Author Topic: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle  (Read 551842 times)

613SUP

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #480 on: March 29, 2012, 10:33:17 PM »
Hey Bill, I certainly appreciate not only the design of the Ke Nalu paddles, but that you came up with the idea of using hot glue.  All the hot air from the heat guns and hair dryers used to assemble everyone’s paddles made its way to parts of Canada last week and melted most of the ice off the rivers and lakes here in Ottawa.

I finally got my Maliko out after a 3 month hibernation in its Ke Nalu paddle bag.  With the winter layoff, I was starting to forget how good this paddle was.  Once I got the paddle into the water where it belongs, the “quietness” I remembered was not due to the fact that there was no one on the sub 40 degree water, but due to the linear tracking of the paddle - I rarely hear it knocking on the side of my board.  I haven’t decided yet if I should put a paddle guard on the paddle. 

Bill, do you play golf?  Offering separate paddle components parallels that to building golf clubs – just get the heat gun out and replace what you need.  Also, a common piece of advice you give is, “let the paddle do the work”.  It’s the same advice I tell my family and friends on how to hit a chip shot – let the club do the work.

Keloke – I’m 215 and paddle mostly flatwater. I have no regret getting a Maliko (untested and unseen)  over a Molokai because I know a 10 km paddle can easily turn to a 20 – 30 km paddle when the conditions are good and the shoulders don’t hurt.

For all the pics of Ke Nalus in warmer climates, here’s one at the opposite spectrum (and to enforce the Canuck stereotype), my Ke Nalu on ice:


PonoBill

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #481 on: March 30, 2012, 12:56:35 AM »
I met some nice Canadian folks from Ontario at the Fish Market Resturant in Paia a couple of days ago. they were saying the winter had been pretty mild. Must have been the heat guns.

Letting the paddle do the work is the key to the Ke Nalus, especially the Molokai. Did a southside run today and I was focusing on how little I could pull and still drop into a swell. It was a pretty surprising exercise. For the most part it was actually easier to catch swells pulling gently than pulling hard. I think when I pull easy I get the force more forward and I recover earlier. Or perhaps I'm just upsetting the board less. It was pretty interesting. Give it a go, especially if you have a Molokai.
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.

Dwight (DW)

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #482 on: March 30, 2012, 04:48:35 AM »

Letting the paddle do the work is the key to the Ke Nalus, especially the Molokai.

Agreed. I recently pulled something in my shoulder trying too hard, to catch a mushy wave. My Maliko blade feels like its planted in concrete. I love that feeling. I just got too excited and pulled too hard one time. Now I'm paying for it with something strained and sore.

So last night I took the Wiki blade off my wife's paddle and glued it onto mine. Love being able to do this. Way too small a blade for me. It was slipping and generating huge whirlpools off the blade. I totally lost the board-being-pulled-to-the-paddle sensation. I'm not buying your theory it's the swing weight. I still think you need a blade size in between the Wiki and Maliko. For now, I'll use a softer shaft to nurse my shoulder back to health.
« Last Edit: March 30, 2012, 04:51:16 AM by DW »

PonoBill

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #483 on: March 30, 2012, 08:07:02 AM »
OK. we'll look at it. The first wing blade will be wiki-sized though, and that might serve the purpose.
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.

pdxmike

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #484 on: March 30, 2012, 10:41:09 AM »
Letting the paddle do the work is the key to the Ke Nalus, especially the Molokai. Did a southside run today and I was focusing on how little I could pull and still drop into a swell. It was a pretty surprising exercise. For the most part it was actually easier to catch swells pulling gently than pulling hard. I think when I pull easy I get the force more forward and I recover earlier. Or perhaps I'm just upsetting the board less. It was pretty interesting. Give it a go, especially if you have a Molokai.
That is also something Dave Kalama recommends when changing your stroke and as a drill--doing the proper motion, but not exerting effort.  It helps you concentrate on getting your reach and technique down, and shows you how you don't need to use a great deal of force to go fairly fast.  It's great when the paddle magnifies the reward of doing that. 

PonoBill

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #485 on: March 30, 2012, 11:08:02 AM »
It's an odd feeling, I found it very hard to convince myself that it was working, even though it obviously was. It's so counter-intuitive, my mind was coming up with all kinds of reasons why even though I was catching every swell I was going for with gentle pulls, that it was the wind pushing me in, or just a fluke. Some of the time I hardly pulled at all and still dropped right into fast moving swells that are ordinarily very hard to make. It's good news for my shoulders if I can force myself to do it consistently.

I should know better, watch the recent video of Jeremy Riggs at Maliko and you'll see he hardly pulls on his paddle.

If my form is good, I reach way out, set the blade, give a little pull, recover, feather, and reach again then my board stays straight and flat, it accelerates into the swell, and I drop in like clockwork. When I paddle like a lunatic, pulling hard to catch something, the board yaws and tips, and I miss as many as I get.

If Dave Kalama is reading this he's saying "And WHY are you writing like this is big news". He's been telling me that since day one. But now that I'm using a Molokai for downwinding the lessons come home that much stronger.
« Last Edit: March 30, 2012, 11:15:21 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.

Takeo

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #486 on: March 30, 2012, 11:52:29 AM »
Bill, great analysis.  I think time and time again it's been discussed here on the forum that technique is vital to paddling speed and efficiency and with the Kenalu paddles, it clearly rewards good technique!  I have both the Maliko and the Wiki but my go to paddle is the Maliko because of the solid catch and that it's clearly more efficient than the Wiki.  I agree with you that the Wiki has a very light swing weight, which increases cadence, but I also feel the increased slippage also increases cadence. In a downwind situation, I wouldn't use the Wiki, but in upwind and distance paddling, it really works well, in my opinion and has plenty enough catch to keep me moving at my weight, on my boards.

stoneaxe

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #487 on: March 30, 2012, 08:41:42 PM »
Hadn't thought of increased slippage allowing the faster cadence but it would definitely be a part of it. I need to give the Molokai more time. It grabs so hard and I've always been an aggressive paddler I almost seem to pull myself off the board. I've definitely over pulled and blown it on a wave. I think part of that is because I've been swapping around between the 3. I think I'm going to try paddling just Molokai for a month and see how it feels. Try and settle down and focus on technique for awhile.
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

NoahG

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #488 on: April 01, 2012, 10:41:41 AM »
Howzit Bill. Is there any talk about producing a fourth blade - bigger than Molokai?

Love my Molokai and comfortable with it in long races. Thinking a larger blade would be awesome for shorter sprint races.

PonoBill

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #489 on: April 01, 2012, 11:32:34 AM »
There will be a wing version eventually, when we get it tamed. Guaranteed to pull your arm right out of the socket. The wing blades also serve to fill the spaces between blades. A wiki with a wing will catch about halfway to a Maliko, etc.
« Last Edit: April 01, 2012, 11:35:48 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.

NoahG

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #490 on: April 01, 2012, 12:26:05 PM »
Righton. Let me know if you need some help testing. I'm headed to philippines in two weeks for the stand up world series race. I'll do my best to put KeNalu on the podium.

SUPpaddler

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #491 on: April 01, 2012, 04:44:51 PM »
The wing paddle sounds intriguing.  Traditional wing blades are cupped on the outside edge which "grabs" the water like a bucket.  That means they only shed water from the flat inside edge, causing the blade to drift outward (away from the boat) when pulled.  Since you can't use the same blade on both sides of the boat, I'm guessing that you have both edges cupped, and shed water only off the bottom due to a strong offset angle on the blade.  If the water wants to shed off the bottom, the blade will want to move upwards, providing support you could lean on.  Or, maybe you've made one that sheds water through vents in the center of the blade for directional stability. Either might be worth a try.  And, no dihedral is needed for the wing, since the dihedral is merely to cause water to shed more evenly off both edges of a conventional blade at the same time, instead of one side, then the other, causing flutter.   Can't wait to see.

stoneaxe

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #492 on: April 02, 2012, 08:31:00 AM »
Bob Fox at Matunuck Surf Shop in RI is going to be the 1st New England Ke Nalu dealer. What a great vibe. Had a fun day surfing with the crew down there and then built a Ke Nalu on the spot at Bob's shop for  our newest Ke Nalu customer Paul. BTW...thanks for the connection linter, lunch on me next time I'm down, hopefully you'll be back on the water by then.

Part of the vibe I mentioned is how cool Bob is. How many shop owners would be willing to let someone come in and use their power so someone can sell a paddle to one of their regular customers? The portable blow dryer I bought just isn't quite hot enough for on the road building so when Paul decided to buy he asked Bob if we could use the shop which is right up the street. No hesitation with a "sure". Great people and this is obviously SUP central in Narragansett. A steady stream of folks coming into the shop to talk story. The perfect shop for Ke Nalus.

We'll be adding other shops in New England. They'll be kind of spread geographically but the real test of whether they are a fit is how stoked on SUP they are.
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

endlessfight

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #493 on: April 02, 2012, 08:49:02 AM »
finally got to see one of these babies in person. Bill, they are carrying these in Toronto for the lakers! man you're tappin' in to all markets, nice!

anyways this was by far the nicest paddle they had in the store imo, and was the lightest as well. insane looking piece of equipment, i need to try one!

Rogue Wave

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Re: review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle
« Reply #494 on: April 02, 2012, 09:44:47 AM »
... I need to try one!


Anyone near me (Wasaga Beach Ontario) is more than welcome to see and try all the different Ke Nalu models.

Warning though -- you won't be happy with your old paddle after you try a Ke Nalu. They truly are amazing and will take your paddling experience to a whole new level. Seriously!

Lee
« Last Edit: April 02, 2012, 09:56:19 AM by Rogue Wave »
Jimmy Lewis Canada

 


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