Most of the Native paddles across the Arctic were narrow and evolved that way, like their kayaks, due to the conditions they paddled in, the materials available to them, and the paddling techniques that developed in using them. The narrow Greenland paddle or "GP" does not have to be feathered to the wind as with most European or "Euro" paddles, due to this narrow width and high aspect ratio design. If you calculate the surface area of the typical GP blade, you'll find it to be very similar to the typical Euro blade. The area is just distributed along its length differently. This design also lends itself to a paddle that can be comfortably grabbed at any point along its length to aid in maneuvering and uprighting the kayak. Another benefit to the to the narrow blade is that it does not instantly "catch" the water at the beginning of the paddle stroke like a Euro paddle does, but rather "ramps" up to full power thereby stressing the paddler's shoulders gradually. This can be very significant especially when paddling long distances.

Native paddles were made out of just about any suitable piece of driftwood found, but I make mine out of vertical grain, mostly clear, Red Cedar, Yellow Cedar, Spruce, Douglas fir, Pine or Redwood.