review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle

[PonoBill]

It's great for surf. Stores a bunch of energy. When you get the timing down it's a wave catapult.

[river]

Just to set the record straight.  It was my extended handle on the Maliko paddle that broke.  I believe it was because I had heated it and then cranked on it with a buddy a few times trying to adjust it when all I had was a ghetto hair dryer in a hotel room. we cracked it and I just finished it off in the race.   It snapped 2 minutes into the race just as I started to catch some real bump and get some power strokes in.  It was only the top 6-8 inches so it wasnt a big deal. It snapped right at the joint where the ferrule goes into the shaft.  The paddles have been so bomber and some say I'm hard on paddles.  The Wiki has withstood some solid poundings too and hasn't missed a beat.  At 72 inches it's the lightest paddle I've ever used. Gotta be around 14oz maybe less.  I love the superflex shaft and tiny blade on Wiki for surfing and the Maliko is the ticket for racing 14-UL.  Nothing else out there has the Feel of a Ke nalu because of the pre-preg carbon blade IMO.  Stoked:)

[Takeo]

Dan, that was a crazy video of you with the broken handle! The KeNalu paddles are awesome in those strong headwind conditions, especially choked up.

[PonoBill]

Dan,
I'll ask Carmen to give you a couple of handles when your back in Hood River.

[NXLVL]

Just to set the record straight.  It was my extended handle on the Maliko paddle that broke.  I believe it was because I had heated it and then cranked on it with a buddy a few times trying to adjust it when all I had was a ghetto hair dryer in a hotel room. we cracked it and I just finished it off in the race.   It snapped 2 minutes into the race just as I started to catch some real bump and get some power strokes in.  It was only the top 6-8 inches so it wasnt a big deal. It snapped right at the joint where the ferrule goes into the shaft.  The paddles have been so bomber and some say I'm hard on paddles.  The Wiki has withstood some solid poundings too and hasn't missed a beat.  At 72 inches it's the lightest paddle I've ever used. Gotta be around 14oz maybe less.  I love the superflex shaft and tiny blade on Wiki for surfing and the Maliko is the ticket for racing 14-UL.  Nothing else out there has the Feel of a Ke nalu because of the pre-preg carbon blade IMO.  Stoked:)

dan,   didnt want to stir things up with the vid.... jus wanted to show the guys how much power you put into each stroke compared to the recreational paddler. by the way.... what are your thoughts on the vertical top hand grip you were forced into. i know you said your back was tourch by the end of the race.

[PonoBill]

NX--no worries, stuff breaks, and we're open about it. Our paddles are strong, but light. There's always a tradeoff between those two.

[PonoBill]

Two days ago I did a Maliko run with a Molokai that was three inches too short. Blew up my shoulders. Switched back to my Maliko with the proper length. What a difference. My shoulders feel great. My biceps are a little sore, but it's their turn.

I think length is the most critical element, though blade size is important too. I can surf all day with a Molokai and feel fine, but for downwind I like the Maliko. Boyum likes the Molokai and has no problems with it. Devin has a Molokai and as everyone has probably seen, absolutely rocks with it.

I'm going to pull the handle on my Molokai out to my downwind length (which is an inch shorter than race length) and see what happens.

[pdxmike]

 Bill--why do you use an inch shorter for downwind than for racing?

[PonoBill]

When you're doing a downwinder you're going fast. One of the reasons Boyum shovels so much is just that even if you plan to pull your paddle early the speed carries it back past your feet. Also the balance requirements make it hard to do a huge reach and not all that productive. A little shorter helps you get the paddle out quicker. Might even be two inches shorter than flatwater length.

I know that all sounds fiddly, but for me the difference between sore shoulders and shoulders feeling fine is an inch or two.  Oddly enough too short kicks them up too.

[stoneaxe]

I need to play around with length a bit. My shoulders are toast from yesterday. Partially because I haven't been out in a while but I also think mine might have been too short.

[PonoBill]

I'd like to know more about how this works. I took out a competitors paddle today, and it fired up my shoulders in no time, which was reassuring. When I first started using the Ke Nalu paddles they were like medicine for my shoulders. I think I've gotten used to them not hurting, so when they do ache some it's obvious. My one hour experiment with a competitors paddle left me with some seriously painful shoulders.

I think the early catch is the reason the length is critical. If a blade has a lot of offset there isn't much of the blade that's vertical when you first put the blade in the water. The Ke Nalu has a fairly large percentage of the blade near vertical as soon as the blade enters the water. So you're pulling against resistance right from the beginning.

I need to ask someone who understand biomechanics why shaft length would be critical in that situation. Maybe Balance Fit? He seems to know his stuff.

[JF808]

does ke'nalu plan on making Outrigger canoe paddles?

[PonoBill]

Yup. I made one for myself from one of our Molokai blades. I like it a lot but it's not ready for primetime. We need a more tapered shaft for it to be optimal. Working on it.

[pdxmike]

I'd like to know more about how this works. I took out a competitors paddle today, and it fired up my shoulders in no time, which was reassuring. When I first started using the Ke Nalu paddles they were like medicine for my shoulders. I think I've gotten used to them not hurting, so when they do ache some it's obvious. My one hour experiment with a competitors paddle left me with some seriously painful shoulders.

I think the early catch is the reason the length is critical. If a blade has a lot of offset there isn't much of the blade that's vertical when you first put the blade in the water. The Ke Nalu has a fairly large percentage of the blade near vertical as soon as the blade enters the water. So you're pulling against resistance right from the beginning.

I need to ask someone who understand biomechanics why shaft length would be critical in that situation. Maybe Balance Fit? He seems to know his stuff.

Your question makes me think how there hasn't been a ton of discussion about how the "best" technique might be different depending on the paddle.  People know it varies depending on conditions, paddler, distance and speed you want to go, etc. but not so much based on the paddle.

So with most paddles compared to yours, you reach, pull without a lot of resistance until the blade moves back a few inches and gets more vertical.   Or if you are getting a lot of resistiance, you're pushing water down instead of back.  With yours, you get more catch further forward.  So do you use the same length paddle, and reach the same, and that means you're avoiding the first few inches of less efficient backwards travel that other blades have until their blades get vertical?

Or do you use a longer paddle to get your Ke Nalu blade even further forward, because your blade grabs more water sooner?  If so, that seems like you're saying there's some advantage to paddling so that you don't have full resistance the first few inches of your stroke.   Maybe that's true, because maybe it's good for the blade to have a chance to shed bubbles and get deep before it gets more vertical and you're applying full force.  I don't know.

And it seems like the opposite might happen at the end of the stroke---your paddle starts scooping water sooner.  So does that all mean that with a Ke Nalu paddle, your stroke should be the same length as other paddles, but you enter and release further forward in relationship to your board? 

It does seem to me like when a Ke Nalu blade enters the water--unless you are using a longer shaft to make it enter further forward than other paddles--your body should be in the same position--bent and pulling hard--sooner with a Ke Nalu. 

So it's complicated because you have the variables of how far forward the blade enters, how long the shaft is, and your body position.  It seems like the first question to answer (people may know the answer)  is whether with the Ke Nalu, you're entering the water at the same point forward, and getting more catch sooner, or whether you try to enter even further forward than with other paddles.

I realize I didn't answer the question and probably made it sound more confusing....

[surfcowboy]

Mike, I think you're onto something. For me, this seems logical that the catch of a paddle is as important as the length/reach.

I'd like to hear more on this, maybe it's a separate thread since it would address how individuals stroke works better or worse with a paddle design. I too have seen guys on this thread talk about how they had to "learn" the paddle. That's not good or bad but it's interesting.

It seems that the Kenalu might be enforcing better/matching technique by rewarding it with performance. Thoughts?