Author Topic: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle  (Read 551708 times)

Dwight (DW)

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #180 on: December 06, 2011, 05:19:51 AM »
Forgive me if I missed this somewhere, but can someone provide the phonetic pronunciation of Ke Nalu

PonoBill

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #181 on: December 06, 2011, 08:43:13 AM »
Ke (Hawaiian for "the") pronounced like kay but short with no emphasis on the ay, and Nalu (Hawaiian for wave or surf as a noun) is Nahloo
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.

dpmaui

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #182 on: December 07, 2011, 01:13:36 PM »
Bill let me demo one of his paddles this morning, he went out at Kanaha, which was just wind-blown slop, I think he thought I was going out there too, sorry Bill, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I went over to Lahaina and tried it out in some glassy double-over ankle Launiopoko. It was really lite and paddled nice, didn't get much chance to lean on it, but it felt good. I'd like to try it in some real surf. Bill, if you need it back, I got it here at the shop, Mahalo, Dave.

PonoBill

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #183 on: December 07, 2011, 06:24:25 PM »
No rush, I know where you live--or at lest work. I did realize though that I gave you the wrong one to try--that one has a 60Flex shaft--OK for surfing, but not as light or as powerful as the 100Flex.

It wasn't really that bad, there were  few head high sets, and I need the exercise. I got a few nice rides, then went and paddled the Penetrator for a couple of laps around the harbor. Damn that board is a trip, but so difficult in the side chop.
« Last Edit: December 07, 2011, 06:26:13 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.

PonoBill

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #184 on: December 10, 2011, 07:33:04 AM »
Fabulous Heat Gun
I love the Ace hardware store in Kahalui, Maui--they have EVERYTHING and everyone that works there knows exactly where anything is. How did they do that? Even Diane loves it for their home section. They have particular pans that she has been looking for everywhere. That seems odd, she's kind of a high-end gal, but she's always willing to go with me to the hardware store. Always walks out with an armload of stuff--and she's NOT a shopper.

Anyway, I digress, Ace has a fabulous heat gun, cheap (about 30 bucks). It has "digital" temperature adjustments that are very accurate. I was able to set mine up so it heats the ferrules and shaft to a perfect temperature for gluing. If you're looking for one, this is the one to get.

The only challenge might be if you take your wife along and you happen to live in Maui. Your 30 buck heat gun might cost you a few hundred.
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 #185 on: December 11, 2011, 08:36:46 PM »
I'm going to try one of these. Handy to have in the car.
http://www.amazon.com/RoadPro-RPSC-818-Defroster-Folding-Handle/dp/B000BHQ5JC
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

DavidJohn

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #186 on: December 11, 2011, 11:41:08 PM »
I now have a Ke Nalu that's a similar size and length to my Kialoa Toro (thanks Bill) so it will be interesting to compare to two paddles.. It was hard for me to tell which was the lighter paddle because they are very close.. I'll get them accurately weighed at my friends machine shop.. But it's how they paddle that matters the most.. Here's a few pictures that show the two side by side.

DJ





 





I finally got to weigh the Toro vs the Ke Nalu with some accurate scales..

A few of us tried to tell which was the lightest but couldn't because they were so close.. They are both super light.

I had a feeling that Bill's was a smidge lighter.. and I was right.. It's exactly 20 grams lighter which is less than half a small cup of coffee (the coffee, not the cup) ..  ;D

Now I have the paddles about the same length it's time to test it on the water.

DJ
« Last Edit: December 12, 2011, 12:01:17 AM by DavidJohn »

PonoBill

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #187 on: December 16, 2011, 10:38:52 PM »
We just got our new shipment of paddles in, we're back in stock for everything.
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.

weldernot

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #188 on: December 17, 2011, 08:18:11 AM »
Here is my Ke Nalu paddle review.

Ke Nalu Maliko 8.5” x 16” blade with 95 square inch surface area, listed as 494g, 83.5”, 100 flex carbon shaft
Paddler:  5’4” 140lb, experienced whitewater kayaker, some whitewater canoeing, 1 year SUP flat water and some park and play whitewater SUP
Primary SUP:  C4 subvector 9’3” iSUP
Primary comparison paddle:  Werner Carve, 7.3” x 19” blade with 101 square inch surface area, listed at 866g, 74-78” adjustable (set at 78” during comparison paddling)
Comparison locations and conditions:  flat water small lake and indoor pool

Paddle handles:  I haven’t developed a handle preference for either the Ke Nalu ergo-T or the Werner Carve.  They are definitely different feels, and I like them both.  Both feel very comfortable, and both give good tactile feedback and control over paddle orientation.
Paddle shaft texture:  I really, really like the Ke Nalu slightly textured shaft.  I don’t find the texture directly noticeable, but yet my shaft hand doesn’t slip when the Ke Nalu shaft is either wet or dry.  I have noticed some hand slipping with the Werner Carve shaft, especially when wet.  Additionally, while I like the simplicity and ease of use of the length adjustment system on the Werner Carve, I very much dislike the feel when my hand “catches” or rubs over the holes in the paddle shaft that are present as part of the length adjustment.  I have used paddle wax and tape for obtaining a better grip on my whitewater kayak paddle shaft (bent shaft Werner Double Diamond), and I much prefer the texture on the Ke Nalu.  I tend to get friction blisters from tape and find that wax wears off quicker than I like (plus you must then remember it and reapply it for your next paddling).

Paddle shaft diameter:  The smaller Ke Nalu shaft diameter feels fine to me and so does the larger diameter Werner shaft.  I haven’t noticed any feeling of gripping either shaft more tightly or of either shaft feeling too large or too small.
Paddle lengths:  I’m really glad Pono Bill has the paddle lengths write up on the Ke Nalu website.  I haven’t yet cut my Ke Nalu down, and I believe it is currently a bit longer than I will eventually want for flat water paddling.  However, after reading about different methods of deciding on the appropriate paddle length and paddling with the uncut Ke Nalu, I have definitely decided that the 8-10 inches over paddler height isn’t right for me for flat water paddling.  I have gone from using my Werner Carve set at 74” to using it maximally extended (78”) and wishing that I could try it a bit longer (for flat water).  I have found that some of the difficulty I had experienced regarding getting a clean catch (lack of splash, fully immersed blade) with the Carve was fixed by going to a longer length setting.

Paddling forward catch:  I feel like I’m getting a cleaner (less splash, fully immersed blade) catch with the Ke Nalu paddle much more easily than I achieve with the Werner Carve.  The blade shapes, especially the blade heights, are different, and the paddles are not the same length:  Ke Nalu currently 83.5” and Carve currently 78”. 

Paddling forward acceleration:  I often feel like I’m pulling more aggressively or exerting more force with the Carve.  I can’t tell if there is any difference in board acceleration per stroke or in ease of maintaining board speed.

Paddling forward recovery:  I find an increased paddle length a bit trickier to get cleanly removed from the water and find that I’m allowing each paddle to get past my feet.  Part of this may simply be that all of my prior paddling was with the Werner Carve adjusted to 74”.

Bracing, sculling braces and sculling draws, and in water recoveries:  The Ke Nalu slices so very smoothly through the water and feels much better (quieter, easier motion, less turbulence generation) to me than the Carve when doing any paddle moving across the surface in a sculling brace, any sculling draws, and any in water recoveries (slicing the blade from the end of force application of one stroke to the beginning of force application of another stroke).  While messing about doing pivot turns in the pool, I experienced one back side brace with the Ke Nalu paddle that kept me on the board when I am quite sure that I would have been in the water if it had been the Carve in my hands.  This could simply be the difference in length (lever arm), but I don’t think so.  I think the blade shape and smoothness on the water played a major role.

Swing weight:  Holding both paddles, I could tell that the Ke Nalu was lighter than the Carve, but not so much that it made much difference when just holding them.  As reported by others and as expected from my other experiences in paddling with altering swing weight, switching from the Ke Nalu back to the Carve felt like going from a paddle to a club – very unpleasantly heavy  pretty strong desire to only paddle with the Ke Nalu.

Overall:  I am a big fan light paddles and of light swing weights for paddles.  The Ke Nalu is light and has a light swing weight, and I really like that.  I also really like the Ke Nalu shaft texture and the smoothness of the blade when slicing through the water or bracing.  I definitely prefer using the Ke Nalu rather than the Carve for flat water paddling.  The hot glue is very easy to deal with, and I plan to cut my Ke Nalu down a bit in the future and to start messing with the adjustable length extended ergo-T handle.

Video information:  The lake clips were taken on two different days.  The clips taken from the same location on the SUP were taken on the same day and same paddling outing.  The pool clips were taken on a different day from the lake clips. 

Video shot above water
Video shot underwater

(I'm new to any sort of video posting and haven't yet figured out how to embed the videos in here.  I tried following the embed, copy, paste directions on vimeo but apparently missed something; so, rather than delay posting this, I've just gone ahead with providing the video information above.  The tags on each video are "Ke Nalu, Werner Carve, stand up paddles.")

PonoBill

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #189 on: December 17, 2011, 08:50:49 AM »
Wow, great review, and great videos, thank you so much. I made a bit of a fool of myself though. When I saw your Ke Nalu paddle wobbling some I kept saying "relax your lower hand! Relax your lower hand!" and Diane said "you do know you're yelling at a computer, don't you". At about 1:30 I could see your hand relax in the track of the paddle and I said "yea!"

It's very interesting that the vortex on both paddles is closing to a ring. That means it's losing connection to the air so it doesn't grow. I'm fairly certain that the big, complex vortices I see on some paddles is because they generate a wide enough vortex that it keeps drawing air down throughout the stroke. I think that closed vortex is a good thing, though it will take a lot more experimenting to be sure. One of the challenges I'm encountering with adding more wing to the back of our paddle is that the vortex gets unstable and more powerful. More fiddling is required.

Very cool seeing no splash during reach/catch on your first video. A very helpful review, thanks again.

PS, I think you'd find Dave Kalama's posting on recovery ( http://www.davidkalama.com/2010/04/paddle-techniques-recover/ ) to be very useful with longer shaft lengths. The big trick is pushing the paddle up with your lower hand as you break your wrist inward. That feathers the blade for clean withdrawal and puts you in position to punch forward with your lower hand for the reach. The unfeathering is automatic since your wrist straightens at the end of the punch. Oh, and relax that lower hand!
« Last Edit: December 17, 2011, 09:24:59 AM 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.

Boludo

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #190 on: December 17, 2011, 11:59:24 AM »
Wow, great review, and great videos, thank you so much. I made a bit of a fool of myself though. When I saw your Ke Nalu paddle wobbling some I kept saying "relax your lower hand! Relax your lower hand!" and Diane said "you do know you're yelling at a computer, don't you". At about 1:30 I could see your hand relax in the track of the paddle and I said "yea!"

I'm busting up laughing about you yelling at the computer.  That's hilarious.  Bill, I thought the same thing when I saw the 2nd video, it shows an initial wobble.  Then I saw that it's 19.5" overhead :o and realized any paddle would wobble in the initial part of the stroke.  You can see after the initial stroke, the rest is smooth.  That explains why the werner wasn't doing it because he has it at 78" as opposed to the 83.5".  Way too long as he already noticed.

Anyways, Thanks for the review and the time spent in doing it.  You can tell by the 1st video that his speed is up quicker than the werner.

DavidJohn

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #191 on: December 17, 2011, 12:44:31 PM »
Some bikini girls swimming around under water would have been nice..  ;D

DJ

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #192 on: December 17, 2011, 01:13:41 PM »
DJ, you were taken with that upside down male torso with legs in the video?

That underwater video was weird, kind of like a bad trip or something (the sounds in the beginning of the video just added to that vibe).  I did enjoy the air bubble rings created by the paddle.  I think if it were studied enough that perspective could offer lots of information on how everything ties together with the paddle stroke.

SUPerstitious

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #193 on: December 17, 2011, 01:50:43 PM »
Weldernot...quick question.

Is it me, or is your deck flexing under your feet in the video? I cannot tell if it is just an illusion, or if your deckpad/deck look like they are mushy under your feet.

I'm gettin' funny dreams again and again
I know what it means, but …

Tom

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #194 on: December 17, 2011, 02:06:35 PM »
Any one that has watched the full 9 minutes of the underwater video is a 100% SUP geek. If you've watched it more than one, you need some serious help.  ;) ;D ;)

 


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