review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle

[PonoBill]

Carmen, who so very capably runs shipping for Ke Nalu in Hood River, finally had her baby! On my birthday! How cool is that. Ryder Benjamin Tuttle, born at 2:14 this morning, 8 pounds, 20 inches. Welcome to the Zone dude. We'll put a paddle aside for him.

[PonoBill]

Bill,
Any time line for when the x-tuff pono paddle's are available?
thanks,
Jeff

We have a large order being made, but it will probably take a few more weeks to ship. They're faster than Elite blades are to build, but only relatively.

I have about ten left here in Maui but we don't have any shipping boxes here.

[paddlejones]

by the way... it looks like the Ace HDRW heat gun can be purchased throught the ace hdwr web site.

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3521456&kw=heat+gun&origkw=heat+gun&searchId=54348581234

[PonoBill]

The Ace guns are great. I have the "digital" one which is a pretty fine piece of gear for 40 bucks.

[ODJ]

The Ace guns are great. I have the "digital" one which is a pretty fine piece of gear for 40 bucks.

wasn't sure if you got my PM or not. The handles arrived yesterday, just waiting for the paddle to get here form Jim. Looks like it is supposed to be delivered tomorrow.

[mrl]

Bill what is the best temperature to use with the acehardware heatgun
Thanks
Mike

[river]

Happy Belated Bill
Just wanted to pop in here and say I'm Loving both of my Kenalu blades.  The small one "8" Wiki for training and "deep water" whitewater and the Med"8.5" Maliko for strength conditioning and racing.  I will be putting them to the test at the Miami SUP Race and the Cold Stroke Classic in NC. Having the heat gun adjustment is actually really cool and I have changed my length 3 times now because I'm really picky about finding the perfect length per the board I'm paddling.  Have fun checking out the massive waves again Bill. 

[TN_SUP]

Paddled hard this afternoon with the shorter Wiki and have no pain, so I'm i believer. You can transition from a bent shaft nitro to the wiki without a larger impact to your body. Thanks Bill!

[PonoBill]

Bill what is the best temperature to use with the acehardware heatgun
Thanks
Mike

I haven't paid that much attention. You can use a pretty intense heat if you keep it moving but you don't need a really high temperature, the glue melts at 165F, but you need even temperature. The carbon fiber is not that good a conductor of heat, The safest way is to keep it about midway on the temperature setting and move the parts around a lot.

Dan--thanks, glad to hear you like the paddles. The surf has been excellent lately.

TN--very glad to hear that worked out for you. I think the early catch of the Ke Nalu blades might aggravate some compromised shoulders at the same time the lack of flutter and wobble mitigates the effect. The best balance is probably a length that gives you good control but lets you get the blade fully submerged at the beginning of the stroke. I've shortened my race paddle again. My shoulders are feeling great.

[ODJ]

My Ke Nalu Maliko was waiting for me when I got home from work tonight. Looks great, fit and finish looks outstanding, LOVE the texture on the shaft. I am 6'2, and am using this as a racing paddle, and have to say I am VERY happy I went with the extended handle, otherwise it would be too short. I am going to start with 84", which is 10 " over my height. no way that would have happened with the standard handle. Good thing is no cutting for me! I work another 12 hour shift tomorrow, but will glue her up sunday morning and go for a paddle then and report back how it is!

[Strand Leper]

Here are pic's of the "on the fly" adjustment of the Ponopaddle from the other morning... using a blowdryer, a hoodie, and the electricity from the parking lot light pole.  Yes, it worked like a champ... in two minutes.  The hoodie is like the towel... keeps the heat around the shaft.

[upwinder]

Have to say I'm liking these paddles more and More. Did a 20km flat water run with my maliko this morning, just focussing on keeping the catch & recovery smooth and quiet and letting the blade do the work. No hand pain, no shoulder pain, no elbow pain, no anything pain, even got the glide 17 back on the car with ease  . My previous paddles would have me reaching for the ibuprofen after a session like that.
Nice one Bill!

[ODJ]

Here are pic's of the "on the fly" adjustment of the Ponopaddle from the other morning... using a blowdryer, a hoodie, and the electricity from the parking lot light pole.  Yes, it worked like a champ... in two minutes.  The hoodie is like the towel... keeps the heat around the shaft.

did you go with the standard length or the longer shaft? i had no idea there was a longer shaft option and just got what i assume is the standard length shaft. since i am going to be using the extended t-handle i will have about an inch or so gap between where the handle is and where it inserts the shaft and am wondering if this will cause any irritation or problems with my hand. experienced any issues with that joint being so close to your hand? i figure if that joint is too close to my hand i can always cut off an inch just to lover that point where thpaddle shaft and handle meet.

[PonoBill]

There is a long shaft option (25 bucks), but it's really only intended for super tall people. With the extended handle you can have a Molokai that's 90.5 inches long, with the long shaft and the etended handle you can have a 96 inch paddle. So if you're in the NBA...

The abrupt edge of the Extended handle can be irritating. It bugged me. I just added a wrap of electrical tape and that cured it for me, but cutting an inch off will also move it well away from your palm.

[upwinder]

since i am going to be using the extended t-handle i will have about an inch or so gap between where the handle is and where it inserts the shaft and am wondering if this will cause any irritation or problems with my hand. experienced any issues with that joint being so close to your hand? i figure if that joint is too close to my hand i can always cut off an inch just to lover that point where thpaddle shaft and handle meet.

I've had my extended handles on both my pono paddles at various lengths from down as far as it will go (ie hard up against where the handle starts to flare out) to extended 3 inches or so. Haven't ever felt/noticed the join but I do have a couple of wraps of electrical tape on them.