Paddle Blade Size

Is there a quantifiable speed difference between blade sizes? I am most familiar with and have access to Epic paddles. I know that all things being equal, of course a mid-large blade with a stiff shaft will be faster than a small-mid with a hybrid shaft. But, is this meaningful to me?

I have switched between a mid and a mid-large throughout last year and really could not tell much difference. This may be because I do not paddle at a level high enough to exploit the virtues of either paddle. It may also be because most of my training and racing is on the short side of under 10K.

What does your experience tell you? Are mid-packers wasting their time with larger blades? Are people leaving speed on the table by selecting a smaller blade? Is the adage "a smaller blade is more appropriate for longer events due to fatigue" true?

My experience is that I started with a Fenn4 blade which is pretty big and has a strong bite. I love the paddle, and it has helped me with many aspects of a "good" technique.

Of course my cadence is very slow with it.

To fix that, I recently bought an Orca B Mini, their smallest blade - in an attempt to up my cadence. Of course, without changing anything, the B Mini is slower to paddle with.

But now I'm getting better at high cadence paddling, and to be honest in the latest dices, I'm competing with the same people no matter which paddle I use.

Fast cadence, small blade makes you go fast.

The one thing I miss is being able to put in a single massive power stroke to get me over the lip of a wave.

A friend of mine who is capable of beating most of the best paddlers in my area (and has done many times) uses an Epic Small Mid paddle.

Sean Rice on his recent visit to NZ told me he uses a small mid size blade.

I don't believe a larger blade makes you faster, its just different.

Kayaker Greg wrote: Sean Rice on his recent visit to NZ told me he uses a small mid size blade.

I think there may have been a misunderstanding in that conversation. I'm quite sure he's still using the Orca Super Flex that he's been using for years.



Then again, that depends on what one defines as small.

Yeah perhaps I did hear him wrong,it was as we were getting our fit and paddle checked by Sean, I told him I had trimmed the blades on my Gamma and perhaps he said he used a mid size blade? Anyway he certainly doesn't use a large blade.

Would the Fenn 1 be considered a big blade? I really like this blade but it does look big compared to a lot of my friends blades.

Cheers

Scode wrote: Would the Fenn 1 be considered a big blade? I really like this blade but it does look big compared to a lot of my friends blades.

Cheers

And it brings into the argument shape, as the 1 is a parallel design

sAsLEX wrote:

Scode wrote: Would the Fenn 1 be considered a big blade? I really like this blade but it does look big compared to a lot of my friends blades.

Cheers

And it brings into the argument shape, as the 1 is a parallel design

Yes the shape plays a big role, and to me makes the "size" of the paddle more of a feeling than anything else.

The Fenn 1 is longer, but is also quite narrow. I think it may be a bit smaller than the Orka Lettmann / Legend blade, which is similar style.

I would not call it a big blade though, more a medium size. But it is very quick in the water, thanks to its shape (parallel with a bit of a twist to it). I find it very easy to use, so it "feels" smaller than it may be.

Interestingly, here are the sizes of the Orka paddles: www.orkapaddles.com/paddles.php

What this page ignores is the depth of the blade.

rhainan wrote: Is there a quantifiable speed difference between blade sizes?

Yes, I think there is. But not "the bigger, the better"; I think there is some optimal size, and you'll lose speed both if you go smaller or larger than that optimal size.

I did a test many years ago, where I paddled the same distance a large number of times with two paddles I had. Both paddles were parallel edge wing paddles. One had fairly big blades (> 800 cm^2), was light and very well and professionally built (but I can't remember the brand anymore). The other had mid sized blades (I would estimate it to around 750 cm^2), and was heavy (1.2 kg), with clumsily built blades (I bought it cheaply from a guy who had built it himself in his backyard). Of course, I expected to be faster with the professionally built paddle; I did the test because I wanted to know how much better it was. However, I was consistently faster (by a few %) with the amateur built paddle. Assuming it wasn't the heavy weight and clumsiness of the blades that made it faster, it must have been its smaller size.