We mostly use beech for the paddles, sometimes poplar when a customer wants the cost down. Both are fine woods but they behave differently and people don't always know that going in.
Last winter a buyer in Athens wanted everything in poplar to hit a lower retail price. I understood the logic, poplar is lighter and cheaper, but his paddles were going to a busy rental shop where they get thrown on the sand all day.
Poplar dents easier. Beech takes the knocks better and holds the handle screws tighter over a season of abuse. For a rental fleet that gets used hundreds of times, I felt poplar would come back to bite him.
So I sent him two samples, one of each, same finish, and just asked him to drop them both on a tile floor a few times. He called Eva two days later and switched to beech for the rentals, kept poplar only for the lighter kids sets. Best of both.
The kids sets are actually a nice use for poplar. Lighter wood, smaller hands, lower price point, parents are happy. So it's not that poplar is bad, its that the wood has to match the use.
We also keep a little birch around for buyers who want a paler face for printing. The grain is tighter and the logo print sits cleaner on it. Not everyone needs that but the print-heavy OEM folks ask for it.
My rule now is boring but true: tell me where the paddle gets used and how rough, and I'll tell you the wood. Cheaper wood that fails in a month is the most expensive wood there is.
