The very lightest paddles are a true luxury for all-day paddling. At some point, most of us are ready to upgrade to a lighter paddle. As I researched paddles I compiled a list of all the paddles I could find and listed them in order by their weight. That list is included below in this blog post. I hope it is helpful to you in finding the best paddle for you.
How much do kayak paddles weigh?
Kayak paddles weigh between one and three pounds, or 16 and 48 ounces. The lightest kayak paddle weighs 16.25 ounces, which is just over 1 pound, while the heaviest kayak paddle weighs 46.88 oz, almost 3 lbs.
Lightest Kayak Paddle Materials
Full Carbon fiber is the lightest kayak paddle blade material, followed by fiberglass, wood, and plastic blends such as polypropylene and plastic nylon blends.
The lightest kayak paddle shafts are made from carbon and fiberglass. Aluminum is cheaper but weighs more, and full wood paddles weigh somewhere in the middle.
The lightest paddles have both carbon fiber blades and shafts.
List of Kayak Paddles by Weight
16.25 oz (461 g) Werner Ovation 1 piece
18.5 oz (521 g) Werner Ovation Straight 2 piece
19.5 oz (553 g) Werner Athena
20.25 oz (574 g) Werner Cyprus Carbon Straight Shaft 1 Piece
20.25 oz (574 g) Werner Kalliste Straight shaft
20.5 oz (577 g) Werner Ovation Bent 1 and 2 Piece
21.5 oz (610 g) Werner Ikelos
22.25 oz (751 g) Werner Corryvreckan Carbon
22.5 oz (634 g) Werner Cyprus Straight Shaft 2 Piece
22.5 oz (634 g) Werner Kalliste: Hooked
22.5 oz (634 g) Werner Cyprus: Hooked
23 oz (650 g) Aqua-Bound Whiskey Straight, Bent Shaft, or 4-piece
23 oz (650 g) Aqua-Bound Tango Carbon Straight shaft, bent shaft
23 oz (650 g) Werner Camano Carbon
23.6 oz (669 g) Advanced Element Ultralite Pack Paddle
23.75 oz (673 g) Werner Shuna Carbon
24 oz (680 g) Kudo Carbon Fiber Greenland
24.2 oz (685 g) CISI Sport 2-Piece Carbon Fiber Greenland Paddle
24.5 oz (695 g) Werner Camano
24.5 oz (695 g) Werner Little Dipper
24.5 oz (691) Werner Athena Bent Shaft
24.75 oz (702 g) Werner Shuna
25 oz Aqua-Bound Tango Carbon 4-piece Straight Shaft
25.5 oz (719g) Werner Cyprus Carbon Bent shaft
25.6 oz TRAC-Outdoor Curved Kayak Paddle
26 oz Aqua-Bound Tango Fiberglass with carbon shaft
26 oz Aqua-Bound Whiskey Fiberglass, 4-piece straight, or 2-piece bent-shaft
26.25 oz (744 g) Werner Corryvreckan
26.5 oz (751 g) Cannon Helium Kayak Paddle
26.75 oz (761 g) Werner Camano: Hooked
27.5 oz (782 g) Werner Shuna: Hooked
28 oz (794 g) Bending Branches Navigator Wood blade, carbon shaft
28.25 oz (801 g) Werner Skagit CF
28.8 oz Aqua-Bound Sting Ray Carbon (Carbon shaft with more affordable nylon/carbon blades)
29.5 oz (835 g) Aqua-Bound Manta Ray Carbon 2 Piece Kayak Paddle
30 oz (851 g) Werner Camano: Hooked Adjustable Wicked Green
30 oz (850 g) Bending Branches Slice Hybrid
30 oz (850 g) Advanced Element Touring Full Carbon 4-part Paddle
30.2 oz (856 g) Old Town Casco Carbon
30.25 oz (858 g) Werner Tybee CF
30.3 oz Aqua-Bound Eagle Ray Carbon 2-Piece or 4-Piece (carbon shaft with nylon blades)
30.5 oz (867 g) Aqua-Bound Sting Ray Hybrid (carbon shaft with nylon/fiberglass blades)
30.5 oz (867 g) Werner Odachi
30.75 oz (872 g) Werner Shuna: Hooked Adjustable Wicked Green
31 oz Carlisle Youth Saber kids kayak paddle
31 oz (880 g) Cannon Chameleon Youth Kayak Paddle
31.25 oz (886 g) Werner Sprite
31.5 oz (893 g) Werner Skagit FG
31.8 (900 g) Manta Ray Hybrid 2-Piece, or 4-piece
32 oz (910 g) Werner Pack-Tour M
32 oz (910) Advanced Element Axis 230 4-Part Fiberglass
32 oz (910) Cannon Nakomis Hybrid Kayak Paddle
32 oz (907 g) Bending Branches Splash Kids Kayak Paddle
32 oz Pelican Sport Aluminum
32.45 oz (920 g) Overmont Kayak Paddle for Inflatable Kayaks
32.5 oz (921) Cannon Paddles Ultimate Angler Leverlock Kayak
32.5 oz (921 g) Aqua-Bound Eagle Ray Hybrid 2-piece or 4-piece
32.5 oz (921 g) Werner Twist
32.75 oz (928 g) Cannon Wave Hybrid
33 oz Aqua-Bound Sharkie Kids Paddle
33 oz OceanBroad Premium Carbon Shaft Kayak Paddle
33 oz (936 g) YakGear Matagorda Carbon Fiber Hybrid
33.25 oz (943 g) Werner Tybee FG
33.5 oz (950 g) Werner Sherpa Carbon
33.5 oz (950 g) Werner Player Carbon
33.5 oz Best Marine Carbon Fiber Kayak Paddle
33.75 oz (953 g) Werner Skagit: Hooked
34 oz (964 g) Cannon Nakomis Fiberglass Paddle
34 oz (964 g) Aqua-Bound Sting Ray Fiberglass 2-Piece and 4-Piece
34 oz (964 g) Werner Powerhouse Carbon
34 oz (964 g) Bending Branches Slice Glass
34.25 oz (971 g) Werner Stikine
34.5 oz (976 g) Werner Player
34.75 oz (985 g) Werner Strike
34.75 oz (985 g) Werner Sherpa
35 oz (992 g) Bending Branches Sunrise Glass
35 oz (992 g) Next Adventure Hercules Glass Straight Shaft
35 oz (992) Cannon Explorer FX
35 oz HydroPro Carbon Fiber Kayak Paddle
35.1 oz (995 g) Old Town Casco Fiberglass
35.2 Advanced Element Attack Whitewater Full-carbon
35.25 oz (999 g) Werner Powerhouse
35.25 oz (999 g) Werner Surge
35.3 oz (999g) Aqua-Bound Manta Ray Fiberglass 2-piece or 4-piece
35.5 oz (1003 g) Werner Tybee: Hooked
35.5 oz (1006 g) Werner Side Kick
35.75 oz (1014 g) Werner Desperado CF
36 oz (1021 g) Werner Sho-gun
36 oz (1021 g) Werner Double Diamond
36.3 oz (1028 g) Aqua-Bound Sting Ray Aluminum
36.5 oz (1035 g) Werner Amigo FG
37 oz (1049 g) Werner Baja
37 oz (1049 g) Cannon Wave Fiberglass
37 oz (1049 g) Cannon Wave Aluminum Kayak Paddle
37 oz (1049 g) Cannon Nokomis Aluminum kayak paddle
37 oz (1049 g) Bending Branches Whisper
37 oz (1049 g) Bending Branches Bounce
37 oz (1049 g) Carlisle Day Tripper 1-piece paddle
37 oz (1049 g) Carlisle Day Tripper 2-piece paddle
37.12 oz SeaSense Kayak Paddle
37.75 oz (1070 g) Werner Rio FG
37.8 oz Aqua-Bound Manta Ray Aluminum 2-piece (nylon/fiberglass blades)
38.4 oz (1088 g) Advanced Element Orbit 4-part paddle
38.8 oz WDAM Kayak Paddle for Fishing
38.88 oz SeaSense X-treme
39 oz (1106 g) Bending Branches Impression
39 oz (1106 g) Cannon Explorer
39 oz (1106 g) Cannon Explorer FX Slider Kayak Paddle
39 oz (1106 g) Cannon Escape E Kayak Paddle
39.2 oz (1111 g) Bending Branches Angler Scout
39.8 oz (1128 g) Carlisle Magic Plus
40 oz (1134) Cannon Kingfisher
40 oz (1134 g) Crooked Creek Tournament Angler
40 oz (1134 g) Advanced Element Packlite 4-part paddle
40 oz (1134 g) Cannon Wave Fishing Slider Kayak Paddle
40 oz (1134 g) YakGear Amistad Paddle
41.8 oz (1185 g) Carlisle Magic Angler
42 oz (1191 g) Backwater Assassin Carbon Fiber Hybrid
42 oz (1191 g) Carlisle Value Paddle
42 oz (1191 g) Carlisle Predator Angler Camo
42 oz (1191 g) Carlisle Next Plus kayak paddle
42.08 oz Pelican Aluminum/Fiberglass kayak paddle
42.5 oz OceanBroad Kayak Paddle
43.04 oz Winnerwell Unsinkable Touring/Sporting Kayak Paddle
43.2 oz (1225 g) Advanced Element Touring 4-Part Paddle
44.8 oz Shoreline Marine Propel Escaper
46.4 oz (1315 g) Advanced Element Twilight Travel Paddle
46.56 oz Naviskin Aluminum 2 Piece Kayak Paddle
46.88 oz Pelican Boats Poseidan Angler
48 oz (1361 g) Carlisle Standard Kayak Paddle
The lightest kayak paddles are truly the ultimate performers in stroke efficiency and all-day comfort and are a highly valued luxury for touring trips. However, slightly heavier and more durable paddles are needed for certain types of kayaking such as white water kayaking and rescues, and even some types of fishing.
This list is an ongoing project. Some companies, such as Werner, clearly list the weight of each of their paddles on their website, but with some of the other paddle companies, it has been difficult to find a weight listed for each paddle. Some weights listed here are based on customer reviews that have reported paddle weight if I could not find it on a company paddle listings. If I couldn’t find any weight at all, I have not yet included the paddle on this list. This list is to the best of my knowledge and research!
Also, I compiled more information on the 10 lightest paddles here.
Wishing you much joy in nature, and a very light paddle!
Happy Kayaking!
-MJ