review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle

[Henrik F]

Just love my adjustables! Different shafts, lenghts and blades

Henrik F

[LM]

Wanted to give this old thread a bump as well as let those that might have missed the Labor Day sale announcement a chance to catch it here:

[LM]

re-posted from the Marketplace (wanted to give this thread a bump

Just wanted to let you all know Ke Nalu has a new blade design that will be available soon; the "Mana" was inspired by the Konihi & since there's been so much talk about a 90 sq. in. blade that's one of the two sizes offered. The other will be an 82 sq. in.

So what's new?

The Mana has a slightly narrower tip for a smooth as silk entry, a more parallel outline with more cupping added and deeper concaves to provide more power from smaller sq. in. blade sizes. We've also incorporated the "winglets" of the Konihi but lowered them down just a bit (from the shaft end of the blade) doing this helps reduce the "sucking" sound that was reported from the Konihi when not fully planting before starting your stroke. All this combined gives you more power with less fatigue.

I was thinking of running a "Zonestarter"special (kinda like Kickstarter but just for you guys) that would both help with the production costs as well as get some paddles in your hands for an "early bird" special price. The Mana will retail for $475 but for the Zonestarter special I'll offer them for $100 bucks off at $375. Since the goal is to help with production costs it will require payment up front. Production is yet to start but I'm VERY much hoping to have these available in about a month. Those that take advantage of this will have the first production models available. Please PM me if interested.

[TN_SUP]

Lane, please verify that the quoted price is for only the blade.

[PDLSFR]

Lane, please verify that the quoted price is for only the blade.

I second that question !

[Rideordie]

I am interested. Is that the blade price or complete paddle price?  Sounds too high for just the blade.

[LM]

The price quoted is for the complete paddle. For this deal I'm only offering the complete paddle. I also forgot to mention, if you decide to go for this please include in a PM your requested blade size (90 sq. in. or 82 sq. in) shaft type & handle type also your email address so I can send a Paypal payment request & when paying please make sure your address is a physical address (rather than PO box) since these will be sent UPS (shipping charges of $30 will apply) & please only one paddle per person. Finally, I'm only able to offer this to shipments within the US

[Rideordie]

Great information. And targeted delivery date?   

[LM]

Great information. And targeted delivery date?

..."About a month" is about the best I can do at this point. For now things are looking pretty good as long as there's no snags we should stay on schedule. I'll keep everyone posted with updates.

[Luc Benac]

Now that I am waiting for a couple of Mana blades, I remember what a blessing is the "modular" system of Ke Nalu.
I have three boards, all of difference heights in front of the handle.
* Boardworks Eradicator is 7"
* Bark Downwinder is 5.5"
* Starboard Race is 4"
So 3" between the tallest and closest to the water.

I have three Ke Nalu shafts (100Flex and two Xtuf(s)) cut at different length over time plus a couple of Kohini 84 blades:
one original length 63", one cut at 61" and one cut at 60.5".
With the Classic T handle my favourite, I will be playing around to find the best length for each board and blade for flat and downwind.

[Rideordie]

Lane, how about an update on the new paddle availability. Still interested but want to know when you can ship.

[headmount]

I'm on my 95 and the one with the logo is my old surfing blade I lent a client.  The 90 sounds like a perfect size after having tried the 95 and 84.

[LM]

Lane, how about an update on the new paddle availability. Still interested but want to know when you can ship.

Just getting ready to post an update with a couple pics actually but as a reminder the offer of $100 off is only valid until we start production, which I was hoping would be by now, but it's looking like next week before production starts so there's still time. With this in mind it's looking like it will be about one month (give or take a week or so, but hopefully not more) before we have them in stock & ready to ship.

[LM]

I'm on my 95 and the one with the logo is my old surfing blade I lent a client.  The 90 sounds like a perfect size after having tried the 95 and 84.

Just finished the testing of the 90 & it does feel good. As expected, the Mana has a more positive catch than the Konihi due to adding some cupping back in (we slightly flattened the Konihi) which really helps plant the blade. The Mana feels a bit more "solid" on the catch but it's a bit hard to cross compare it's overall performance since the prototype weighs a ton. With the added cupping the release doesn't feel as "poppy" as the Konihi but that was expected too. Keep your exit from being too far back & you won't notice but if you paddle way past your feet you'll feel it. I'm excited to get a "real" carbon Mana in my hands, it's going to be a sweet blade!

[LM]

Just finished finalizing the testing on the Mana prototype. I was hoping to be into production already but didn't want to rush into things just to finish more quickly. The production molds should be ready in about a week so there is still time to take advantage of the "Zonestarter" offer but once production has started that deal will be off the table. Thanks to everyone who has taken advantage of the offer already, your support has really helped with production costs. Here's a few pics comparing the Mana 90 prototype with a Konihi 95:

In the first picture you can see the differences in the outlines. Most notably the narrower tip & more parallel lines in the Mana (the Mana 90 is 7.25" wide compared to the Konihi 95 at 7.5")

In the last two pictures I'm trying to show the difference in cupping between the two blades. It's harder to capture than I thought & the Konihi ends up looking really flat. If you have a Konihi you can look at it's profile & see there is cupping but if you also have one of our original designs or a Ho'oloa you can see there's more cupping with these designs. The Mana actually has more cupping than any of our previous designs but with it's narrower tip the catch is still buttery smooth & easy on the shoulders.