Hi, i´m a new one, i live in esquel, patagonia Argentina, and i think that wing paddles were created for competition, as touring paddles were for touring... you could call me old fashioned, but i prefer semi greenland woodden paddles, because it provides a more relaxed position keeping the hands as lower you want.. also alows to perform strokes rising your hands as with the wing shapped ones mean while you cant perform a relaxed padling with the competition ones... it does´nt mean that most of you prefer wing shapped ones, her in my country we say that "every teacher uses her own book"

Calo, I also am a fan of the greenland style paddle. They are a very versatile, Can be used low angle or high angle. Although not as fast as a wing paddle they can still keep a respectable pace without tiring a person out as fast as other paddles.

My experience with "sticks" is that they encourage a faster cadence and that can lead to unexpectedly running out of gas. It kind of sneaks up on you--or should I say, me.

One of my Greenland paddles has a certain degree of flex in the blades that absorbs some of the strain and feels good sometimes. It's nice for a change once in awhile, but when it comes to maneuvering, I'm much more comfortable with a Euro.

I have yet to try a wing.