Author Topic: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle  (Read 551871 times)

Strand Leper

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #75 on: November 06, 2011, 08:26:06 AM »
Thanks for the correction on the paddle name Pono.  I have the big one... very similar in surface area to my "go to" surf paddle but paddles bigger.  Here is how I could tell that your are getting serious traction with that paddle.  When I am on my micro SUP, as I go to stand, I have to plant the paddle when half way up and start stroking to get some interia (because the board is entirely under water at that point).  With my standard surf paddle, by the time I am up and moving comfortably I have turned 90 or so degrees (a few quick jab strokes with imperfect form to say the least)... with the PonoPaddle, I was almost at 360 degrees!  So basically, each of my little jab strokes was pushing significantly more water...

I honestly didn't expect this paddle to be any better or different than my QBs.  i just thought it was cool that Bill went all in, rethought things, and cranked out a paddle or three (in between moving, car racing, etc.) and I like to support Zoners... and I needed a new surf paddle...  I figured that I would buy it, use it and it would be good... it is all that and more (way, way better than that custom SUP knife that Spookini sold me... that thing is a piece of crap... he just took a Swiss Army knife from Costco, and wrote in black permanent marker "SUP" on the handle ... really Spookini??? :)

Anyway, entry noise?  None.  Warble?  None.  Catch?  A big ass piece of water. 

Frankly, using that paddle with the Collab on a really tricky day was a bad idea.  Marginal changes on a marginal SUP can be huge... but during the struggles of the morning I could see where this paddle absolutely shines...

I am going to go out today during the storm and either go downwind on my new bump shagger from Corran (pic's in a bit... picked up yesterday on the way home from surfing) or if the waves hold up, go out on my 8'3".  I can REALLY see this paddle working like a turbo button with a standard size SUP like my 8'3"... 

One more thing.  This paddle absolutely PUNISHES bad form.  My form was pretty bad yesterday as the conditions were so difficult... after about 45 minutes, my forearms were SHOT!  My forearms never get tired doing standup... ever... I realized that in struggling with the conditions, I let my form lapse, and wasn't leaning and twisting... I was using forearms (i know... embarrassing...).  I chastised myself, remembered what my form "post it" in my wallet says, and reached, planted, leaned and twisted and flipped for the rest of the session... forearm problem solved.

One more thing now for real... I am an ergo handle guy... and it would be cool to have the handle extension available in the ergo grip as well as the T-grip.  I know how to turn a T grip into an ergo grip... it is just ugly and soaks up water... I will probably be ordering an extension anyway so I can use it for distance (properly use it...)

Tim

 
American Saltwater Angler Magazine's Seven Time Angler of the Year.* Founder and former CEO of "Fishstrong" an organization devoted to the fight against fishbait-hands-smell discrimination.

* subject to revocation due to a pending investigation by the FDA (fisherman drug association)

PonoBill

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #76 on: November 06, 2011, 04:54:29 PM »
Bob,
You can modify the sharkskin, you don't have to take it all the way off, and you can "zone" it so it's aggressive at your grip and smooth elsewhere. Just get some cue stick sandpaper--the really fine stuff, and give it a light polish. Try it way down near the blade first, where you'll never grip it. It's easy to reduce the grip, but you can't put it back on. If you look at the ridges under a microscope, they are slanted towards the blade and have a little bit of tooth to them. That's why they even grip radially as well as axially. When you sand the grip the ridges round over and the tooth go away. It happens quickly, so go light.

I've gotten used to it, but it gave me some blisters at first. Pretty aggressive grip. I polished my wiki on the upper shaft (above the grip area) to help with the paddle transitions. I need all the help I can get to keep up with that little bugger. 
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

stoneaxe

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #77 on: November 06, 2011, 07:40:40 PM »
That was exactly what bothered me about the sharkskin texture. During transitions my hands weren't smoothly sliding into position with gloves on. I'll try the sanding outside the grip area.. I really like the texture with bare hands so being able to keep it in the grip but remove it outside would be perfect..
« Last Edit: November 06, 2011, 07:42:53 PM by stoneaxe »
Bob

8-4 Vec, 9-0 SouthCounty, 9-8 Starboard, 10-4 Foote Triton, 10-6 C4, 12-6 Starboard, 14-0 Vec (babysitting the 18-0 Speedboard) Ke Nalu Molokai, Ke Nalu Maliko, Ke Nalu Wiki Ke Nalu Konihi

pdxmike

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #78 on: November 06, 2011, 07:51:44 PM »
Stoneaxe--sounds like once you do the sanding Bob will be your uncle as well as your brother.

PonoBill

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #79 on: November 06, 2011, 08:29:22 PM »
Actually Stoneaxe IS Bob, I'm Bill.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

PonoBill

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #80 on: November 06, 2011, 08:44:47 PM »
I shouldn't be showing this off since we may not go into production with it. Mostly depends on whether or not I break the thing surfing with it, but I call this SuperWiki. Our standard 8" wiki blade and an ultralight carbon shaft--it's actually one of our long (170 CM) shafts AND an extended T handle to make it all adjustable: 420 grams. That's 14.75 ounces. It was actually 390 grams with the standard handle.



We might do it as an ultralight, no warranty, racing paddle. So far it's standing up really well though. A well known, very powerful racer bent the heck out of it today for a couple of miles against wind and current without the slightest hint of protest. I thought sure he was going to bust it. I had a spare paddle along, partly just for testing, and partly to make sure we could both get back.
« Last Edit: November 06, 2011, 08:53:30 PM by PonoBill »
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

RyanSurfNTurf

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #81 on: November 06, 2011, 08:45:35 PM »
Stoneaxe--once you do the sanding Bob will be your uncle as well as your brother.
Rim shot :D :D :D

pdxmike

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #82 on: November 06, 2011, 08:54:00 PM »
Actually Stoneaxe IS Bob, I'm Bill.
Oops--I guess I got thrown off by daylight savings time ending.  I guess I should have said if you sanded it, then Bob would be your uncle and your brother. 

Rogue Wave

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #83 on: November 08, 2011, 01:54:47 PM »
I had the paddle out again and it felt even better than the first time.

I tried my old paddle afterwards and now it's junk - there's no way I could be happy with it ever again (that's a good thing!).

FYI, it's a good thing that there is a Canadian distributor now because it cost me $110.47 extra for things like duty ($28.54) customs GST ($20.45), brokerage GST/HST ($5.93), entry prep fee (whatever the heck that is - $49.70), and bond fee ($5.85).

YIKES!!!

That did not include the shipping cost. Still, the paddle is totally worth it!

Lee
« Last Edit: November 08, 2011, 01:56:36 PM by Rogue Wave »
Jimmy Lewis Canada

spookini

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #84 on: November 08, 2011, 05:27:38 PM »
it is all that and more (way, way better than that custom SUP knife that Spookini sold me... that thing is a piece of crap... he just took a Swiss Army knife from Costco, and wrote in black permanent marker "SUP" on the handle ... really Spookini??? :)

Leps, that was just the prototype.  For the production model, we are leaning toward going w/ Ginsu.  Cuts through fishing line AND coke cans AND still will slice your tomatoes perfectly.  Plus we'll likely be throwing in a free cutting board.  ONLY for the zoners, though!
« Last Edit: November 08, 2011, 05:30:32 PM by spookini »
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stoneaxe

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #85 on: November 08, 2011, 07:23:21 PM »
spook...lets get together soon...you can check one of these bad babies out.... ;D

Hey Bill...you ought to consider a 7" blade...pair it up with that ultralight shaft you're talking about  Where would that get you?...350 grams? Lightweight racers and even just small (like Sue) recreational paddlers would love it.
Bob

8-4 Vec, 9-0 SouthCounty, 9-8 Starboard, 10-4 Foote Triton, 10-6 C4, 12-6 Starboard, 14-0 Vec (babysitting the 18-0 Speedboard) Ke Nalu Molokai, Ke Nalu Maliko, Ke Nalu Wiki Ke Nalu Konihi

PonoBill

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #86 on: November 08, 2011, 11:41:46 PM »
We have a number of new approaches in the works. Some of them are pretty radical. It's going to get interesting.  I don't expect it all to work, but it's going to be fun trying.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

PonoBill

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #87 on: November 09, 2011, 08:44:24 AM »
I want to make a blade that's good for small people. But I'm not sure that simply scaling the current design smaller is the best approach. We'll might do something somewhat radical for that. It's tough for me to consider a blade that slips more to be superior--like putting tires made of teflon on your car.

Yup, they'll spin.

But making a very small blade that catches like crazy seems like an interesting direction. Our paddle has enough curve on the back to provide some wing effect, but there's more to be had. The problem is that the increased pull caused by lift on the back of the blade has an unstable center of force. If we can cure that we'll have more catch and general efficiency to play with.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

Time for SUPper

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #88 on: November 09, 2011, 12:22:30 PM »
Finally got a chance to use my Wiki... love it.  The blade enters the water so smoothly with very little effort.  It makes me feel like I'm much better than I probably am.  All that talk of the thing popping out of the water at the end of your stroke isn't BS either.  It's like magic (or excellent design).  The ero-T is the best of both worlds; comfortable to hold but with great control of the paddle angle.  Finally, I love the textured shaft.  I can extend a couple more inches with just my fingertips holding on with no risk of slipping.

Kudos, Bill, for designing a near-perfect paddle.

Southbay

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #89 on: November 10, 2011, 08:48:54 AM »
This is no joke. I seriously bought it because I wanted to support Bill and the forum. I won't repeat everything that everyone else has said ie. SO smooth, crazy catch etc.  I love this paddle.  In fact I gave it to my cousin to try, during my one session with the paddle so far, and he seemed to love it. Then, he grabbed his paddle back and said, "this feels terrible now, how can I get one?". Crazy hype, NO, great paddle yes.  Thanks Bill.

Southbay

 


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