: FWIW, In Greenland, I was told that a paddle should be strong enought to
: support your weight, if used as a chin-up bar.

I would assume they hold the paddle in the usual position for this test, but where do they support the paddle? It makes a huge difference.

Its a tough problem choosing design loads for a paddle. Anyone have a good criteria?

Maybe, for the sake of science, we should devise a standard test, each test our paddle to failure, and report the results to the group ;^)