Paddle feather

This page discusses Paddle Feather. For other uses of the term see Feather (disambiguation page).

This is the angular offset of the blades of a paddle.

In the old days, paddles would come with significant feather angles, typically about 90°. The oft-repeated logic behind this is that it allows the blade in the air to slice through the wind while the other is powering through the water. However, that is only useful for paddling into the wind and sea kayakers note that a significant crosswind can cause problems - the feathered blade now catches the wind and can affect roll stability. Since feathered paddles for sea kayakers seem to have originally been borrowed from whitewater paddling, it is questionable whether wind effects are the original reason for feathering. Surf kayakers note that the use of unfeathered paddles in surf is dangerous - with both blades flat to the wave, the paddle can be driven into or away from the paddler. If the paddle is feathered, the paddle will rotate (the flat blade moving with the water and the feathered blade slicing through) and not drive into the paddler. It could be that whitewater paddlers observed a similar effect in river hydraulics and decided a feathered paddle was better, but this is speculation. The true origins of the feathered paddle seem to be lost in history.

Modern paddles are available with many feather angles. Whitewater paddlers now prefer moderate feather angles - 60°, 45°, 30° or even less are common. Many paddlers are switching to unfeathered paddles, especially in sea kayaking. Traditional paddles are rarely feathered.

The choice of whether or not to feather is personal. There is no right or wrong - if you prefer one feather angle or even no feather angle, that's fine.

Excessive feather angles force the wrist of the control hand to flex repeatedly to orient the paddle. While it is debatable whether this will cause repetitive stress injuries, it is well known that it will aggrevate an existing condition. When you make a paddle stroke, the motion of your arms and torso will cause the paddle to rotate. If the feather angle of the paddle matches this rotation, there is no need to flex your wrist. Some paddlers report that for a high angle, aggressive stroke, a feather angle of 50 to 60 degrees is appropriate. Similarly, for a low angle touring stroke that many sea kayakers use, a 25 to 30 degree angle seems about right. Exactly what angle to use depends on your technique - experimenting with a paddle that allows the feather to be adjusted to any angle can help you find one that suits you. Any two-piece paddle can do this by just not setting the button in a hole that fixes the angle.

It is a myth that an unfeathered paddle does not require wrist flexure. In fact, the flexure is opposite to what most feathered paddles require and is relatively small. For that reason, most paddlers don't even notice it. It is there and it is real, however.