review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle

[jd]

With windsurfing and kitesurfing, numb hands means you've got some carpel tunnel coming on. The damage was already done long before this. Windsurfers and kitesurfers moved to skinner grips to solve the issue. It used to be a big issue.

I'm not sure I follow your logic.  The QB paddle has a larger diameter, but windsurfers and kitesurfers went to a skinnier grip to solve the problem.  Here the skinnier grip is the problem.  I've been paddling for something like 6 years and never had this occur ever, unless the skinny shaft is the trigger.  I've also used a Kialoa paddle without this issue as well.

Maybe my fingers and the skinny shaft are not compatible.  It could the skinny shaft focuses too much pressure on a single spot on my fingers, but who knows.  I feel a lot of pressure directly on the bones on my fingers when paddling with it to the point where they become a little sore, which I do not experience with my other paddles.

[SUPpaddler]

Definitely experiment with grips.  My favorite is cork tape for bicycle handle bars.  Don't use foam because the squishy-ness will cause your hands to tire.  I haven't found any other grips that are durabe, light, and waterproof.  I'd be interested to hear any other suggestions for grips.

[bean]

jd, when you switch sides, do you get immediate relief from pain in the hand that you move to the top grip or does the pain continue?  And, are you using a relaxed grip on the shaft?

[Dwight (DW)]

I'm not sure I follow your logic.  

Numb hands and carpel tunnel is an overuse injury. With windsurfing and kitesurfing, a fat grip requires you to squeeze to hold on. While a skinny grip allows you to just hook your fingers and relax. Not having to SQUEEZE to hold on, is such an issue, that during Winter, when gloves and mittens are required, Dakine produced palm-less mittens for wind sports. They actually cut the neoprene out of the palm. The rubber only covered the back of the hand. Some kiters use latex dish washing gloves, just to avoid increased grip diameter. Increased diameters will blow up your forearms and hands.

Therefore, I'm guessing you've got some mental image making your feel uncomfortable adjusting to the skinning grip and you're getting overuse stress. Some kiters complained about the adjustment when the first skinny grips hit the market, but today it's standard.

7/8" grip is now the industry standard for kiting. Windsurfers only wish they could get that skinny. Required stiffness prevents it.

[PonoBill]

Numb fingers used to be a problem for me with any paddle. I could make it clear up while paddling by wiggling my fingers in between strokes. Oh, great, one more thing to remember, but you only do it while your fingers are acting up.

It's pretty much cleared up for me using the Ke Nalu paddles. I'm certainly no expert, but my experience was that it was an issue that went away when I paid attention to clearing up the symptoms. In other words it got worse if I just soldiered on, but once I started doing the wiggling fingers thing the whole issue cleared up and hasn't been as common a problem. My doctor said the soft tissue probably adjusted, but he's no PT expert either.

I use one layer of hockey tape in the grip area, mostly because the sharkskin texture doesn't work well with sunblock residue on your hands, and I don't need reasons to avoid using sunblock. But a little more grip will make it easy to relax your hand more and it will give you some cushion

[Dwight (DW)]

But a little more grip will make it easy to relax your hand more and it will give you some cushion

Good point. I don't know how anybody paddles without better traction on the shaft. I have to use abrasive traction.

[Henrik F]

At last I've tested my paddles. I went out with my Maliko for the first time today and the Wiki was out for the second time. The weather was quite calm in the beginning but it started blowing when I got 500 meters out. I had the Maliko.
What I can say at first is that I got really punished by the paddle for not getting it out of the water fast enough to do my recovery. The Wiki is much more forgiving there. Probably has to do with the size of the blade. It was also much easier to use the Wiki in the wind because it didn't get caught by it like the  Maliko did.

Both paddles were dead silent and I do need some more hours with the Wiki before I upgrade myself to the Maliko. I thought that the winters indoor excercising had kept me fit and ready to take on the paddling right away. How fooled I was... When I was paddling with the Maliko I even thought that I should cut off an inch straight away when I got home but when I got the other one out with the same length there was no problem at all. Just me.

Next time I will not wear a full wetsuit either because that thing squeezed my upper arms a lot. So next time, no matter how cold it is, I'll wear my shorty with no arms and a loose jacket.

Compared to my other full carbon paddle I was really fast with the Wiki and with some serious training I'll probly be even faster with the Maliko.

I love the thinner shaft with the sharkskin. About that hockey tape, is it the sticky one you all use or the cloth like type?

Henrik F

[PonoBill]

I use the sticky hockey tape and put a little surfwax on it at first because the adhesive comes through the cloth as you paddle and it gets TOO sticky--actually makes transitions hard--you can't let go of the paddle. A little wax at first mitigates that, and after a week it's fine without.

Everyone seems to be going about an inch shorter than their standard race paddle with a Maliko. The Wiki seems a little different, some folks are going even longer than their usual and liking the effect. Molokai I haven't completely figured out yet but an inch or two shorter than typical race paddle feels best to me.

Hard to believe that three paddles with an identical design are so completely different.

[pdxmike]

I put some tape on last summer to relieve slipperiness on hot days, but found that what I really like about it is that I can feel exactly how far down my hand is.   It reminds me to get my hand low enough, and to be symmetrical in where I grip with each hand (tended before to grip higher with my left hand). 

[PonoBill]

At last I've tested my paddles. I went out with my Maliko for the first time today and the Wiki was out for the second time. The weather was quite calm in the beginning but it started blowing when I got 500 meters out. I had the Maliko.
What I can say at first is that I got really punished by the paddle for not getting it out of the water fast enough to do my recovery. The Wiki is much more forgiving there. Probably has to do with the size of the blade. It was also much easier to use the Wiki in the wind because it didn't get caught by it like the  Maliko did.

Make sure you're feathering the paddle as you lift, it's best to do your feathering with your lower hand by twisting your wrist inward while you're pushing up. Takes some practice, but if you feather, both the Maliko and the Molokai jump out of the water--they actually feel like they're pushing, and they might be. It's a little less pronounced with the Wiki.

Dan Gavere, who is one hell of a paddler, told me you should feather every stroke, always. Dave Kalama says the same thing.

[Henrik F]

At last I've tested my paddles. I went out with my Maliko for the first time today and the Wiki was out for the second time. The weather was quite calm in the beginning but it started blowing when I got 500 meters out. I had the Maliko.
What I can say at first is that I got really punished by the paddle for not getting it out of the water fast enough to do my recovery. The Wiki is much more forgiving there. Probably has to do with the size of the blade. It was also much easier to use the Wiki in the wind because it didn't get caught by it like the  Maliko did.

Make sure you're feathering the paddle as you lift, it's best to do your feathering with your lower hand by twisting your wrist inward while you're pushing up. Takes some practice, but if you feather, both the Maliko and the Molokai jump out of the water--they actually feel like they're pushing, and they might be. It's a little less pronounced with the Wiki.

Dan Gavere, who is one hell of a paddler, told me you should feather every stroke, always. Dave Kalama says the same thing.

Hello!
I do feather the blade but this was my first with the Maliko and it caught me red handed for not pulling the paddle out of the water fast enough. It is loads easier to get the Wiki out just in front of the foot but there is something with the length of the Maliko (or me  ) I've read a lot of Kalama's info and I'll try to find Dan Gavere too.

Cheers!

Henrik F

[jd]

jd, when you switch sides, do you get immediate relief from pain in the hand that you move to the top grip or does the pain continue?  And, are you using a relaxed grip on the shaft?

Bean, I'd have to pay more attention, but I think yes when I shift my hand from shaft to grip it goes away.

Yesterday, I was just holding the shaft by hooking my fingers not squeezing at all.  Likewise with the handle, not really even holding it; I am more or less just pushing on the handle.  I still much prefer the wider palm type grips over the thinner ones.

How bout an extended Ergo handle Bill?

Maybe I will have to play around with adjusting where exactly the shaft is contacting my fingers as in right on the joint versus the "meaty" part (as Pono calls it) part of my fingers in between the joints.  The cork sounds like it's worth a try as well.  I've got one of those C4 grips laying around that I was thinking about using.

[bean]

Could it be that you are tensing your hand when you hook your fingers?  In otherwords, not gripping the shaft but maintaing a ridgid curl (a hook) with your fingers through the entire stroke.

[PonoBill]

Yesterday, I was just holding the shaft by hooking my fingers not squeezing at all.  Likewise with the handle, not really even holding it; I am more or less just pushing on the handle.  I still much prefer the wider palm type grips over the thinner ones.

How bout an extended Ergo handle Bill?

Maybe I will have to play around with adjusting where exactly the shaft is contacting my fingers as in right on the joint versus the "meaty" part (as Pono calls it) part of my fingers in between the joints.  The cork sounds like it's worth a try as well.  I've got one of those C4 grips laying around that I was thinking about using.

Don't use the C4 grip--too big. Try the cork first.

A few years ago I built up the T handle on my old kialoa Shaka Pu'u with some blue foam and then covered it with EVA from a yoga mat. Not pretty, but I made it to fit my hand exactly. I doubt we'll make an extended Ergo, the Ergo T is our most popular handle. But I'll look at the bits I have and see if I can put something together.

[jd]

I will go pickup some cork at the bike shop.  Looks like it comes in some pretty colors: