review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle

[spookini]

...to someone who does not have to use measure to make a living, there is no incentive...

Sorry Celeste, but as they say, "beauty's in the eye of the beerholder".

I do use MEASURE to make a living...I'm a remodeling contractor and do lots of precise finish work.  I measure and cut down to the strong/weak 32nd of an inch.  Can't even imagine trying to mark/cut down to the millimeter.  I agree the km makes more sense than the mile though   

[PonoBill]

Will my Maliko/Xtuf shaft become noticeably stiffer when I cut off another 4" from 6'6" -> 6'2"?

I was planning to shorten one of my paddles to my length +0 for my shortboard (6'8") anyway...

The Xtuf shaft is just a little bit to flexible for my taste, especially when really pulling it when catching a wave.

It will be measurably stiffer, but not enough to feel much. But a shorter paddle and lower upper arm position will give you a bit more leverage for digging for waves anyway.

I really wish the push to metric had happened. It's a lot more useful standard, but more importantly, it leaves us out of step with the rest of the world. I do a bit of machining, and inches are the bane of that effort. Machining a tape in inches is such a pain. I almost always make a mistake somewhere and wind up with a junk part. By comparison, metric tapers I can do in my head and I never get them wrong.

I think Celsius killed the push. Too coarse. Metric threads are a bit funky too.

[Celeste]

...to someone who does not have to use measure to make a living, there is no incentive...

Sorry Celeste, but as they say, "beauty's in the eye of the beerholder".

I do use MEASURE to make a living...I'm a remodeling contractor and do lots of precise finish work.  I measure and cut down to the strong/weak 32nd of an inch.  Can't even imagine trying to mark/cut down to the millimeter.  I agree the km makes more sense than the mile though   

Oh, I use fractional inches when those are the tools I have, I use decimal inches when those are the tools I have, and decimal meters when those are the tools I have.  When I have all 3 types of tools I use the native units from the plans in question.  But given the choice of units I prefer to use, decimal meteric is the clear winner, followed closely by decimal inches. 

Fractional inches suck worst for ratios or figuring shrink.  If I am making a casting mold for something out of a steel alloy that is rated for 7/16 per foot shrink, and I don't have a 7/16 shrink rule, making my own on a printer is a pretty nominal job in metric or decimal inches, it really bites to have to try to make your own in fractional inches.

[Scottiver]

Well I got to try out my new Maliko with xTuff S shaft yesterday and here's my intitial feelings about it.

I took it out with my 11'4" Naish Nalu in fairly crummy conditions with a 5-10 knot headwind and small 2-3 foot crumbly surf.

Initially I wasn't immediately blown away by the paddle which is what I was expecting with all the rave reviews on this thread so that was a little dissapointing at first.

It was very smooth but not much more than my only other paddle which is a Werner Nitro.

I'm not a big fan of the sharkskin texture only because it makes it more difficult when changing paddling sides. It feels good in my bottom hand though so I may just leave a one foot section in the middle alone and sand the rest smooth for easier transitions. The smaller diameter of the shaft will take some getting used to as well.

I initially cut one inch off the shaft making it two inches longer than my Nitro, but I think it's too long so i'm just going to cut it down the other two inches.
I'm pretty much a surf only paddler although I have to paddle 1/4 to 1/2 mile to get to my surf spots so the paddle will be used mainly for surf.

Where the paddle really seemed to shine was paddling into waves. It seemed to have much better acceleration and I liked how the shaft seemed to spring me forward into the wave.

Though not blown away initially, it is a solid quality paddle. Once I get it tuned how I like it and get it out in some glassier conditions i'll be able to assess it a little better.

I'd also like to do a side by side comparison with my other paddle to really be able to notice the differences/benefits of this paddle.

[PonoBill]

Get the length right and it will feel better. Paddle with it for an hour, then switch. You're coming from a very good paddle to begin with though, the Werner Nitro is a particularly good design. Still I think you'll get your AHA moment when the length is right for you.

[crtraveler]

After a bit of procrastination and indecision about shaft selection, I just ordered my Maliko / Xtuf / Ergo-T setup a couple days ago from Jim K.....should be at my door tomorrow or Friday it sounds like......can't wait to try it out and write a review....I'm coming from a Kialoa Shaka Puu which should be a pretty close "apples to apples" comparison....


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[AJR]

After a bit of procrastination and indecision about shaft selection, I just ordered my Maliko / Xtuf / Ergo-T setup a couple days ago from Jim K.....should be at my door tomorrow or Friday it sounds like......can't wait to try it out and write a review....I'm coming from a Kialoa Shaka Puu which should be a pretty close "apples to apples" comparison....


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Tell us what you think after trying it out - that's what I'm using right now.  I'm leaning towards the xtuf-s.  You mainly surfing?

[crtraveler]

Yes, mostly surf, but I also do a bit of flatwater distance paddling. If everything works out like I'm hoping, I'll be testing it on flatwater tomorrow then surf on Saturday. 


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[soepkip]

Will my Maliko/Xtuf shaft become noticeably stiffer when I cut off another 4" from 6'6" -> 6'2"?
I was planning to shorten one of my paddles to my length +0 for my shortboard (6'8") anyway...
The Xtuf shaft is just a little bit to flexible for my taste, especially when really pulling it when catching a wave.

It will be measurably stiffer, but not enough to feel much. But a shorter paddle and lower upper arm position will give you a bit more leverage for digging for waves anyway.

I took off another 10 cm, lost 15 gr and the paddle feels a lot stiffer, much better.

[PonoBill]

Soepkip:
Glad to hear that worked for you. A lot depends on how much you already have off the paddle. The shaft is actually straight for about 6 inches (15 CM). After you've removed that the taper starts, so each inch you remove eliminates some of the taper flex.

Scott: Your reaction is really pretty typical. To most people the Ke Nalu paddles feel good right away, they notice the early catch and the stability, but after reading all the comments here they probably expect it to work like an outboard motor and just drive your board.

The big difference is noticeable when you try your other paddle just after using a Ke Nalu. It will feel very odd. It's not so much that the Ke Nalu is "better" than a Nitro--I don't think it is. It's because it different--it was designed to be different. When those difference really fit your stroke and style, it's a much better paddle FOR YOU.  If they don't, it's just a good paddle.

[Strand Leper]

Scott,

My experience was very similar to yours.  First paddle... okay, it's light, the shaft is skinny, it's shiny, it's a nice paddle.  Then I went out on my step up SUP (8'3" by 27") with the blade of the Pono Paddle under one foot while using my other high end paddle... switched back and forth for pretty much an entire session... (with the paddle not in use out beyond the lineup floating) the next week I gave that other paddle to a friend...

What I like best about the paddle, if I had to narrow it down, would be that it forces me to make a better stroke.  I can feel it.  I don't have a great stroke.  I just paddle to have fun... but I can tell that my stroke has improved since I started using the Pono Paddle.

Good luck dialing it in.

SL

[Strand Leper]

One more thing... Moloa was on the OC-1 during my downwind adventure... he is a Ke Nalu guy too... and was bummed that Ke Nalu isn't (yet) making outrigger paddles... he was saying that his outrigger paddle felt like a club compared to his Ke Nalu.

[Dwight (DW)]

Ditto to what Pono and Leper said.

I came from the Nitro. It felt a little better. I could feel my stroke technique getting a lot better. I switched back, and the Nitro felt a little clunky. After I switched from the Elite 90 shaft to the XTuf shaft, my opinion went from a little better to a lot better.

[swordfish1227]

Having a rough day at work and decided to cheer myself up a little. Ordered a Maliko second with the Xtuf(S) shaft. Can't wait.

[Boludo]

I've had a number of different paddles like many of you.  Love the blade of the nitro, it too is very smooth.  I think it's one of the best blades out there.  It's the ultra stiff shaft and larger diameter shaft that I did not care for.  The KeNalu has a smooth blade as well but the flex feels so much better to me.