Everyone has an opinion and if you ask the manufacturers every blade is the fastest and best design to ever hit the market. Answering the question of which shape blade is the best in the world is a never ending argument that will hopefully lead you to the conclusion that there is no best shape blade, if there was, the other shapes probably would no longer exist.
So despite not being "better" than one another they are still absolutely different.
In modern paddling there really are only 3 main shapes that you will find across a multitude of brands. As a biased Australian, and Meek paddler for the last 15 years I will be referring to these three shapes in their Meek equivalent so everyone is on the same page.
The major equivalent brand shapes you may know and love are as follows
Meek A Series = Jantex Gamma, Gara Odin, Brasca 11
Meek B Series = Brasca 1/4/7, Jantex Beta, Epic Mid Wing
Meek G Series = Jantex Alpha, GUT Paddles, Stealth Paddles
To explain the differences lets assume all 3 of these blades have the same surface area so the only real difference is shape.
We also need to be familiar with the part of each blade. "the neck" is the tapered end that joins onto the shaft and the toe in the very end of the blade, furthest from the shaft.
In general terms if you look at the surface area of the blade this is relative to to amount of resistance or "weight" you will feel throughout the stroke with the toe being the catch and the neck being the exit
A series
The A series shape has undoubtedly the biggest toe in the game and follows the toe immediately with a large proportion of its surface area resulting in the A series being the blade with the strongest or "heaviest" catch. Moving to the middle of the blade the surface area remains unchanged but then from the midpoint begins to taper quickly to the neck. With the same amount of surface area as the other shapes but the majority on the toe end of the blade the work is all done at the catch through to the middle of the stroke at which point the resistance quickly decreases allowing for a very light exit. This makes the A series blade shape the highest impact of all the blade shapes
The final difference between this blade and the rest is the amount of twist in the blade, being the offset between the upper and lower lip of the blade. The A series has the most twist and as a result moves widest from the boat when used correctly.
Pros - Heavy, aggressive catch. Effortless exit. Can help keep technique wide of hips
Cons - Not much use if you miss the catch (choppy water), Can be too "heavy"/high impact over long distances.
The B Series
The B Series is in short a more toned down version of the A series. With a smaller toe, shorter neck and less pronounced twist in the blade, the B series takes the same surface area and spreads it out over the entire stroke. This results in a catch that is lighter, and drive phase that is longer while still becoming light at the exit with a tapered neck starting from roughly 3/4 along the blade. The reduced twist from the A series means the blade does not have to move so far away from the boat to exit properly while still being present to keep you from pulling the blade tight to your hip. Spreading the work over the entire stroke works to lower the impact of the B series relative to the A series making it slightly less aggressive and potentially more useful in conditions where you may miss the catch eg choppy water.
Pros - lower impact, balanced distribution of effort
Cons - Lacks the inbuilt resistance of the heavy toe
The G Series
With a shorter neck and smaller toe than both the A and B Series shapes, the G series shape more closely resembles a rectangle than a teardrop and doubles down on this relative symmetry with no offset (twist) between the top band bottom lips. This results in a very even distribution of work through the stroke and a need to pull the blade along straighter lines running closer to the boat. Although loved by many paddlers the lack of twist and tapering does make for a clunkier stroke with heavier exits and is often favoured by paddlers looking to spend less time working on correct technique and more focus on "gripping and ripping". The G series shape is still a great paddle although the oldest and in my personal opinion, blades have evolved from here.
Pros - Simple and not over-weighted in one part of the stroke, low impact catch
Cons - Heavy exit, encourages pulling over rotating.
What does being different mean?
Being different definitely doesn't mean that any of these blades are worse than the other. But it does mean they tend to be more suited to a certain type of paddler or a certain type of paddling. Luckily you can buy a paddle now to suit you and what you do rather than just having to make it work.
A Series
With its work all done upfront requiring a lot of strength and technique to use well the A series is often suited to bigger, more aggressive paddlers or sprinters. Looking to use the intensity of the catch to launch off. Especially effective in flat water when precision can be taken to land the catch perfectly.
B Series
With a more even workload while still having the finesse of a light exit away from the body the B Series tends to suit itself to longer distance paddlers (not a sprint) that are going to take the time to learn proper technique. Holding water longer through the stroke allows for imperfect strokes to still be useful. As a result this shape is extremely common in ocean paddling and flat water from 1000m+. It is used by a variety of sized paddlers
G Series
This older style blade is often used in general by "older" paddlers. People that have used it for their entire lives and love it. It tends to suit paddlers who are paddling as a part of their sport and not their main sport eg. multisport, ironmen.
A Series | B Series | G Series | |
Workload | Heavy Catch | Even Workload/Light Exit | Workload/ Heavy exit |
Paddler | Strong/Aggressive | Anyone | Not specialised |
Paddling | Sprinting/ Flat water | Longer Distance/Ocean | Grip and Rip |
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