: I have a longer paddle, and it's got great power, but, yes, it puts far more
: strain on my arms and wrists. I've tried to address it by thinning the
: blade width, but it just keeps feeling a few inches too long.

I had similar issue with on of my paddle. It felt okay in most cases but going against wind it felt like I would be using too big gear.

I increased the loom lenght by 3-4 cm and that made a big difference. After that I felt good paddling against wind.