I love Greenland paddles and it’s my primary paddle with a euro has my spare. The Ipik is gorgeous and can’t wait for it to release at the end of the year. It does take some time to get used to if anyone started with the euro blade and it’s all personal preference which one is preferred, so it’s all relative. There’s benefits for both styles as you mentioned. One thing I would say is that the Greenland paddle IS the traditional paddle, not the other way around.

Dancing with the Sea channel has excellent videos using the Greenland paddle, it's the only paddle he uses.

I really like my Gearlab GP paddles. They're really well made, light and well designed.
However, I prefer my wooden GP and Aleut paddles. The problem with carbon fiber, fiberglass or other materials is that you only have a couple of sizes and blade widths as options. With wood your options are virtually unlimited.
Now, my favorite paddle is an Aleutian style wooden paddle made out of three laminated types of wood with an oil finish and a ferrule to break it into two parts.
I also use  a secondary paddle made of wood that has a single single blade for paddling my kayak in tight areas too narrow for a double blade like mangroves in the Everglades

For whitewater, I use a Euro blade. In my trimaran, I use an outrigger canoe paddle. Everything else, I go Greenland or Aleut.

You should try rolling with that paddle. You'll love how much less effort and hip snap is required to come back up.

For those interested in trying a GP, plans to make one from a 2x4 can be found on the internet. You can own one for under fifteen bucks that way.

Ken there are a couple important points with the Ipik. First the popularity of Gearlab is in part due to their success surmounting challenges in making and marketing commercially available Greenland paddles.  Greenland paddles normally feature an oval loom that feels right in the hands, and most traditional paddles are typically shouldered, with sizing very personalized to the user. The Kalleq and other Gearlabs features a round loom chiefly to save manufacturing cost, and the shoulderless design is also more universal, saving the need for different blade sizes for various loom/blade/overall length combinations. While shouldered vs shoulderless is more personal preference, shouldered paddles have some distinct benefits with the grip (index finger and thumb on loom, rest of hand extending onto the blade), indexing, and wrist alignment, and are especially helpful for beginner Greenland paddle users. As Gearlab gradually improved their product, the Ipik came as a result of a collaboration with Greenland paddling experts Cheri and Turner of Kayak Ways to create a more authentic and functional shouldered Greenland paddle shape, with new technology needing to be developed to manufacture the oval loom. These changes are a meaningful step forward over the previous Gearlab designs and I'll be excited to try it! For someone seeking to get into Greenland paddling for the first time, I think the best option is to buy a traditional wooden paddle from an experienced maker or find a 2x4x8 of Western Red Cedar from the lumber yard and learn to carve one themselves!

I love the Greenland Paddle. It is made of Canadian cedar and weighs only about 600 grams. I have been using it for four years everywhere, except white water. Best for long trips.
Greetings from Poland.

I started with a greenland paddle from day one and wouldn't trade it. Biggest benefit is that it is gentle on the shoulders long term

Greenland Paddles are great! So versatile and useful. I have no problem keeping up with  my friends with Euro paddles.  Much better for sculling, bracing and rolling than Euro paddles. It's about technique.

I've carved and paddled cedar ones for 20 yrs, but wish CF ones weren't so pricey.

2000 years of natives perfection can't be overlooked.  No drip rings!!

G. P. is essential for Greenland  Rolling.  G.P. will save your shoulders.  G.P is silent and connect you to the water.  It is about skill and endorphin.  It is not about sport and water pulling.

It was too cold to go kayaking today, until my IPIK arrived in the mail!  Perfect weather to test it out, lol.

I love my wooden greenland paddle. Thanks for reviewing some.  If I was going for a carbon version this is the one I would use for sure.

Thanks for a really objective review - a rare thing these days

I've only been kayaking for 10 years and the first 3 years I was using a Euro style paddle.  When I began kayaing I was 55 and enjoyed my Werner carbon paddle, then around age 58 I heard about the Greenland style paddles and thought I would give it a try.  I started with the Gearlab Akiak and really enjoyed the lightness, and the ease of paddling.  I now own 2 Akiak and 1 Kalleq, and purchased an Akiak for both my son and my granddaughter when she was only 9.  I paddle in both lakes and on the New River which is located in southern West Virginia and Virginia.  The New River ranges fron class 1 to class 3 rapids depending on the water level (at least on the section I traverse).  That being said, I rarely go down the New River when class 3 rapids are present.  I like you were hesitant to go from my Euro to the Greenland paddles in white water, but I came to enjoy and trust my Gearlab Kalleq paddle.  I'm now thinking of buying my 4th Gearlab paddle, the Ipik, to give me a little more confidence in white water, possibly even class 3.  I guess that I unintentionally proved your point in higher class white water, well at least above class 2. I own and use 3 sea kayaks, varing in size from 14' to over 18', even on the New River; I found that with a 16' to 18' kayak, I can litterly skip across the top of the waves and not do much porpoising; plus, because of the weight, average 55 lbs, I cut through the waves nicely.  I also use my kayaks for fishing, last year in, South Carolina, I landed an 8lb 2oz large mouth bass, that was very interesting in a 16' kayak.   Overall, I agree with you, the Greenland paddles are great for touring, but with a little practice, they can be used in white water, that is below class 3, in my opinion.  This March I'm scheduled to venture into the Atlantic off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina, if conditions permit, and next year I plan on returning to Marquette, Michigan for a short tour of Lake Superior.  Final comment, the Greenland paddles were actually created by the Inuits of Greenland, for use in white water conditions on the  Atlantic Ocean.  I'm sure the Inuits know more than we do, so don't be hesitant to give the Greenland paddles a try, especiall if it's made by Gearlab, you might even become a convert, like me.

Thanks for the discussion of greenland paddles.

Thank you so much for the video, Ken!
I've never heard of a greenland paddle, but it's certainly something I'll look into later in my paddling career. Might not be right for my second paddle purchase, but man, is that thing impressive!

Greenland in a pakayak….you are living the dream Ken

A very honest review. Thankyou

Admittedly I paddle a surfski, so I need a different paddle altogether, but a small wing paddle (in carbon fiber)  has completely changed my game. I can paddle for miles and miles with that thing. The boat makes a difference of course, but that paddle was like taking off the training wheels.

It took me a year and a 7 day sea kayak expedition, with some roughish seas, to get from this is an expensive  "okay" paddle to loving my Greenland. It gave me a lot of confidence in the rough water.