Another crappy paddle...

[sup_surf_giant]

My wife needed a longer paddle to use w her race board.

Found her a Quickblade SlimJim 100 on Craigslist.

Tested it in the surf today.

IT FLUTTERS.

My experience:

Kialoa = flutter
Quickblade = flutter
No name adjustables = NO flutter
Werner = NO flutter

Pleased don't talk about grip strength and limp-wristing as neither is in play here.

Poor design is poor design.

I'll be sticking with proven player with Werner. Still haven't tried the KeNalu. If it fluttered I would want to break it I'm half.

[Easy Rider]

I have paddled a QB Slim Jim many, many times (and almost all other Quickblade paddles) - - with no "flutter" at all. 

Just saying.

[PonoBill]

Try the Ke Nalu Konihi. I can't MAKE it flutter.  Not cheap, but it does not flutter.

Really, no Ke Nalu will flutter if you relax your lower hand enough, but some people have a problem doing that. I did a downwinder with the Konihi today, and it was really great. No noise, no flutter, no vibration. None, zero, nada. No matter what I did. Well, if you let the throat get above the water it makes a lot of noise, but push it two inches deeper and it's silent. Spooky silent. Or maybe I'm just getting deafer.

[Muskoka SUP]

I have, and use, a Quickblade (Kanaha elite), a Ke Nalu Molokai, a Werner Spanker, and a Zaveral ZRE.   None of them flutter after a few minutes of paddling.  It's amazing how your body and muscle memory can adapt your grip and stroke if you let it. 

[Muskoka SUP]

I should add that I'm talking about "flutter" after switching from one paddle to another the next session/paddle.  Using the same paddle every time you go out guarantees no flutter. 

[shankfoo]

Yep. I went from a Werner to a QB, and it fluttered on me -- for about a dozen strokes,  then never again.

I think it has something to with that distinctive Werner handle; it puts the top hand in a different position relative to the shaft, almost an inch forward compare to some other handles.  Doesn't sound like much, but under load it's the diff between the base of the palm being 'behind' the shaft vs. 'over' the shaft, if you know what i mean...

[sup_surf_giant]

I have paddled a QB Slim Jim many, many times (and almost all other Quickblade paddles) - - with no "flutter" at all. 

Just saying.

But did you try in salt water?

I use the same grip obviously on all paddles, the failure is in the paddle that flutters it would seem to me.

[sup_surf_giant]

Try the Ke Nalu Konihi. I can't MAKE it flutter.  Not cheap, but it does not flutter.

Really, no Ke Nalu will flutter if you relax your lower hand enough, but some people have a problem doing that. I did a downwinder with the Konihi today, and it was really great. No noise, no flutter, no vibration. None, zero, nada. No matter what I did. Well, if you let the throat get above the water it makes a lot of noise, but push it two inches deeper and it's silent. Spooky silent. Or maybe I'm just getting deafer.

Is this Konihi paddle like $700?

[sup_surf_giant]

I have, and use, a Quickblade (Kanaha elite), a Ke Nalu Molokai, a Werner Spanker, and a Zaveral ZRE.   None of them flutter after a few minutes of paddling.  It's amazing how your body and muscle memory can adapt your grip and stroke if you let it.

But no Werner I've paddled flutters at all? A few different Nitros and a Spanker or two.

[sup_surf_giant]

I should add that I'm talking about "flutter" after switching from one paddle to another the next session/paddle.  Using the same paddle every time you go out guarantees no flutter.

True, but I've used another QB with no flutter.

Seems this one is designed differently.

[sup_surf_giant]

Yep. I went from a Werner to a QB, and it fluttered on me -- for about a dozen strokes,  then never again.

I think it has something to with that distinctive Werner handle; it puts the top hand in a different position relative to the shaft, almost an inch forward compare to some other handles.  Doesn't sound like much, but under load it's the diff between the base of the palm being 'behind' the shaft vs. 'over' the shaft, if you know what i mean...

I'm not smart enough to do the math, all I know is, certain paddles flutter...and that sucks!!

[PonoBill]

Try the Ke Nalu Konihi. I can't MAKE it flutter.  Not cheap, but it does not flutter.

Really, no Ke Nalu will flutter if you relax your lower hand enough, but some people have a problem doing that. I did a downwinder with the Konihi today, and it was really great. No noise, no flutter, no vibration. None, zero, nada. No matter what I did. Well, if you let the throat get above the water it makes a lot of noise, but push it two inches deeper and it's silent. Spooky silent. Or maybe I'm just getting deafer.

Is this Konihi paddle like $700?

Nah, it's about $470 with a 100Flex shaft. The blade is $287 and you can stick it on any Ke Nalu shaft. I've tried it on a 100 flex and a xTuf(S). I like it best on the 100 Flex, but I'm going to give the xtuf another shot.

I can see why the blade is so expensive. The mold must have been hideously spendy and the reject rate has to be high. Beautiful piece--so precise.

People adapt to the characteristics of a paddle. Once they adapt they tend to like the paddle they have conformed to. Kialoa paddles flutter some, but they produce a lot of power, and if your stroke is precise they're very efficient. People who are used to a Kialoa will swear it doesn't flutter, and it doesn't--for them.

It's a tradeoff. There's no perfect design, like anything, a good designer is trading one thing for another. My take on winglets was a reverse of what the Konihi is. It fluttered like crazy but the catch would yank you off the board. Maybe good for the .01 percent of people who could tame it, but for me it was just awful. I was surprised to hear that Lane was coming out with a winglet paddle, but this one works.

[stoneaxe]

Everyone's mileage will vary. Does it flutter for your wife?

I hate flutter, I was lucky to try a mess (12-15?) paddles at the showcase all back to back and paddled the 4 or 5 I liked over the two weeks we were there. Every one I liked had a dihedral. I noticed a definite schism in the 50 or so paddlers at the showcase....you were either one camp or the other...like dihedrals...or not. The or not is mostly flat blades like kialoas with a few odd outlier designs that are now mostly gone. I was a die hard Werner fan, loved the spanker, had a nitro too.  It's become a cliche here on the zone, but 1st time I paddled the Ke Nalu I was blown away. There simply wasn't any comparison. Spanker felt like a 2x4 15 minutes later when I reluctantly took it back. Of course that was awhile ago. I don't know what changes Werner may have made in the interim but you owe it to yourself to at least demo a Ke Nalu if you can.
Of course as far as change goes...the Ke Nalus I'm talking about are the originals...haven't tried a Konihi yet. Trying to figure out a way I can convince my wife I need a new paddle with a full quiver will be problematic.....

[SUPalon]

After trying out different paddles (including Kialoa's Shaka Pu and Wener Nitro, which I didn't like), I ended up with a Werner grand prix in flat(like there's ever such a thing in the bay area..-water/racing, and spanker for Surfing, I'd also paddle my wife's QB AC Kanaha 90 in the surf, I was a happy paddler for a while, no complaints, Then I tried a Sawyer TSR at a trade show and haven't been able to paddle anything else since. I now Paddle a 95"si Sawyer TSR for everything.

It seems that different paddles work (differently!.. for different people, once you find something that works well for you, nothing else comes close, glad I found my match. I highly recommend giving the Sawyer TSR a try, especially the in the 95"si blade size. If you don't believe me ask Mo Frietas, that's all he paddles. 

[raf]

I use the same grip obviously on all paddles, the failure is in the paddle that flutters it would seem to me.

No offense, but the failure seems to be in the "me" who flutters the paddle  
You've just had a bunch of testimonials that QBs (and others) don't flutter for other people.  Some paddles will flutter for some people.  The same paddles won't flutter for all people.