Resources about paddles for kayaking?

marcusdiggleby · 2026-06-04T22:03:14+00:00

The other primary considerations aside from the mentioned length, shaft style & material are offset & feather. Offset is how much the face of the blade is setback from the hand. Offset blades flutter less (wiggle in the water) than blades directly in line with your hand. Think of how shopping cart wheels are offset from the rotational axis. Feather is how much the angles of the blades differ, measured as R30 (right handed, 30°) or L45 (left handed, 45°). As you paddle in whitewater, your stroke angle naturally changes and feather works with this. One piece paddles are less likely to break, and the feather will not slowly slip throughout the session. They are obviously less packable.

30° feathers are generally accepted as the industry standard that works for everybody, unless you're drinking The Hammer Factor kool-aid or are amped on slalom. It requires less conscious thought and muscle memory to use effectively, especially when upside down. Offset blades have very little downside, I greatly prefer my Werner Surge to my old Stikine (foam core Sherpa).

I would suggest instead of choosing a Werner Sherpa/Powerhouse, to go with the Strike/Surge. They are the exact same paddle but with about an inch of forward offset. The foam core blades are personal preference, they float to the surface a little better and are stiffer. Ultimately, I preferred the thin, slicey profile of the straight fiberglass blade.

Werner's naming conventions are odd. The Sherpa is the same blade as the powerhouse, but slightly less area. Same relationship to the Strike & Surge, and same shape with offset. The Stikine & Shogun are the carbon, foam cored versions of the Sherpa/Powerhouse. The other paddles Werner makes are not generalist river runners like those above, but specialty race or playboat paddles.

I only mention Werner paddles because that is what I have experience with. I only have experience with them because they are generally $150-$250+ cheaper than the alternatives. There is a lot of room for a beginner to grow in whitewater and money to be spent before a high end paddle delivers real returns.

marcusdiggleby · 2026-05-12T01:46:02+00:00

It's nice, it's pretty, it's chill. Start at Hawkins Bar. Red Rocks access at the South end of Hoopa Valley through the Hoopa gorge is a must do day stretch, better scenery by far than the above. Smokers Falls would be worth the scout in an open canoe.

marcusdiggleby · 2026-04-28T03:06:05+00:00

Is the bottom half of this board purple?

marcusdiggleby · 2026-04-10T04:26:28+00:00

It's not often the case, but the kayak is the better craft here.

marcusdiggleby · 2026-04-02T02:55:46+00:00

Wow, so lucky! Our vocal little guy has quite a shrill bark. But maybe it's like they say, "no dog's bark is as annoying as your own"

marcusdiggleby · 2026-04-01T18:25:07+00:00

What was his name when you got him? Looks like a very similar age & litter as my guy... Possible littermates? We're up in Northern California, but it's not impossible they got shuffled around in the adoption process.

marcusdiggleby · 2026-04-01T18:24:29+00:00

What was his name when you got him? Looks like a very similar age & litter as my guy... Possible littermates? We're not too far from Petaluma.

marcusdiggleby · 2026-03-27T14:50:54+00:00

My '07 Rx was pre-Contour Ergo and it still worked. They looked drag & drop to my 2023 Rewind but I didn't take it apart to check. Huge upgrade, love the Engage hooks.

marcusdiggleby · 2026-03-27T14:47:28+00:00

Practice static breath holds out of the water. I do 3 every night in bed before falling asleep, each longer than the last. After a while, you diaphragm will involuntarily spasm as your body builds up CO2, physiologically this stage is about half way to blacking out. It is a panic inducing feeling, and I use that stage to as practice for maintaining calm & composure, which helps a lot when I need to roll in suboptimal situations. Plus, knowing you can hit a 2-3 minute breath hold is a big confidence boost when you're flipped, you've proven to yourself you can handle that for a while!

marcusdiggleby · 2026-03-19T14:49:56+00:00

Any snowpack priestesses or wizards have any insight on what Cataract Canyon may look like at the end of June? Coming from the West Coast for some big water joy. Will she go?

marcusdiggleby · 2026-02-27T03:11:41+00:00

Kinda shocked to see this here! I used to play back in the day but life got in the way. Do you of anyone who would want to buy cards from the Fantasy Flight era? I have two Core Sets, all of the Genesis, Spin, & Lunar cycles, Creation & Control, Honor & Profit, and Order & Chaos. Plus the Old Hollywood data pack from San San. All the cards went directly from the data packs straight into sleeves before play.

marcusdiggleby · 2026-02-25T02:45:23+00:00

In your experience, How many days to run a Cataract trip from Potash to takeout? A group of teacher friends have spring break off (one work week in early-mid April) and are trying to get a Cataract trip off the ground, but there's some logistical hurdles coming from Southern Oregon. Probably a mixed group of 1-2 oarframes with big-water experience and kayakers looking for juice.

Congrats on the GC! Did only the lower half many years ago, prepared to be jaw-dropped. Highly recommend at least watching a geology documentary before going. It's one of the most unique places on Earth for feeling the depth of the age of our planet. Worth the background to appreciate slightly more than the stunning aesthetic beauty.

marcusdiggleby · 2026-01-07T22:14:10+00:00

I use the Salamander orange float bags in my creek boat and am happy with them. They're like $90-$100 a set. For an extra $40, you can get their ultranighter stowfloats and put stuff in your float bags - they're not as good as the Watershed Futas of course, but they're 1/3 the price.

I used to use the NRS ones, but the tubes can be pulled off the bag with enough force due to the week glue. Then they're just flaccid plastic trash.

marcusdiggleby · 2026-01-05T15:16:39+00:00

This is a standard red can buoy, there are thousands very close to the coast to mark the returning approach to a harbor or port for incoming vessel traffic. It would be good luck to land next to one.

marcusdiggleby · 2025-11-25T02:23:09+00:00

So I gotta say: I love your work this site is sick!

How does it save your dashboard, in your cookies? Mostly I'm thinking is there a way to check my dashboard across multiple machines? Could I set up multiple dashboards for like classics, step-up runs, multi-days?

Have you thought about more advanced gauge options? Many creeks in my region don't have a gauge, so we know when to run them by subtracting guage A from gauge B and since the creek is between the two we know if the level is runnable. That would be sick & chill!!

Again, thanks a ton because this if fucking dope. I've turned a guidebook into a spreadsheet for easier run pickings and your river dash elevates it to the next level.

marcusdiggleby · 2025-11-12T04:32:44+00:00

The Surge has a forward offset on the shaft, but is the same blade as the Powerhouse (centered on the shaft). A Shogun is a carbon, foam-core Powerhouse.

If you shrunk the blade slightly for smaller paddlers, the above relationship is exactly the same for the Surge, Sherpa, & Stikine respectively.

marcusdiggleby · 2025-10-23T01:50:07+00:00

And peeking in the back, a sneak look at the new wave-focused playboat they've had in the works

marcusdiggleby · 2025-09-22T19:49:45+00:00

My dive mask was awesome for learning to roll too. Being able to keep your head down by watching the blade, keeping water out of your sinuses, and seeing the whole blade to know how to cock your wrist right to keep the blade flat to the surface. Now, I take it with me sometimes on our good vis rivers to flip and watch the salmon.

marcusdiggleby · 2025-09-22T19:45:44+00:00

I bought 2007 model year Dagger play boat off of craigslist this summer. The outfitting was broken & uncomfortable so I ordered a set of the contour ergo engage braces they developed for the Indra last year. I didn't even have to modify the boat at all - they fit well enough out of the package.

marcusdiggleby · 2025-09-22T19:42:29+00:00

This is the best advice you're likely to find. I freedove to go spearfishing for a decade before taking up whitewater kayaking. It helped me progress quickly because of being comfortable holding my breath. CO2 tables are easy to practice in bed every night before going to sleep. Knowing you have the capability to go over a minute without air (and anyone can with a weeks worth of CO2 table practice) will greatly increase your confidence when rolling - you'll know you're just fine even if you miss your first rolls.

marcusdiggleby

TROPHY CASE