Author Topic: Paddle blade sq in spec clearly not accurate  (Read 1271 times)

leecea

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Paddle blade sq in spec clearly not accurate
« on: July 27, 2016, 12:12:54 PM »
I have two paddles from different manufacturers, both quoted as having the same blade area (same square inches).  It isn't even close when you lay them on top of each other.  Very frustrating when you buy something and don't get what you expect! 

Are the blade area figures only useful if comparing blades from the same manufacturer?  Are they more like guesses than actual numbers?

Bean

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Re: Paddle blade sq in spec clearly not accurate
« Reply #1 on: July 27, 2016, 12:38:37 PM »
I would expect that the actual measurements would be very accurate.  But area can only be a relative measure between different manufacturers and even models within the same manufacturer due to the varying shapes available.

It doesn't take much to increase or decrease the square area of a paddle; if there were just 30 linear inches on the perimeter of a given blade, an average difference of just 1/8 of an inch would translate to 3.75 square inches.

2Rivers

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Re: Paddle blade sq in spec clearly not accurate
« Reply #2 on: July 27, 2016, 01:00:17 PM »
Here's another example about Starboards sizing that keeps me scratching my head...
First is Starboard's Enduro in size Large verses Werner's Nitro F. They both have nearly the same blade dimensions (actually the Enduro is measured out bigger), but there's a HUGE difference in the measured surface area -
Nitro F = 8.25x19.25 @ 110 sq in.
SB Enduro L = 8.3x20.2 @ 89.1 sq in.
How can these be nearly the same size paddles, but with a 20 sq in variance? Especially being that the larger sized paddle in this case is spec'ed with the smaller surface area!

Second is the High Aspect in size Medium verses the Nitro S. These are the paddles that I'm interested in and had originally posted about. I'm seeing a similar sizing variance as well, but it's in reverse -
Nitro S = 6.75x17.5 @ 85 sq in.
SB High Aspect M = 6.3x20.5 @ 84.5
In this case the surface areas between these two paddles are nearly identical, but the paddle dimensions are different mainly by length and slightly by width.
Can someone shed some light on what Starboard is doing different in their measurements or maybe what the rest of the industry is doing different that makes them seem odd in their measurements? Base on the dimensions above, who's really the most accurate on their indicated surface area?

This is what I posted a while a back after noticing the same inconsistencies when researching some paddle models. Very frustrating indeed!
King's Type-S 14' | Soul Firestorm 8'9
ZRE Power Surge ZX4 80sq" | Kialoa Big Eddy
Larry Allison Dolphin Keel

 


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