paddle length

[john h]

i'm 6'4 and usually use a 60" paddle. not really sure why but it was cheap and i bought a 60 for me and a 56" for my girlfriend.

last weekend i accidentally took the wrong paddle to the river (both of them are low budget aluminum paddles). upon bending it and fixing it i realized i had the 'wrong' one but was paddling much better. i could get to my offside more quickly and the blade was getting stuck under my boat less...sometimes (esp. on my offside) my blade gets trapped and either gets me off balance or flips me. in general it was far less cumbersome.

anyways, what is the general rule for paddle sizing? since i bent hers i need to replace it and i'm considering buying a nicer one so i can use it when i'm paddling my oc1 and she can use it when we're paddling together.

[TheKrikkitWars]

Generally, I've worked on sitting in the boat with my arm out at 90degrees, If I put the t-grip on the floor, my hand should hold just bellow to the blade

I use a 58 in the prelude, 48 in the Meltdown and a 54 in everything else