has any one used a green land paddle?

I have owned and used 3 Greenland paddles (GP) for kayaking extensively for 5 years now. I also have 5 conventional (what are called "Euro style") blade paddles for both touring and whitewater. But to be honest, I almost never use anything but the Greenland paddles any more because they are much more pleasant to use, lighter, easier on the wrists and less tiring. I have used my GP on the Great Lakes, large rivers, high flow creeks and the Atlantic and Pacific sea coasts. The GP is just as fast as a regular paddle with less effort and it particularly excels in stormy condition because the slender blade doesn't get caught by winds. It is also easier to learn to Eskimo roll with a GP. Look for Youtube videos of rolling with Greenland paddles. Some of the most famous kayakers in the world use them, like distance adventure champions Freya Hoffmeister and Greg Stamer. They used GP's in their epic circumnavigation of Iceland a few years ago.

I participate in a number of kayaking forums and the topic of GP's comes up often -- the majority of people who try Greenland paddles end up preferring them, especially for long trips. Though most kayakers still prefer the wide blade regular paddles for whitewater because of the power bursts they enable, I recently saw this impressive video of a guy paddling the Class 5 Grand Canyon with a Greenland stick, so they can be used for this also. You just can't turn quite as abruptly with the GP.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embed...

There is a slightly different traditional paddle called an Aleut which is similar to a Greenland but has a slightly wider center ribbed blade. I have not yet used one but I have heard from a number of adventure kayakers who love this style as well.

There are many makers of wooden Greenland paddles (my two long ones are made of Western Cedar laminated with spruce). For your trip you might want a two piece take-apart paddle and most makers offer those. Personally I love my one piece but they are a pain to travel with. There are a couple of makers of high end super strong and light carbon fiber GP's including Novorca and Northern Lights. The Novorca paddles are as beautiful as they are strong -- I plan to buy one this year. They also make Aleut paddles so you can see those on their site as well.

And there are many sites with directions for carving your own paddles. The book "Building the Greenland Kayak" has full instructions and patterns. You can usually find it on Ebay for around $10.

You typically use a slightly shorter GP than you would with your standard paddle. My standard paddles are 230 cm but I use a 213 cm in a GP. I also have a "storm" paddle which is a shorter 72" GP that you use in really windy conditions using a sliding stroke so it doesn't catch the wind. I carry it on my deck as a spare. It is made of cheap and heavier pine with marine varnish on it so I don't mind bashing it up using it to pull the kayak through gravel bars or to shove off from docks. It also makes a good emergency tent pole.

If you repost your question over at the free forums at Paddling.net you will get a lot of great information on these.

http://www.paddling.net/message/showTopics.html?fi...

You can post your question there (and likely get other advice that could help with your trip). Or you can do a search in the forum archives for discussions of GP's. Another great forum site (also free) is the Greenland Kayakers organization: http://www.qajaq.org/

Sounds like a wonderful trip!

I think it would all depend on where the fight takes place. If its in the Octagon, and we're talking about a sanctioned fight, I would assume that the "top UFC fighter" would win. This is his world - this is what he trains for 6 days a week. On the flip side, if we're talking about a UFC fighter getting drafted and fighting in a military operation, I would think the green beret is going to leave a dead UFC guy in his wake. I have a hard time with these questions because you're comparing apples and oranges. Green Berets train to kill you as quickly as possible in a combat theater while UFC guys train to beat the crap out of you in a sanctioned fight. Its just not the same thing.