review of the Ke Nalu (Pono Bill) paddle

[PonoBill]

Yeah, we're working on that. You'd be amazed how hard it is to fix a simple shipping problem. The last iteration of my attempts gave Tom at Aloha Standup Paddle a minus $301 shipping bill. Good thing Tom is an honest guy.

[SUPerstitious]

Superstitious--try a little added length--not a lot, just edge up in 1/2" increments and see if your back pain diminishes. Mine's gone completely, my back hasn't felt this good in 20 years, in fact I've almost forgotten I ever had back pain. It was literally a matter of a little over an inch for me.

I am talking about back pain that stems from a back surgery I had several years ago.

I will have to play with the paddle length, but that means getting an Extendo handle, which I cannot justify spending $35 for just shipping on. Once the website can charge me a reasonable shipping fee for just a handle, I will give it a try.

[carvemeister]

Just curious....I got my Ke Nalu yesterday and glued it all up with a heat gun.  Pretty simple job and it went together very nicely.  Hopefully I'll get to paddle after work tonight.  I ordered the xTuf(S) shaft and the extended handle, overall my paddle is ~88"
Flexing it against the floor, the shaft certainly felt a lot softer than the Werner Spanker I had been using, not that it matters until I actually try it out.  But I was just wondering how would I know I actually got the (S) version and not the xTuf?  There was a small sticker on the shaft, which I peeled off, but I vaguely remember it had the number 70 or something on it.  Sorry for the long question, but just curious how the shafts are identified.  I wasn't clear to me.  Thanks.

[swordfish1227]

If it said 70 you're good. the regular xTuf has 60 on it.

[carvemeister]

Great!  Thanks for the quick reply.  I wish I hadn't peeled the sticker off so quickly, All I really recalled was something with a 7, definitely not a 6.  Not that I really doubted it, but  It's always good to see something to ID the shaft.  I believe I read that doesn't really represent the actual flex number (if that was the intent), and that it's really closer to an 85 or 90, comparing it to the others?

[swordfish1227]

Great!  Thanks for the quick reply.  I wish I hadn't peeled the sticker off so quickly, All I really recalled was something with a 7, definitely not a 6.  Not that I really doubted it, but  It's always good to see something to ID the shaft.  I believe I read that doesn't really represent the actual flex number (if that was the intent), and that it's really closer to an 85 or 90, comparing it to the others?

It's kind of a progressive rate spring. It's like a 70 flex for the first inch of deflection, then it gets progressively stiffer. This is the stacking effect we talk about with both xTufs.


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[carvemeister]

Thanks. I'll report back after my paddle tonight!   

[PonoBill]

Exactly right. The xTuf (S) feels very flexy until you paddle it, and then it feels almost too stiff. After the first inch of flex it stacks to about 85 on our scale, and the next inch takes it to just under 100.

[soepkip]

Do your hands get wet, so you have to really grip the paddle shaft tight?  I got golfers elbow too.  I belive mine started last summer when I started to sweat, and had to grip my Epic wing paddle (surfski) really tight. 
If that's the case, the texture on the Ke Nalu shaft ought to help.  I think it helped my golfer's Elbow.

My hands are wet all the time, I am going to wax my Ke Nalu shaft from now on to make it even less slippery.
And I will concentrate on not gripping it too tight.

Thanks for your thoughts.It hadn't crossed my mind that gripping my shaft too tight might be the main cause of my elbow problems...

[soepkip]

that's absolutely right. Some people are fine with that, I like the little boot at the end, but if you're not used to the delay it's irritating. I need to figure out a way to get a stiff shaft to soepkip. Freight has gone completely insane.

I used my xTuf/Maliko for  a month now , didn't touch any other paddle and still think it is to much flex for me.
And for my golfers elbow a more relaxed grip might be more important then a flexing shaft.

Getting a stiff shaft to me is a very good idea but could you please make it a complete paddle, I am dying to try the big blade...

[PonoBill]

So Carvemeister--what did you think?

I tried a Wiki with an xTuf(s) paddling around yesterday--I really like the combination. Super smooth, and very easy to drop into a comfortable cadence. I need to get some good speed data on all these combinations. I think it's going to be interesting stuff.

[carvemeister]

Bill, I haven't had as much time to get out the past few days as I'd hoped, so I was going to wait a bit before reviewing.  Keep in mind that I've only been paddling for a few weeks so far, so it's a little hard for me to properly assess the differences in paddles.

That said, my first impression was it's a beautiful light paddle which went together great with the hot glue.  I also like the slight shark skin texture.  My first paddling impression was that it felt a lot softer than the Werner Spanker I was using.  But the Spanker was too short for me and also had a slightly larger blade.  I felt ok with the Spanker's stiffness, but the Ke Nalu is ~7" longer, which feels like a much better length.  However, it felt a bit more sluggish to me in initial acceleration.  I also seemed to have a little trouble getting my 12' 6" JL Mission to plane as easily, so it felt as if my top speed was slower - but then I have no real clue as to what I'm doing out there. 

I watched some more paddling technique videos and went back out a little for an hour or so and enjoyed the paddle a lot more after I think I changed my technique a bit.  The paddle is certainly very smooth and does have some pop to it, unlike the Werner.  I have compared a few GPS watch speed measurements and it seems like my speed is about the same as with the Werner, maybe even a bit faster.  Whether it's just the paddle or better technique, I can't say, but as a rookie, the avg. speed I can muster right now for an ~ 1 mile paddle on the L.I. Sound on a very calm day is ~4mph.  I've "apparently" hit a max speed of about 4.8mph with the Ke Nalu.  Again, I don’t have much data and none of it accounts for tides or wind differences.

I tried to go out yesterday for the first time in a sea of whitecaps and ~3' waves and couldn't stand up for more than 5 seconds so that didn't help, but sitting on my board like a kayak, the Ke Nalu had me cranking along pretty well!  Overall, I do like the way the paddle feels and obviously, it will only get better.  Possibly, I may feel like I need a slightly stiffer shaft at some point, or a bigger blade.  I'm not sure, but for now, this is a sweet feeling paddle and I certainly need to improve my technique a lot. 

The extended ergo handle is great, and I love the fact that I can just change the shaft or blade later on.  It’s a keeper for that fact alone., so I see no reason I’d ever have to switch to another paddle at this point.

[PonoBill]

Great stuff, Carvemeister, thanks.  Ke Nalus are definitely paddles that reward good technique, or maybe  just punish bad form. It will be interesting to see how both paddles feel to you as your technique changes.

I assume you've seen Dave Kalama's paddle videos on his site. If not, watch them carefully. Ke Nalu paddles work best with a Tahitian stroke or a very disciplined Hawaiian stroke the never gets past your feet.

[Seattle-Wind]

Alright I finally gave in - ordered a Maliko w/ 100 flex shaft. I'll post an in-depth review and maybe a few pictures as well when I get it dialed in. Looking forward to seeing what all the fuss is about Pono 

[stoneaxe]

Great stuff, Carvemeister, thanks.  Ke Nalus are definitely paddles that reward good technique, or maybe  just punish bad form. It will be interesting to see how both paddles feel to you as your technique changes.

I assume you've seen Dave Kalama's paddle videos on his site. If not, watch them carefully. Ke Nalu paddles work best with a Tahitian stroke or a very disciplined Hawaiian stroke the never gets past your feet.

I'd one up that....if Dave does a clinic anywhere near you ...go! Probably the best SUP related dollars I've spent and that includes over any gear. And it's something that only increases in value...it's kind of like compound interest....better paddling leads to better more fun time, better more fun time to more paddling, more paddling to better paddling. You've got the gear, your next investment should be in yourself.

More gear will come later of course. A side effect of the circle of paddling is the consumption of large amounts of gear...goes well with beer...