Epic Large Wing Paddle - Only for Champs?

I've been looking around for an adjustable Epic paddle for a while now, but here in Aus they are around the $650 mark and maybe a little more with the financial crisis. Today I found an Epic Large Wing 2nd hand and in excellent condition for $325. I thought it was too good to pass up, and at worst I can use it as a training paddle to build strength and possibly endurance. I'm 6'3" 100kgs and I consider myself reasonably strong, any thoughts from those out there who have either used or still used one of these paddles. Will it stengthen me or smash me?

Large blades are good for sprint racing and interval training. Used for marathon and long distance training they will likely cause problems. To start with, strength and size are only part of the equation. You need power- roughly strength with speed. If the blade is too big you cannot develop and maintain a high stroke rate for very long. You wil learn to paddle slow. Better to use a small to mid size blade with a higher stroke rate and proper technique. You will go much faster and longer.
Also if various body parts are not adapted to the stress of a big blade, serious long term injury can occur.
Equipment that does not suit/fit can turn a wonderful activity into misery, and will be no bargain whatever the price.

Based on that Jim, then there must be a lot of guys out there paddling with midwings that are actually paddling with a paddle that is to big for them??

For someone like Houls would doing short intervals with the large wing benefit him when he drops back to a midwing for longer distances??

Could be, don't know. You can use what you are comfortable or happy with.

Sorry- that last reply of mine was unwarranted. I believe many paddlers are using a blade too large. My experience, personal and with others has been that boat speed increases with a smaller paddle over long distance- and sometimes over short distance too.
The key is to develop the very best technique possible and try to maintain it at a high stroke rate for as long as possible.
If you are training for sprint races, by all means use a large blade. If you can't maintain 90- 100 S/M with the large blade, then there is no point. You will have to pick that rate up too, at some point in the race, As a general rule, only race with the equipment you train with- no matter the sport.
Many people may also be prone to overuse injuries using a large blade. There is nothing like having sore elbows, wrists, shoulders for years at a time.
If it ends that the large blade can't be used then it is money wasted no matter the amount.

Thanks Jim for clarifying. I only asked because i see 65kg - 110kg guys all paddling with midwings and was wonder if there was a ideal cutoff for each wing size vs person physical size.

The strongest fastest marathon paddlers in the world are generally using mid sized wings, so it is fair to say that a mid size wing is likely larger than optimal for most of the average paddlers who use them.

I am ~200 lbs and I did some repeated time trials with a steady speed of 7.0 MPH with an Epic Mid wing vs. an onno Small wing, and I could not tell the difference between the two in terms of heart rate or subjective effort level. Obviously, I must have had a slightly higher stroke rate with the smaller blade.

On a sprint, it was easy to see the top speed differences--and the larger paddle was significantly faster.

Regarding the original question, I think that there may be a certain benefit to training some time with a larger blade--just as many argue that there may be a certain benefit to training with extra weight or drag on the boat.

Thank you Gentlemen for your responses, I definitely won't be giving my Fenn 3 away, however I will give the large wing a go, if it proves too difficult at distance,(rating/fatigue) I'll try it with some interval training. I appreciate that I am probably best training with the same equipment that I intend racing with, however it will be interesting to gauge the difference, and if the use of the bigger blade has an effect on my speed/strength/endurance, either adverse or otherwise, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I will use it for a couple of months and give my honest thoughts after that. Thanks again.

came across this on sprint kayak and optimum blade size www.springerlink.com/content/b92442h04u1x1r87/ while looking for something else, got to love google. While not exactly relevant to the question it was interesting to see that blade size was studied.

My first paddle with the large blade was in calm conditions in open water over a distance of 12.2klms. When compared with other sessions using a Fenn 3 paddle over the same distance, I averaged 1 kph faster over the distance on this occasion using the larger paddle, with a PB for the distance. My average heart rate was also slightly higher, which may indicate that I was working harder to achieve the increased speed, however in the vast majority of the previous comparative sessions I have had some assistance with runs. There were no ill effects the following day when I completed a 10 klm session in open water. I realise that I'll have to do a comparison over more sessions to get a real indication, however this first trial was interesting, if nothing else.

If you have managed to get a large Epic at a good price then you may consider cutting the blade back and make it a mid / large size. You have to be careful that you dont expose the core.

How to do it? If you know of anybody with a mid/large Epic you can place some aluminium foil or plastic over the blade to copy the exact profile you want to cut back to, then transplant it onto your large blade and mark it up.

Noted you need the correct cutting equipment but this is an option if the paddle size is too big and you don't want to or can't sell it.

Others might faint at the thought of this, but I had this done to a large epic paddle and now it's perfect.

Good luck

Conversely, if you can get your hands on a real small wing, you will find its great for fine tuning technique as asks you to pay attention to the little finesee things that a big blade will overlook via brute power.

Aloha,
pog