades, though some choose the slightly nicer glass-reinforced blades for a bit more durability. Touring paddles need to be light for longer days of paddling, and they often use fiberglass or carbon shafts and blades to trim the weight.

Made for the splashy stuff, whitewater paddles are more about the power and ability to move water quickly. They are typically shorter — between 190 and 200 cm — as they need to be paddled quicker and deeper into the water than recreational paddles.

Whitewater paddles are also more durable, as they are more liable to be bashed into rocks or trees. High-end whitewater paddles are often all carbon fiber, which offers the greatest power transfer.

A paddle’s performance is a concert of several things, but it all comes down to the stroke — more specifically, the three components of the stroke: the catch, the pull, and the exit.

The catch is the initial part of the stroke where you place your blade in the water. Leading with your shoulder and pointing toward the bow, your paddle blade should enter the water with ease as you wind your body up. Here, a thin paddle edge makes for an easy entry.

As you begin to dig into the water, the pull is where your power is generated, and you’ll rotate your torso to lead the paddle through the stroke. During this phase is where something called flutter can occur, which is the blade twitching as it’s pulled from side to side in the water. This can be dealt with by angling your paddle slightly or using a paddle with more dihedral.

Finally, the exit is the withdrawal of the blade from the water, and winding up for another paddle stroke on the opposite side. This occurs about as the blade passes your hip, and you should aim to pluck the paddle up out of the water as you reset for another paddle.

After reading up on some of the science, it’s time for a bit of the art. Paddling is comprised of a number of different strokes that move your paddle through the water, generating motion. The manner in which you make these strokes reflects greatly on how you move through the water, and one of the biggest differences lies between the high- and low-angle strokes.

The low-angle stroke is a more horizontal one, roughly between 20 and 30 degrees if you imagine your paddle shaft making the third side of a triangle between your body and the surface of the water. This stroke requires less effort and puts less stress on your joints, making it better for long-distance kayaking or leisurely paddles. The Werner Kalliste, Skagit FG, Aqua Bound Sting Ray, Wilderness Systems Pungo, and Bending Branches Whisper are all low-angle paddles.

A high-angle stroke places the blade more vertically in the water, and digs deeper to generate more power. This stoke is more energy-intensive, but muscles your kayak around quicker, making it ideal for rolling coastal waters or whitewater kayaking. The Werner Shuna, Sherpa, Carlisle Magic Plus, Aqua Bound Shred, and NRS Ripple are all high-angle paddles.

Both of these strokes benefit from a differently shaped blade. Low-angle blades are typically longer, narrower, and mounted to longer paddle shafts. This allows them to enter the water more easily. The blades on high-angle paddles are wider than low-angle paddles, and have higher surface areas to catch and hold the water. Their paddle shafts are more often shorter, as they intersect the water closer to the hull of the kayak.

You’ll notice that most touring paddles sport a low-angle blade, and most whitewater paddles use a high-angle blade, though this is not always the case. Our favorite paddle for just about anything, the Werner Shuna, is a high-angle paddle meant for touring in water that might be more turbulent.

Almost all kayak paddles allow for an adjustment known as feathering, which changes the angle between the two blades. This is done to best position the blades as they enter the water and eliminate the excessive wrist flexion required with a neutral-angled paddle, as well as reduce the wind resistance of the exposed paddle.

These adjustments are made possible by the paddle’s ferrule, which is the joining interface that can be set at different angles and locked in place. These ferrules can be of a few different designs, with the most basic being a push-button ferrule, which often offers only three different holes: 60 degrees in either direction and zero.

More advanced ferrules such as Werner’s Smart View Adjustable or Aqua Bound’s Posi-Lok ferrule offer up many more angles and locks solidly to provide single-piece-like performance. Which direction you feather your paddle will depend on your dominant hand, which will become the side you control the paddle from.

Deciding which feather angle to use, or even any angle at all, is highly personal, and we recommend trying out many to see how they feel. Most flatwater paddlers will use an angle between 45 and 60, while whitewater kayakers find a lower angle suits their deeper paddle strokes.

The blades of your paddle are where the magic happens, and there’s quite a bit of hydrodynamics going on between every stroke. The power face is the side of your paddle that’s facing you while paddling, and it’s the one that is catching the water.

This face can often incorporate a dihedral shape, which is a bevel that adds a leading edge to the middle of the paddle to split the water. This is added to help prevent flutter, which occurs when a paddle is trying to turn sideways as it is drawn through the water. Typically, touring paddles will incorporate a higher degree of dihedral than whitewater paddles.

The shape of a paddle blade is also hugely important, and most kayak paddles will have an asymmetric shape — with a longer upper edge. This is done to push the paddle deeper into the stroke when it’s pulled through the water, and makes the paddle directional.

The length and width of a paddle can also change its characteristics, with low-angle paddles being longer and typically more narrow to more easily pass in and out of the water. Whitewater paddles are shorter and wider, to best concentrate the power face and push more water.

Finally, Greenland- or Aleutian-style paddles sport entirely different style blade profiles, and are elongated spars that spread their power face across a long cross section.

The volume of your paddle blade is an excellent metric for comparing the relative power between paddles, and most kayak paddles sport a 550-750 cm² blade volume. Low-angle touring paddles like the Wilderness Systems Pungo Glass (595 cm²) are on the lower end of the scale, as the slower cadence stroke used to paddle them doesn’t need to move as much water, and they typically paddle kayaks that don’t take much effort to keep moving.

The 615 cm² of the Werner Shuna is indicative of a mid-sized blade that is designed as an all-arounder, and can be paddled in a low- or high-angle stroke to make the best use of its surface area. Some paddles like the Shuna are offered with like-designs that are just enlarged for bigger paddlers, and the Werner Corryvreckan bumps up the volume to 721 cm² — a significant difference for those who need to push more water.

Whitewater paddles will occupy the upper end of the spectrum, and 680 cm² of the Werner Sherpa and 710 cm² of the Aqua Bound Shred Carbon both move significantly more water compared to thin touring paddles when compared side-by-side.

The paddle shaft is your connection to the water, and it is much more than just a stick to connect your paddle blades (though Greenland paddles do sport that nickname). As a handle, the paddle shaft needs to be comfortable for all-day paddling, as well as have enough backbone to transfer your power into the blades and propel you forward through the water.

Aluminum shafts are used on budget paddles in order to save on material and construction cost, and while stiff, are heavier than other constructions. Fiberglass is a much more viable alternative in our opinion, and is much lighter while still transferring good power. As a composite material, fiberglass can be mixed with carbon fiber in order to gain additional strength, without the cost of going to full carbon.

A full carbon paddle shaft, however, is a wonder to use, and is both supremely light and strong, transferring the greatest level of power and deflecting the least under load. Paddle shafts can also differ in their shapes, with ovalization being the most common. This involves flattening the shaft where your palm will grip, in order to add an index to reference.

Bent-shaft paddles are the extreme end of the spectrum, and angle the grip sections of the shaft inward to better reduce the angle your wrists have to make during the power segment of the stroke. This can assist folks with joint issues, or prevent them from happening in the first place. The length of your paddle, too, plays a role in that lever effect, and which size to go with has a lot to do with the kayak you’ll be paddling.

Wider recreational kayaks will call for a longer paddle, while narrower beam touring kayaks can be paddled with a shorter paddle. Your height also plays a role in this decision, with taller paddlers requiring longer sticks, and shorter kayakers needing shorter ones. Some paddles, like the Wilderness Systems Pungo Glass, are adjustable in length, meaning you can fine-tune your paddle to the kayak you’re using that day, or hand it off to others and fit them as well.

In general, light is right when it comes to kayak paddles. You’ll be using your whole body to pull them through the water, and while a few strokes won’t make a difference, an entire day with a hefty paddle will wear on you. Recreational paddles typically aren’t as concerned with weight, as you might only be paddling them for an afternoon, and often weigh around 2 pounds.

Lightweight carbon fiber paddles can trim quite a bit of weight, and the Werner Kalliste trims a half pound off the average. For long-distance kayak touring, this weight-for-money exchange can be a worthwhile one. Typically, however, swing weight is actually a more important metric to pay attention to, as this is much more noticeable while paddling. For example, you’ll immediately notice the difference in switching from a nylon blade paddle like the Werner Skagit FG to a fiberglass one like the Shuna.

Weight, too, can be a factor when carrying your paddle outside your kayak, such as carrying a packraft into a remote river. The Aqua Bound Shred Carbon uses a carbon shaft and carbon-blended blades to trim that fat a bit and makes this an ideal paddle for packrafters.

The price of your kayak paddle will closely follow the materials used to make it, with a few tiers shaking out as such: Basement budget paddles will be made with aluminum shafts and plastic blades, and joined together with simple (and sometimes less-than-durable) push-button ferrules.

While there are many lesser paddles on the market, we keyed in on the Bending Branches Whisper as being one of the worthy of picking up in the less than $100 range.

Adding a fiberglass shaft and reinforcing the paddle blades with glass or carbon bumps the price up to $125-180, and these paddles hold a surprising bit of value. For anyone who is serious about getting into kayaking, or just wants a spare paddle to keep around, these can be ideal.

The Carlisle Magic Plus was our best budget pick at $125, and while missing some fit and finish, still gets us home every time for all-around recreational paddling.

The NRS Ripple ($150) and Werner Skagit FG ($175) are both similarly good values, with the Ripple being bang-around ready with ABS blades, and the Skagit boasting a primo Smart View Adjustable ferrule found on higher-end paddles. The Aqua Bound String Ray Hybrid ($180) commands a bit more for the carbon shaft it uses, and at 30 ounces is impressively lightweight for long kayak touring.

For around $200-400, you’ll begin to see full fiberglass blades, and even some hybrid and full carbon shafts. These paddles span the spectrum of uses, but will be more refined with higher-quality blade shaping including detailed reinforcement spines, and be joined together with carbon-insert adjustable ferrules.

The Aqua Bound Shred Carbon ($265) boasts a full carbon shaft combined with unique hybrid carbon-reinforced blades, which makes it a tough option for packrafters.

The Wilderness Systems Pungo ($350) retains the fiberglass blades but uses a 50% carbon, 50% fiberglass blend to give the shaft a bit more backbone. The uber-adjustable ferrule is the draw here and helps explain the price. The Werner Shuna ($400) and Sherpa ($415) are similarly specced-out paddles, just designed for different types of water and paddling styles.

North of $450 is the realm of specialty paddles, and typically full carbon builds that squeeze every last drop of performance out. The Gearlab Outdoors Kalleq ($468) is just such a tool, and is hyper-focused on ocean paddling in surf. The Werner Kalliste ($550) is similarly dialed in for the open ocean, focusing intensely on blade design and balance to create a paddle for long-distance kayaking.

While there are many very cheap kayak paddles on the market, we hesitate to recommend many of them, as they are most often built with aluminum shafts, cheap plastic blades, and flimsy ferrule connections. We’d urge you to spend at least $100 on a kayak paddle you aim to use often.

The Carlisle Magic Plus ($125) is an excellent option, in our opinion, as it utilizes a lightweight fiberglass shaft and stronger glass-reinforced nylon blades — both important to keep paddling stress low and prolong the life of your paddle.

If you’ve done your research and consulted paddle sizing guides, taking into account the style and width of your kayak, and are still on the fence and in between sizes, going with a shorter paddle is often the safer bet. This will ensure that your paddle strokes aren’t causing you to waggle the kayak too much, and will keep you from stressing your shoulders.

There are certainly instances where going with a slightly longer or shorter paddle than recommended makes sense, such as if you’re in an abnormally wide kayak (go longer), or if you’re in a playboat and looking to paddle whitewater (go shorter).

Both carbon fiber and fiberglass offer different feels and utilities in kayak paddles, as well as price points. Fiberglass is a less expensive composite material and, while still stiff, isn’t quite as stiff as carbon fiber.

When used in blades, fiberglass can either be used entirely, or used as a reinforcement and mixed into a nylon blade to add rigidity. Paddle shafts made from fiberglass typically have a bit of give, but are quite light overall.

Carbon fiber is stronger and lighter than fiberglass, but it is also more expensive. It has very little give when paddled hard, which can make the most of the power you’re putting down, but can also be a bit harsh for some people. Carbon fiber paddle shafts are very rigid, and blades made with the stuff don’t deflect much at all.

Feathering a kayak paddle does a number of things for you, including reducing the effect of wind on your paddle blades, as well as creating a more ergonomic motion that doesn’t require your wrists to pivot as much. The amount and direction you might feather your paddle will depend on your preferences, as well as which hand you will ‘control’ the paddle with — typically your dominant one.

For everyday and casual paddling, probably not. But if kayaking is decidedly your thing, then an expensive kayak paddle certainly can make a difference. More important, however, is likely dialing in on exactly what you need out of a kayak paddle, and getting one that fits that exactly.

Before shelling out the big bucks, consider a tailored mid-range paddle like the Wilderness Systems Pungo Glass or Werner Shuna, or even the better-than-budget choices like the Aqua Bound Sting Ray Hybrid or Werner Skagit FG. All will be a significant upgrade from a starter paddle like the Carlisle Magic Plus, and don’t command the dollar signs that full carbon jobs do.

You can have all the paddling chops in the world and still take the dunk. We’ve tested the range of PFDs and found the best to keep you right side up.

Kayaks are the original all-terrain vehicles, and we tested the best from Old Town, Wilderness Systems, Eddyline, and more!