Selecting the right blade is not difficult, but as with anything when you're presented with a number of choices, it's often hard to make the final decision. So to make things a little easier here are a few tips on what to consider.

Blade Shapes

There are two basic wing blade shapes:

	Parallel	Smooth even movement through entire stroke.	Used for endurance, sprint, and general paddling
	Teardrop	Firm catch at the start of the stroke. Good acceleration	Used for all types of paddling. Ideal for turbulent rivers conditions where strong catch is important.

It's also a matter of personal preference, so don't get too hung up on the shape.

Blade Size

Unlike shape, blade size does have a profound affect on your paddling. Wing blades are very efficient, so it's important to understand that big is not always better.

In most cases a small blade will get you going just as fast as a large blade, but will take a few extra strokes to get there.

Blades are most usually listed as Small, Medium, or Large by the makers. There is no standard measurement for each, so you need to compare each maker's blades to determine a relative category.

If you're new to kayaking or unsure of what to get, then go for a small blade. You can't go wrong by undersizing. If you oversize, you'll get tired faster and risk getting stress injuries. This can lead to dangerous situations when paddling off shore.

If you're fit and more confident, then consider a medium blade, but this is a personal choice. Meduim blades are good general purpose blades.

Only use large blades when you're fit and very strong, and are sure you need to use a large blade for explosive acceleration.

Paddle Length

Paddle length is perhaps the most important factor overall. Wing paddles are much shorter than traditional flat blade paddles.

The reason for this is that with correct technique wing paddles are held more vertically, for a downward entry placement, bringing them close into the side of the kayak at the start of the stroke. Long paddles shafts will be drive the blade too deep in the water. Also wing blades hold much stronger onto the water, so loads are higher making long paddles stressing on the body.

The table below gives a good starting point for selecting an adjustable shaft paddle

Type of Paddling:

You also need to take into account what you'll be doing when paddling. If you're heading down rapids, then you need to be able to get a very quick paddle stroke going, so go for a short paddle length, maybe even downsize one level.

If you're out for a long lazy float in sheltered waters then you can use a longer length.

If you know you'll be in wind and waves then again, select a shorter paddle, and in very windy conditions a small blade is less likely to be caught by a wind gust on the return stroke. (They don't call them "wing" blades for nothing.)

QuikLok adjustable shafts have a 9 cm length adjustment, allowing you to adjust the length and angle for differrent conditions.

Once you've found your preferred paddle length you can consider buying a fixed length paddle that will be lighter, saving a little weight if that's important to you.

If you've done a bit of paddling using a flat blade paddle, or coming from a sea kayaking background, you'll be used to paddle lengths around 218 to 225 cm range. DON'T copy those lengths to wing blades. That would be a big mistake. You'll be overloading yourself, inceasing fatigue, risking stress injury, and soon be cutting the paddle shaft to shorten it. I know a number of big, burly, hairy paddlers who race wing paddles with lengths of 212 or less.