A quick question !
Im about to buy myself a decent paddle at last , will a good quality adjustable paddle cover all my bases ?
Mostly surf , spend a fair bit of time on the river on a 14 footer and also a bit of downwinding (once I rack up a bit more experience will be more ]
Thanks in advance

There are a few options with paddles - I assume they are all available with adjustable paddles as well.

I started with an "OK" paddle that came with my first SUP.

Then got a rather expensive Quick Blade paddle. I like the handle and the technology (and the one I got could be broken down to three pieces for traveling), but the blade was large (around 100 sq/in).

Then, after recommendations on the forum, I bought a KeNalu that had 92 sq/inch blade (approx) and a narrower shaft with grippy bits on it. I use it all the time now. It is ideal for surfing but I am sure it is fine for other applications.

Yes, as DJ says. But adustables are a bit of a pain if you SUP a lot. They need to be washed each time you use them or they will stick. And they fill with water and are generally more likely to fail than a non adjustable. You could get a Ke Nalu that allows you to use hot glue to adjust length. Or you could just cut a non-adjustable to a general purpose length that will be OK for most applications (take a look at the Quickblade website to get an idea, but many people will find something around 6-7 inches overhead to be a decent compromise multi-purpose length). People will tell you that you simply *have* to use eg. a head-high paddle or less for surf but unless you are quite expert and on a small board you can get away with a longer without too much difficulty. You could use a cheap adjustable to get a good idea of the length that suits you and then just get one non-adjustable paddle for everything. 90 square inches for a blade size is a good starting point, and beware going much bigger unless you are really sure - better too small a blade than too big IMO.