Is my paddle causing this?
My technique?
My lower arm gets really sore and I have tried quite a few paddles?

Maybe you're gripping the paddle too tightly? Try to remember to hold the paddle with only enough force to keep it from actually falling out of your hands. Keep reminding yourself: "Not so tight! Not so tight!" And try opening the upper, pushing hand as you stroke, just letting the shaft rest lightly where your thumb joins your hand. Might work.

That is good advice. Too tight a grip. Too high in your stroke maybe. Too much paddling even. (Can't beleive I said too much paddling!)

in addition to the excellent advice above, you might try gloves (thin ones, partially fingered) Sometimes that extra little layer betw. your hand and the paddle shaft will create a looser grip.

The other thing may be a glitch in your forward stroke - specifically if you are locking your elbow or carrying it at an odd angle as you move to catch or retract your paddle. Either may cause torsion & pain in the lower arm.

No way to diagnose this online. Get w. a friend who has a really good stroke or take a lesson or two. No shame in that - the mechanics of a great forward stroke are not intuitive.

I paddled a whole season and some, had arms like Freya's and thought I was doing great. Then took a class focused only on the forward stroke and got schooled. The instructor tore down everything I was doing. Fortunately he set me straight before I had too many bad habits to unlearn LOL.

Learn good technique and then don't overdo it. I think I've done it the wrong way in every way that's possible and I've paid the price. I'm not saying that I do it all right now, but I have learned a little and I've learned to not strain as hard as I can--keep it moderate and just cruise. Keep the sprints to a minimum.

I know that high angle is supposed to be the right thing, but I've lowered my angle and lowered the pain. I try very hard to maintain the paddlers rectangle and let the torso do the work, but I'm not fanatcal about it.

You might try keeping your arms straighter and using more body rotation. Also, move the paddle outward thru the water like it were a wing paddle. Makes the release easier. And perhaps just ease up a bit. I know my forearms have hurt when I pull too hard straight back while bending the elbow. One more thought....try a shorter paddle.

There is also the chance that it's all a matter of getting your forearms in shape for paddling. Not sure if this exercise is still used. When I first started paddling a common exercise to get forearms in shape was to have a piece of doweling (broom handle or whatever) and suspend a weight from it with a piece of light line. You then rolled the weight up and down to build up forearm strength.

is not necessarily the right thing. It mainly comes from people who put a premium on performance paddling, and it is the style most often taught in the ACA/BCU protocol.

Actually very few people are purely high or low angle. Most of us paddle somewhere in between. I started w. a natural high angle paddle but my hand position was not peaking at my forehead, it was a bit lower.

Learning greenland style I just could not get comfortable w. the extreme low 'knucklebanging' on the deck. So I paddle at a slightly higher angle - but noticeably lower than paddling Euro style.

This is just what's working for me - it's not the best way or the only way.

Correct form can be achieved whatever angle one uses. The more we use the large muscles of the torso the less demand on the arms. A death grip as pointed out is a stress grip. Arm paddling seems natural to a lot of newbies and people often stick w. it as it can give impressive results right away. But is is one of the sure routes to longterm damage for many.

Tendonitis, carpet tunnel, or bursitis (shoulders) is nature's way of telling us to listen to our bodies and make adjustments.

I did some experimenting a couple of days ago, which involved taking it easy and being very aware of how much effort I was using. I purposely took my time and just leisurely cruised upriver against the current and the wind. After paddling all day and only a couple of times powering up for short periods, I had no pain and none the next day.

It made me realize that my average day of paddling has probably been too strenuous. I can get away with that in warmer weather, but apparently the cold and wearing a wet suit and sometimes a jacket on top of the wet suit increases the effort enough to bring on some sore muscles.

I'm going out again today and I'm going to try to keep it moderate.

All great advice, I prefer low angle for touring for a number of reasons a) to avoid paddle blade being caught by wind and b)if your where to adopted a high angle paddle stroke as used in racing or white water you will be effectively lifting the paddle like a weight lifter thousands of times during a few hours of paddling.

A whole lot of wasted energy, low angle means less lifting. A lot of paddlers over do it with paddling cadence. When you get a chance team up with a friend of equal paddling skill. Both set off side by side only you will be paddling a half the cadence of your mate but with full long stokes from toe to hip and good body rotation (your torso is like a spring wind it up feel the tension and unwind) you will find you caver the same distance in similar time.

Your kayak will only go so fast don't force it. As you paddle your kayak a wave forms under your hull (see bulge hull boats)which it sits on, if you paddle to hard you will try to ride up over the wave, effectively stalling your forward momentum.

It is hard to diagnose the problem online without seeing you paddle, the only other suggestion I would make is to look at the feather of your paddle. I have seen many a paddle suffering from carpel tunnel due to using a paddle with a 90degree off set. Get a quick lock of smartshaft so you may addust the angle.

When working with clients I always try to get them to adopt a low angle stoke, wind up un-wind (the torso) toe to hip, long, low and wide, think like a butterfly or a ballerina gently, gently. The Zen of kayaking: Think not that you are pulling your paddle past your kayak, but rather that you are pulling your kayak past your paddle! Hope this helps