Not sure what you mean by second paddle. I assume you mean on a trip. Right now I have a cheap beaver tail, so that would be my second paddle. My fiance has the tripper by Badger.
My definition of “second paddle” can fall into several categories, depending on the trip and anticipated uses.
A double blade and a straight single blade most often. Sometimes a double and bent shaft. Hell sometimes that pair and a short wood pole, which is triple handy as a walking staff, short tarp pole and shallows pusher.
But back when I only single sticked, after having split a few wood paddle blades, and snapped another at the neck, my preference was for something “light” for the easier waters and a back up/abusive use paddle made more durably. Which at the time (and wallet) meant heavier.
Today the better made composite paddle blades, carbon or even glass/nylon, seem more durable than even a glass covered, “edge guarded” wood blade. And of course, much lighter.
The Catch-22 is that the lighter composite sticks are naturally my go to, and I still bring a heavier but more-likely-to-fail wood paddle as my back up. What I should bring is a heavier, less-likely-to-fail composite paddle. A carbon/glass/nylon creation that weighed as much as a stout wood paddle could be used to lever small cars out of the mud.
It depends on what “second paddle” means to you on this trip. Having two different blade shapes for change of pace, grip or straight/bent stroke? A more durable back up paddle in case best-not-break-this-one failure? Flatwater vs moving water choice of sticks?
I like wood, but I am not a fanatical devotee of wood paddles. I’ll use whatever works best, and I’ll never go back to wood as a primary paddle. Proof in the pudding; I have yet to meet anyone who went to a composite/carbon paddle and regretted it.
So, who makes a carbon/composite animal tail paddle?
