Its buoyant blade boosted my roll after many surfing errors, and braced me up on the river with reassuring authority. Today, as kayaking booms in popularity, there are niches for all types of paddles. Among Euro-style blade paddles, the allure of wood remains. Fiberglass is common, and while carbon fiber has cachet, it lacks the visual beauty of natural wood. Wood appeals by feel and sound as well, with a warm surface under the hand and a mellow tone when the paddle touches a non-liquid surface.
Wood comes in a bewildering variety of species, each with unique properties.
Woods are loosely divided into hardwoods and softwoods, but this division is simply based on whether the tree is a broadleaf or a conifer. While some hardwoods, such as oak or hickory, are very hard and strong, and some softwoods, such as red or white cedar, are rather soft and weak, this classification can be misleading. Long-leaf pine and Douglas fir, for example, though classified as softwoods, are stronger and harder than alder and the poplars, which are hardwoods. In addition, properties such as strength and stiffness vary from species to species. Ash and spruce are rather stiff for their weight, so they are frequently used in paddle shafts if maximum stiffness is desired, while red cedar might be used if a very light and more flexible shaft is the goal.