Standup Zone Forum
Stand Up Paddle => Gear Talk => Topic started by: digger71 on November 01, 2020, 03:50:05 PM
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Been paddling KeNalu paddles for quite some time and like the sharkshin texture on the shafts especially on hot days. Today I borrowed my friend's Black Project paddle and almost fell over on the first stroke. The texture on Black Project shafts is opposite of Kenalu!
Black Project texture allows your bottom hand to slide up toward the handle but resists when you try to slide down toward the blade. My first thought was that this was an installation mistake but turns out this is the design. Now I'm questioning my entire stroke if this is correct.
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I'm with you on that. I ideally I need resistance on both directions and that's exactly what I have with my ZRE. Quickblade had the same sh*t on their shafts but the new ones are much improved.
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Glad to hear I'm not crazy - at least not because of this! I couldn't believe it was by design. I'm not claiming to be an expert but I've been through a few sessions with Kalama, have paddled a lot of miles flatwater and downwind, and have surfed countless waves. At no point did I ever worry about my bottom hand slipping down toward the blade. My normal stroke is only fingers on the bottom hand and after 2 minutes with the Black Project paddle I found myself grabbing it with a closed fist just to keep the grip secure.
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Will give you a third data point. I love my Ke Nalu Mana but picked up a Black Project and my first session out using it to foil, my bottom hand slid down as I was digging for a wave. I moved back to my Mana and am keeping the Black Project as a backup paddle.
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I generally avoid commenting on paddles other than Ke Nalu because it's easy to assume I'm biased because I was involved with the company many years ago. But my Ke Nalu collection has aged and I thought I'd try something new. I tried a black project and went running back to my mana. Part of the issue was probably that I'm so used to the mana, but I also did the near faceplant on my first hard stroke. I waxed the shaft, used it for an hour, and came back in with sore shoulders and a lot of missed waves. It's certainly a good paddle and if I gave it a long enough test I'd get used to it, but nah. I'll stick with what I like.