Standup Zone Forum
Stand Up Paddle => Downwind and Racing => Topic started by: K1SUP on March 14, 2012, 05:49:04 PM
-
have you found works best for racing?
-
I'm still dialing it in. I used an 86" paddle last season but have been wanting to go a little shorter.
Nothing hurts or anything, I just think I'm digging a.little deep in each stroke. I had an 84.5" which felt.really.short when I.would.go to it last.season, but I'm.thinking of trying 85".
-
at 6'2 I have my Ke Nalu Wiki at just shy of 84", progressively down from about 86. I'm working on a higher cadence stroke and I'm rarely in nice flat water.
Disclaimer - for you, board thickness, paddling style, arm length, flexibility, shoulder condition etc might require something a bit different. Note also the wiki blade is 15" long where many other blades are 16" or longer.
-
I'm around the 6'3-6'4" mark..
I use 12" over for most flat water and down-winders.. I use 8" over or the surf.. and 10" over for racing.
DJ
-
Race- QB Elite is 86..not sure I like it
Surf- Kialoa Methane Paddle 82...I love this paddle
I'm 6'3" 225
-
I'm 6'7, so I had QB make me a custom 'Elite' 93". I've since, cut it down to 89". On my race board I'm above waterline by a few inches, so that plays into the length. I use to use a 86" Werner Advantage for surfing. Now I like using my longer QB for surfing. It helps punching thru the wash.
-
Im 6'1" and use a 86" for racing and a 84" for surf.
-
6'-1" and use 86" and sometimes 84".
-
I'm 6'2 I use an 85" long 8.5"blade
-
I'm 6'3", and my main paddle at home is 87" (no one to race with yet). Here on vacation, I rented a Naish Mana soft-top for screwing around and it came with an adjustable Carbon paddle. Started off yesterday with it at that same length, and could reach out past the nose. I progressivly shortened it down to 84", since I'm paddling into the wind here, and goofing around on the 1' waves in front.
-
I’m 6’1’’
I use 86’’ for flat water paddling, and 80’’ for surfing.
-
I'm 6'3" and race with a addle 87.5" In my opinion your reach is more important than your height in measuring for a paddle.
-
I'm a little surprised to find that the paddle you're using can really effect the best length.
I'm going a little crazy since I've gotten the Ke Nalus. I'm 6'4" and was at 82 for surf and 87 for distance and racing. Now I'm playing with different shaft flexes, blade sizes, and an extendable handle that lets me easily try out different lengths. So far I'm a little confused. I'm finding that with a smaller blade for distance I want to go long..88 or 89....maximum reach and fast cadence combined, a bigger blade I like shorter, 86 or so, more grab in the power phase. What I really need to do is some serious testing with GPS and such. The subjective differences aren't enough when trying to shave off a little for racing. Something that feels good may actually be slower.
I haven't tested for surf much but I'm thinking I like big blades and short overall length...80 or maybe even less. I'm finding that in our conditions where I'm often fighting offshore winds to get on a wave it helps to be lower when going for it and having a shorter paddle allows for that while the shorted lever and bigger blade give the most immediate power. Bigger blades are also seem to be more help while surfing particularly for us bigger guys.
The real answer to your question can only be answered by yourself. So many different variables, weight, board volume, arm length...even the size of your head... ;D I've kind of convinced myself that it's almost silly to get a paddle that you can't adjust. I had actually already come to that conclusion somewhat even before the Ke Nalus. My previous paddle was adjustable too. But testing all the combinations on the Ke Nalus really has me convinced.
-
Stone... that's a great observation about blade size to shaft length. I was with your brother yesterday and when we entered the harbor, had to battle a fairly hefty head wind. Top hand was down low on the shaft pushing with all my might. So I might add that whether or not one is going downwind is also a factor because when I'm going DW, I love longer. And what about flex versus shaft length? Have you tried ur bro's Xtuf shaft? I think Bill was yelling at me that my blade was too long when he let me try his. Yeah thanks to him for making it easy to dial the length. I've always been willing to stick with whatever I permanently glued, even if it was a mistake. Freedom.
-
Adjustability is great. I switch anywhere between 82" and 88" within a single (flatwater) session. I like changing the length and seeing how it feels and what it does relative to my stroke. Or I'll go shorter into the wind, and longer with it at my back.
I do like the ability to adjust length instantly, but there are some tradeoffs with an adjustable paddle. So I can see why people prefer fixed paddles. However, having an adjustable does make determining what fixed length is best for you much easier. You can paddle at one length, switch to another in 2 seconds, see how that feels, and then switch back and forth while you figure out what length is best for you.
I'll be getting a Ke Nalu as my next gear purchase, and one of the great selling points to me is that although it's not instantly adjustable, you're not stuck with one length, even after you cut it.
-
I have a theory that length has a lot to do with catch and how you stack your shoulders. If you reach with your lower arm a lot further out than your upper then your paddle is at a pretty flat angle when it goes into the water. Your paddle offset gets added to the shaft angle. In this position when you pull the paddle the blade might be close to 45 degrees to the direction of pull, which means a lot of force pushing the paddle up against your upper arm and shoulder joint.
(http://www.kenalu.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/paddle7.jpg)
If your paddle doesn't catch well in this position (if it has a lot of offset it simply can't) then it will just slip through the water until it gets more vertical, and then it catches and starts to give you some beans. Most of the paddles we measured with out data capture equipment show minimal catch in the first 8 to 10 inches of travel.
I think the reason people are going shorter with Ke Nalu paddles (especially Molokais) is the curved blade and reduced offset gives an early catch. If you get that big catch with your arms hyper-extended it's going to be tough on your joints. You still want a good reach, but since the blade is catching sooner than one that's slipping for ten inches you can afford to get your upper arm more parallel with the board and get your arms and joints in a better position to pull.
I think ALL paddles would benefit from a lot of fiddling, but it's easy for me to play with Ke Nalus. For a while I was changing the length of both my surf and race paddles almost every day. Right now my race paddle is at 82" my surf paddle is 79" and my new Downwind Molokai (Molokai Elite blade on an xTuf shaft) is at 81" . I'm 6'2" and shrinking daily.
-
I'm 6' and your 81" tuft shaft felt perfect for me yesterday and I have been on 84" for race.
How'd that extra flex feel when we got in the side/headwind inside the harbor? Forgot to ask you yesterday. I felt like I was mixing cement.
-
Didn't help, that was a lot of current running back out of the harbor--All that energy and water pouring in through the channel running back out.
-
I'm 6'2". I've done a lot of experimenting and try to use the longest paddle possible for downwind paddling. I find the limit is where I can't get a clean exit by pulling the paddle straight up by my feet without dropping the top hand out to the side. The right length really depends on the thickness of the board and how far off the water level you stand.
I already posted this but I talk about the paddle length in this post and in the video:
http://zenwaterman.blogspot.com/2012/03/sup-technique-part-5-recovery-paddle.html (http://zenwaterman.blogspot.com/2012/03/sup-technique-part-5-recovery-paddle.html)