Myself, JK, Cat and Kate sat through an interminably long hour of gear talk recently...
Paddles: Length is a personal thing, try out a few. Short is good for accelaration and tighter rivers, long is good for speed. Most paddles nowadays are 45 degree feather which is nice and comfortable and once you switch you will never look back. The grips are pre-squashed.
Roughstuff are excellent, so are Robson. Roughstuff can replace their looms when they break - other manufacturers can't so you wind up buying a whole new paddle.
You will be told in the shop all about carbon blades, FPM blades, Twintex blades, polyglass blades, etc. Thing is the blades rarely break - it's the loom that snaps. Polyglass blades are ok, but not the strongest - FPM or Twintex are good. Carbon are expensive and you will break the loom first anyway.
Blade shape is your next thing - again try a few and see what you like. Too big a blade for you will cause you to strain/injure yourself - too small will be ineffective. The Stud is an example of a big blade the Pogo is an example of a small one.