Buy cheap till you get a bombproof combat roll.Boats are generally much harder to lose whereas paddles can disapear before you know it.Because of that it's also a good idea to stash a pair of hand paddles in the back of your boat as soon as you start doing runs that get you into isolated territory.Sometimes losing a paddle will still leave you in a reasonable position to hand paddle in combination with short portages to reach a takeout instead of having to bushwhack out of a canyon. Paul