C-Forum

Just curious what length of paddle people use for a CU Fly, and also for C1 playboats (S6X). What is the easiest way to carry a CU Fly when hiking to & from the river or portages? Thanks

I use a 58" (147.3 cm) paddle for C1 playboating. I think it's a good length for my mix of river-running (longer paddle) and playboating (shorter paddle).

I'm 6'1" (185.4cm) tall with relatively long arms. I use a curved blade Mitchell Premier.

I think I could go a bit longer (59" - 60" [149.9cm - 152.4cm]) but I wouldn't go any shorter.

I'm interested in others' responses.

i paddle a cufly and use a 57" paddle
when go to or from the water, i eithor carry it on my sholder or on my head upside down
usually on my sholder at the beginning of the day and i take my helmet off and buckle it to the hand loop and hold the paddle along the sides while i carry it back to the car

how do you like the robson?
i'm still new at it but getting to like more and more
john c.
cincy,ohio

Sit in the boat, submerge blade completely. grab the paddle with your offside-arm (the one that holds the T-grip). That arm should be more or less horizontal.

That is your starting point. You can vary around that length a little.
Total length depends a lot on the dimension of the blade...a good paddle company should always specify blade dimensions!

I use something pretty short for C1 creeking (53'' total, 19 inch blade), a little longer for big water and something short for play. My open-boat length is a little longer cause the saddle is higher (56-57 inch, same blade).

Cheers, Jan

i liked long paddles until i started liking short paddles but that was before i started to like long paddles.

i think you are just gonna have to experiment. i've used everything between 55" and 60". for now i use a 55 for play and i just bought a new 58 for creeking, but it felt WAY too big so i cut an inch off and now it is perfect! (VERY cool galasport magnum)
this is in c1 with pretty low saddles.
there are rules of thumb but who cares? (check out that video with joe stumpfel. it looks like he's using my 3 piece breakdown with 1 piece missing and he's doing alright!)
if you can't try a bunch of paddles before you buy one.. just start with a 58" if your big, or a 56" if your small.