Old Salt,
I always have 2 pair fingerless gloves. One is a pair of glacier gloves which are fleece with nylon palm pads. I use these on cool mornings and when the skeets are bad. The fleece is just thick enough where they can't quite get you. Looks like Glacier Gloves stopped making the fleece pair but I like their products.
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The other pair I have are these which are in my rain gear bag. I don't really use them for paddling, at least not yet but I can certainly picture myself using them on a cold rainy day fishing or paddling. Whatever gloves you get I do HIGHLY suggest you get fingerless. That way your not encumbered. Want to put your sunglasses on or work a camera.......no problem.
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I really like these BTW. My buddy wore a pair continually last trip. No complaints. After I seen how good they were I went and got a pair.
One last thought.......I always take a pair of shears to mine and cut the fingers down a bit. Palms covered............fingers free.

One other thought on gloves...

From what I understand, it is better to grip your paddle lightly then to have a death grip which tends to tire out your hands. If your paddle shaft is fairly narrow, having some padding on the gloves may help keep your hands in a slightly more relaxed (open) position.

I have used padded bicycle gloves once or twice and found them to be comfortable.

OS-For years I've just used the cotton gloves that come, like, 10 to a pack at a place like Menards. They work just fine, and i routinely shove 'em in the lake to get them soaking wet. It's worked for me for 20 years. I generally will burn a pair in a ritual at the end of a trip. No point spending real dough on fancy gloves, IMHO.

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I got a pair of these NRS gloves for XMAS a couple of year's ago - they are a nice glove - light and cool.

I just about always use gloves - If I'm paddling long days, I tend to get either a sore spot or callus build up in the gap between thumb and first finger, where I hold the paddle shaft - probably not after the first day, or the second, but by the fifth or sixth long day.  Wearing the gloves keeps that from happening.  the colder, wetter the conditions, the more important the gloves become.  I'll normally have a pair of neoprene gloves for cold weather paddling, but its gotta be pretty cold for me to use them.

I've used bycicle gloves ( the oen finger kind with mesh back) - bought a cheap pair at walmart I'm still using - they leached black dye when wet, and my hands would get black from that, but now that all the dye is gone, they are ok.  Even these cheap gloves work a lot better than no glove for me.  I wore tham on a memorial day weekend trip - It was me in my canoe and four guys in sea kayaks, and I was paddling fast and hard to stay ahead of them, to set a pace they wouldn't complain about - did 30 miles the first day, and 35 the second with no lillydipping allowed - I know my hands would have been hurting without the gloves.

After 35+ years of paddling, I know how to handle a paddle. My issue is soft hands. The past two trips have yielded blisters between thumb and forefinger, not from a 'deathgrip', but from softness.

Thanks for all of the suggestions, still considering options...

OS,

I use the bike gloves for the same reason as you, to prevent blistering. Another possible approach is to toughen the skin prior to the trip (if possible). I know repeated soaking and then drying of the hand in brine water will help. Otherwise I think the gloves would help.

BrownTrout01 wrote on Jun 8^th, 2010 at 6:11am:

To or bottom hand? I get insane calluses. Takes a month to get dexterity back but I do toughen them up a week or two prior to avoid blisters.

I get the wedding ring calluses, otherwise not much issue.  In fact, during the rest of the year my hands are often stiff & sore.  After paddling for a day they tighten up.

What I find really nice is hand cream, Glysomed is my pick.  Not only good for the skin, but as I rub it in I get a nice hand massage.