Author Topic: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle  (Read 551704 times)

stoneaxe

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #90 on: November 10, 2011, 08:05:24 PM »
Session #2 of paddle testing today. 2 hours of chest to head bumpy mushy surf in Newport in pouring rain, but at least it was warm...60 in November is always a plus. The warm weather let me go gloveless. Love the sharkskin without gloves.

Started with the 9 again. I'm still surprised by the catch. Only paddles I've tried that compare are much bigger and more aggressive in their shape, Quickblade Peahi and Powerex. Paddled for an hour and started getting used to the power. No question there were a couple of waves I likely would have missed with other paddles that I managed to make. You can actually pull hard and shove the board forward with your feet and get on and then use the next stroke to get back into form. I was trying to see how hard I could crank on it to see if i could make it slip at all. Nada...feels like its set in concrete and thats with my full 270 lbs leaning on it. It comes at a price though. Had to take a break after about an hour, my arms were dead. My form sucks because of my crappy balance and the 9 is very unforgiving of that.

After the break I took out the 8.5. Still plenty of catch but i noticed immediately that my cadence picked up and I was relying more on blade speed than brute force. It also let me throw it around more which is good in conditions like these....I do a lot of balance checks. After today i think I may end up using the 8.5 for surf. Nice blend of power and speed for me. I'm liking the ergo T handle the best. Thought i would prefer the ergo but the ergo-T  has a great feel and grip, seems to give me a little better control. Didn't notice any problems with transitions on the sharkskin without the gloves on and I'm really digging the solid grip.

Didn't get to the 8...wind was coming up and it was getting blown out choppy and it started raining so hard I was having a hard time seeing.

Can't wait to have some of the crew try these out and hearing what they think. If the forecast holds I'll probably head up to Nantasket for Sunday dawn patrol to paddle with the crew there.
« Last Edit: November 10, 2011, 08:07:16 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

PonoBill

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #91 on: November 10, 2011, 10:05:12 PM »
I got several emails about the wing paddle idea. they ran along the line of "whadda ya mean MORE catch, this thing is pulling me off the board as it is". I know it feels that way, but really, you get used to it, and there's no such thing as too much catch. there's just blades that are too big to use well. I don't really think the 9" blade is overpowering people, I think they're used to pulling harder than they need to. If you've got a Molokai, try just lightening up on your pull. Makes a big difference. You don't need to yank it, just set the paddle and pull firmly.
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.

ericspin

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #92 on: November 11, 2011, 09:28:02 AM »
I got several emails about the wing paddle idea. they ran along the line of "whadda ya mean MORE catch, this thing is pulling me off the board as it is".

I do all my surfski paddling with an Epic mid wing and it is one of the most satisfying pieces of water sports equipment I own.  I would love to see what a wing would do on the end of a SUP paddle.  And as we have discussed before....talk about clean water off the face of a paddle.....it's super clean off my mid wing. 

PonoBill

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #93 on: November 11, 2011, 11:18:48 AM »
Of course a surfski or kayak paddle enters the water more or less horizontally vs. SUP/canoe paddles entering vertically, so the design issues are a bit different. The stability of the center of force is less of an issue--or rather it's an issue that kayak paddlers have to deal with anyway because of the blade angle. The weird thing about kayak paddles in my opinion is that they tend to have face dihedral parallel to the shaft, just like a canoe paddle. I don't know what that's for. Sometime this winter I'll instrument up some surfski paddles and see what they are doing. If nothing else it will be one more data point.

I'm even more puzzled by sculling paddles. I suspect they are throwing away a lot of energy. They leave a residual vortex that lasts for more than a minute. It might just be a design compromise that works out. I looked over a new hull a few days ago that is 27' long and 9" wide at the waterline. Talk about hull speed!! The bow wave was nonexistant. All it had was a stern wave with a little ripple in front of it that was probably the refracted remnants of what would be a bow wave with a wider hull.

It got some wheels turning in my pointy head.
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.

250SUP

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #94 on: November 11, 2011, 03:48:15 PM »
So for Canadian orders do we go through you online store or directly through your Canadian distributor?

Interested in trying one, but cross border shipping of sup gear ends up being a pain.

Let us Canucks know once the Canadian distributor is ready to take orders.

PonoBill

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #95 on: November 11, 2011, 04:07:29 PM »
it will certainly be much easier to get it from our Canadian distributor (or more likely, your local dealer) once he gets his initial order. It's being made up and should be on the way in a few days. His website is http://kenalupaddles.com/ , and he'll probably chime in here since he's an active zoner. I don't mean to be coy, but I don't want to steal someone else's thunder.
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.

westbeach

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #96 on: November 11, 2011, 07:21:03 PM »
Lee ( Rogue Wave ) is the guy to talk to for all Canadian orders.

So for Canadian orders do we go through you online store or directly through your Canadian distributor?

Interested in trying one, but cross border shipping of sup gear ends up being a pain.

Let us Canucks know once the Canadian distributor is ready to take orders.

Rogue Wave

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #97 on: November 12, 2011, 07:21:51 AM »
I don't want to cross the line of forum pimp here, so I hope no one minds...

We're offering free shipping in Canada and a money back guaranty if you're not 100% satisfied with the paddles. I'm very confident that no one will take advantage of that -- the paddles are truly amazing in every respect, including the construction and finishing (which we haven't talked too much about).

There will be dealers set up across Canada where you can see and try the paddles, or you can buy direct from us. Please feel free to e-mail me at lee@kenalupaddles.com if you have any questions.

We will keep updating the website as we get new information and more photos of the paddles.

Thanks!

Lee
« Last Edit: November 12, 2011, 07:50:12 AM by Rogue Wave »
Jimmy Lewis Canada

Tom

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #98 on: November 12, 2011, 08:36:33 AM »
Well, I've had the paddle for a month and a half (seven pages ago) and gotta say I still love it. I've mostly been using it for surfing and I can catch waves much easier and don't have sore shoulder muscles after a long session. I've also used it with my race board and it is definitely faster that my old paddle. I used it at my surf lenght, but have ordered the handle extension.

Too me, its pretty impressive that someone can come up with an improved paddle. When you think about it, a paddle has to be one of the first tools ever invented.

Takeo

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #99 on: November 12, 2011, 03:41:55 PM »
Bill,
Got my Wiki paddle today, it's one nice paddle.  I like how the paddle edge is smoothed out, especially on the joint area where it meets the shaft.  Other, well known paddles have a very rough, sometimes sharp edge there which I find does damage to rails, even more so than the blade itself.  The ergo grip is beautiful, and light as a feather..heck the whole paddle is light as a feather.  I have a few larger paddles and went with the Wiki for a fast cadence paddle, looking forward to getting into the water really soon.  Thanks for shipping it out so quickly, now if the weather will cooperate, it's pretty soppy outside.

Strand Leper

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #100 on: November 12, 2011, 04:59:06 PM »
Not to pile on... but I had the Molokai (the big one) out on my step up board (8'3" by 27") in 4-6 foot crazy stormy combo swell, swirling winds, shifting to a strong SE wind.  I was alternating between two reefs about 700 yards apart.  Did a five hour session.  For the last bit of the session, I was going to switch back to my old surf paddle... (to compare), but there were some bombies and I didn't want to miss any by running back up the beach to switch. 

As I suspected last week... the horsepower on this bigger board is perfectly matched with the bigger blade.  Last week paddling my collab was a little bit like dropping the Diablo 12 into a Gallardo... (or maybe even an Elise)... just too many ponies for the frame... (the higher revving Wiki should pare nicely with the collab!)...

Great, cool, yada yada yada... but here is what I really noticed, my paddling form on this board was magical using this paddle ... I was even doing that little hip shift that Robert from Blue Planet talks about in his videos (Stone mentioned it above I think... thanks for reminding me Stone)...  There were some insane offshore gusts and the drive from the big boy really helped.  I think I want to try to use a bit longer of a paddle because the entry is just so smooth, and you really can't paddle past your feet... stoked about the available extension.

I did a FIVE hour session.  My muscles are tired as they should be... especially considering the last hour was in a 10-15 MPH SE wind... but no joint soreness.  I expected joint soreness from pulling on that big blade for five hours...

One more thing, I had two semi-legitimate barrels today, a front-side hang on for your life section and a backside backdoor under the lip paddle drag twisted body lay back barrel.  I had LOADS of control with the paddle on barrel number two.  It was a legit set wave... one of the bigger of the day... a bodysurfer was sitting on my inside, waiting for me to get hung up in the lip, then waiting for me to get pitched, then waiting for me to get pinched... he kept waiting... body surfers as a general rule aren't too stoked on standup... on the paddle back out I thought he was gonna rank on me... instead he said, "That was f***ing sick dude."  Paddle probably did not have much to do with that wave... just wanted to brag.
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VonR

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #101 on: November 12, 2011, 05:12:11 PM »
What paddle do you recommend for a smaller guy? This paddle will be for surf use only and with smaller boards. By smaller, I mean 8' and under and 4" thick and less.
Aloha,
Jeff

PonoBill

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #102 on: November 12, 2011, 09:24:30 PM »
The wiki. I know 8" sounds small, but it doesn't catch that way. The 8.5 would be OK, but the wiki is so light and quick. I'm looking forward to surfing with it in Maui.
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.

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #103 on: November 13, 2011, 08:45:02 PM »
Took my Wiki out for a paddle in the rain and chop today on my Bullet.  Left the stock length at 82" which is 15" overhead for me.  I wanted to see if the longer reach and stiff shaft would work well with the smaller blade. Because the blade is smaller, I can dig deep into the clean water for a awesome plant.

Paddle is with 100 shaft which is super light and little to no flex.  The sharkskin takes some getting use to.  I was doing alright but I can see how it would stick and grab for those who do a lot of sliding of hands during switch.  The shaft reminds me of the QB Elite shaft but a bit more grip. I loved the smaller diameter shaft.  I switched paddles with a friend who had a QB Kanaha, the Kanaha shaft felt fat and bulky, weird cause this is what I've been using for a couple years.

From the first stroke, the 8" paddle was super quiet upon entry, talk about clean! I was surprised with the amount of catch for such a small and light paddle.  I've used a QB 8.3 Kanaha before, the 8.0 Wiki had more catch.  There didn't feel like a lot of slip and I easily got the Bullet up to speed in less than ideal, choppy conditions. 

There was no flutter whatsoever! Which meant more energy saved for paddling.  Keeping a fast cadence hasn't been this easy before.  After each stroke, I hit the recovery phase and the paddle is snapping back into the water with a quiet and clean entry.  The swing weight is crazy, feels like swinging nothing!

Now I'm curious how the 8.5 would feel.  On much calmer conditions, shorter sprints, or downwind, I'd probably want a slightly bigger blade, but I bet the 8.0 could do it! 


PonoBill

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #104 on: November 14, 2011, 01:39:16 PM »
I'm starting to really enjoy the Wiki. I still like the 8.5 best for all around, but the super light swing weight of the Wiki is addictive.

I'm working on some ways to measure the catch. I'm know I can derive the amount of force applied to driving the board forward if I know the acceleration of the board and rider and the weight of board and rider (F=Ma), and the accelerometers on the shaft should show me how much force is applied to the paddle though I won't know the mass of the water being accelerated. I may need to measure paddle force directly, perhaps with a strain gauge on the shaft. Either that or jest get relative numbers for shaft acceleration vs board acceleration.

Another thing to do in Maui.

Any of you Oahu folks that are interested in seeing the paddles, get in touch with Robert Stehlik. We have a few paddles on the way to Blue Planet--shipped today, they will be our dealer on Oahu.
« Last Edit: November 14, 2011, 01:42:42 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.

 


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