What paddles do you guys use?

What are you guys using?
I am in the market for a new blade is everyone running 240cm? what models?
Thanks,

I'm really like the Cannon Escape that Nanook sold me at Alder Creek. Fiberglass shaft is pretty light, good bang for the buck in the $100 and under category. Yeah 240cm is nice for 30inch wide yak, no more knuckle bangin'.

AT Xception 230cm. Works great with my Trident 13.

I really liked my Skagit by Werner.  Pretty reasonable price and built to last.  If I had to do it all over again, I'd probably go with a bent shaft.

I really liked my Skagit by Werner.  Pretty reasonable price and built to last.  If I had to do it all over again, I'd probably go with a bent shaft.

Yeah, I might be looking again some time soon.  I've always loved Werners, but got distracted by Lendals.  I thought I'd like bent shaft, but I don't really.  It sucks for sculling draw strokes, which I somehow do a fair bit for positioning.  I hate it when the paddle dives and I almost bite it.

230 is pretty standard.  Any deviation from that is more personal preference related to paddling style than anything else.

-Allen

Another Werner fan. I've got the glass Camano and really enjoy paddling with it.

Z

230cm Werner Corryvrecken for me.

the Corryvrekken is on my wishlist...

but i paddle a cheap aluminum escape.  I actually like the blade size, and I don't find the weight all that bad.  I've paddled others (my wife has a AT SS Tour OS, and I've used the Aquabound Swell) and I always come back to it.  I definitely feel the larger blades are more my style, and I really don't see that much of a weight difference between the FG and Alum. paddles.

I'm also drooling over the Sawyer V-loc Orca.  I've seen some prototype stuff they made for Diablo Paddlesports and I like their work.  With a birthday and anniversary coming, i'm hoping for either the Sawyer or Werner to come my way...

Feathered or not? Zee do you run a 230 or 240? TTM you?

If it helps at all...  I'm a less tall man ~6'2''  and use a 240cm. Bending Branches.

In my SINK days, I favored the Werner San Juan for speed, and the Little Dipper for extended paddling.  Nowadays, am pedaling, and WR just bought  my favorite, the Bending Branches Breeze Twilight, very light and length-adjustable carbon paddle.  Never liked the bent shaft double blade paddles, but still have a Sawyer bent-shaft canoe paddle that works really well.  I knew Ralph Sawyer back in Michigan, he dated a family friend, and he and his partner Tom Gildersleeve won the  gruelling annual Au Sable canoe marathon (120 miles) a few times in the 1960's .  I had one of his racing canoes for awhile, it was  a narrow screamer not much good for fishing.  I brought a Sawyer fiberglas 16 foot canoe out here in 1981 when I moved from Ann Arbor, and fished out of it around Alki beach until I came to my senses and bought a Chinook roto-molded SINK, first yak for me----1983 or so.

from Wiki:
The Au Sable River International Canoe Marathon is an annual 120 mi (193 km) canoe race in Michigan from Grayling to Oscoda. It first ran in 1947 and is the longest, non-stop, canoe-only race in North America. The race has been billed as “The World’s Toughest Spectator Race” as many of the spectators follow the racers overnight down the full 120 miles to the finish.[1]
The race is always held the last full weekend in July during the town's annual Au Sable River Festival. The Marathon starts at 9pm in Grayling in a LeMans-style start where the competitors carry their canoes in a footrace four blocks through town to the Au Sable River entry point. Upon reaching the Au Sable River, they begin paddling non-stop throughout the night. In addition to paddling for 14-19 hours straight, competitors must also make portages over six dams along the river race route.

For the last 5 years I have used a cheap 240 Aquabound stingray with an aluminum shaft.  I have stayed away from more expensive paddles as I tend to  use my paddle to push off rocks, get out of mud and many other tasks that it was not designed for.   

If was was in a pure paddle yak I'd only feather in the wind. In the Hobie I stash the paddle and pedal when it gets a blowin'. Oh yeah, 240cm.

Z

With my Werner, you can feather in either direction from 0-60 deg. I grew so accustom to the 60 deg feather of my old alum/poly paddle that I set the Corryvrecken to 60 deg windy or not.

I would say feather away!  It used to feel weird and took a little to get used to, but now, not feathering feels just as weird.  It's pretty much just a good habit to get into IMO.