Ray Special

Our Best-Selling Paddle. Built for Maximum Efficiency.

The Ray Special is our number one selling canoe paddle—and for good reason.

More than just a beautiful paddle, the Ray Special is designed around one goal: moving your canoe efficiently through the water while feeling completely natural in your hands.

The Ray Special pairs a shaft and blade of equal length, giving it a longer-than-normal blade and a carefully considered balance between blade and shaft. This unique proportion provides excellent reach, responsiveness, and leverage without making the paddle feel cumbersome. It is this design that made Ray Kettlewell famous, becoming one of his signature canoe paddles.

Every Ray Special is handcrafted and individually tuned to a specific flex. Wood is a natural material, and every piece responds differently. Rather than forcing every paddle into the same mold, we shape and finish each one to achieve the right combination of weight, strength, and flex.

The result is a paddle that feels perfectly balanced in the hands and exceptionally efficient in the water.

We believe the Ray Special is the most efficient recreational canoe paddle on the market.

Made for the way you actually paddle.

The longer blade gives the Ray Special greater reach and responsiveness, making it an excellent choice for canoe tripping, lake paddling, and solo paddling. Its balanced feel and efficient stroke make it equally at home on a quiet afternoon paddle or a long day covering miles.

It isn't designed for whitewater—but for everything else, the Ray Special is the paddle we keep coming back to.

Handcrafted. Individually flexed. Built to paddle.

Every Ray Special is made by hand, one paddle at a time.

From the proportions of the blade and shaft to the final shaping and flex, nothing is accidental. We build each paddle to work with the natural characteristics of the wood, creating a paddle that is strong, responsive, and beautifully balanced.

Our best seller for a reason.