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Messages - Board Stiff

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1
Gear Talk / Re: KeNalu mana 90 vs konihi 95
« on: July 30, 2021, 05:32:29 PM »
PB/Burchas/RideorDie, thanks for the additional feedback! Sounds like the Mana is worth a try, and probably a better fit for my less competitive approach to paddling these days.

2
Gear Talk / Re: KeNalu mana 90 vs konihi 95
« on: July 29, 2021, 02:57:30 PM »
Rideordie - is your Mana experience with the smaller blade or the 90? Also, it sounds like you prefer paddling with a higher cadence. Does the Mana require a higher cadence to be effective or just make it feel natural to quicken your cadence a bit without an increase in perceived exertion. If the latter, that sounds great to me. But I tend to paddle with a slow, plodding cadence, so if the Mana is better suited to high-cadence paddlers, then it's probably not the right blade for me. Thanks!

3
Gear Talk / Re: KeNalu mana 90 vs konihi 95
« on: July 29, 2021, 08:28:04 AM »
In either case, your stoke quality governs the size. If you aren't surfing or downwinding you have time to get a good catch. Both the Mana and the Konihi are designed to make up for a mediocre catch by keeping the water on the face of the paddle from easily flowing to the backside. If you had a perfect catch, with all the air off the back of the blade, there would be no place for the water on the face to go, so the wings wouldn't help. Not many people can do that, so the Konihi and Mana make up for any sloppiness.

Konihi has more aggressive wings, so it's a somewhat brutal catch monster. People who are used to it have no problems with it, but put it in beginner's hands and they will hate it. The Mana is a little more refined, and depends a bit more on the paddler giving a decent stroke. The Konihi punishes every poor catch, the Mana doesn't.

I use a Konihi more than any other paddle. I like the Mana for surfing, and for casual use, but I'm fastest with a small konihi, second fastest with a big Konihi, then both mana's, then everything else. Going fast with the small Konihi requires total concentration. If I start picking daisies I'm slow. The big Konihi doesn't require as much concentration, the Mana just takes whatever you give it and makes it good.

Bottom Line: If you're used to a big Konihi you're unlikely to ever feel you're doing as well with anything else.

PB - Thanks for the feedback. Lots of good info here, and I want to make sure I understand it!  :D

It sounds to me like you're saying that with a perfect stroke, the Konihi outperforms the Mana, but that the Konihi's performance is more dependent upon stroke quality. So for example, if you were to graph both paddles' performance as a function of stroke quality, the Konihi's performance would be higher at 100% clean stroke, but it would decline at a faster rate as stroke quality degrades.

Does that sound right, and if so, might the Mana 90 be as fast as the Konihi 95 in conditions that compromise stroke quality (fatigue, chop, etc)? I'm not racing much these days and mostly paddle in "flatwater" with enough chop that I'm rarely getting a perfectly clean catch, so I'm trying to understand if the Mana's greater tolerance for sloppy stroke might make it a more effective paddle for me, despite the pure speed edge the Konihi has under optimal conditions. Put another way, if the Konihi is 10% faster than the Mana under optimal conditions and stroke technique, but the Mana is close to equal or better when I'm tired, the water is choppy, and my stroke goes to hell, I'd be faster most of the time with the Mana.

I'm also wondering if in clean and or race conditions where I'm actually really concentrating, might the Mana be easier to paddle at a slightly faster cadence and thereby offset some of the performance difference assuming identical cadence?

Thanks!


4
Gear Talk / Re: KeNalu mana 90 vs konihi 95
« on: July 29, 2021, 07:44:38 AM »
The Mana is much more refined blade imo. Very efficient and good power. No brainer for me.

I consider my self to have solid stroke and even at 82 SQI I can't keep up with the paddle unless i'm in really good shape.
I could easily go with a Mana 72 SQI (if only) and be a happy camper for the most part, especially surf/foil.

Burchas - Thanks for the feedback. Have you used the Mana 90, and if so, do you feel ths same about that one? 

5
Gear Talk / KeNalu mana 90 vs konihi 95
« on: July 28, 2021, 01:24:16 PM »
After losing my konihi 95 paddle :'( that I've been using for years, I'm trying to decide whether to replace it with another of the same or switch to the mana 90. I've read through all the the existing threads here a couple of times already, but I'm still uncertain. Some of the observations from these threads that have stuck with me:
  • Mana is slower in flatwater: I don't race a lot any more, but even when touring or paddling for fitness, I don't want to go much slower at a given level of effort than I can with my Konihi
  • Mana is more forgiving of sloppy entry (less susceptible to Konihi's "toilet flush" effect if not perfectly planted): This sounds like a good thing, as I'm often paddling in choppy coastal conditions where getting a perfectly clean catch every time requires more concentration than I'm prepared to sustain.
  • Mana is most efficient in 1st 1/3rd of stroke, less so afterwards: Does this mean I'll generate less power per stroke with the Mana, or that the same amount of power will be concentrated more in the 1st 1/3rd than in the rest of the stroke? I tend to have a long, heavy stroke and pull hard on the paddle all the way back to my feet with my Konihi. If the Mana helps me shorten my stoke and pick up my cadence a bit with the same amount of power and effort, that would be a good thing. If it just has a more limited effective range and will make each stroke less powerful overall, then I'd probably be better off sticking with the konihi
  • Mana feels like a relatively larger paddle (i.e. 90 feels more like a Konihi 95): I started with a Maliko, then tried a small Konihi (hated it) and quickly traded that one for the 95 konihi. I tend to prefer a long, heavy, slow stroke and really don't like the fast cadence needed to get the most out of a smaller paddle, so I wouldn't want a paddle that feels distinctly smaller than a Konihi 95.

I'd appreciate any feedback from KeNalu users on whether I should try the mana or stick with the konihi.

Thanks!
BS


6
There are almost endless great paddles out there, and if anything they are even more personal than boards. I tried a lot of different ones in the early days. I'm biased of course but I haven't paddled anything but Kenalu in years. Elite Maliko 95 for surf and Konihi 94 for distance/flatwater. I like the full carbon shaft for surf for the instant response and the xTuf S for distance or I need to give my shoulders a break. Hot glue makes swapping components easy.

What he said! I haven't tried many other paddles, mainly because I loved the softer feel of the xTufS shaft, the flexibility of swapping out blades and handles as needed, and the performance and fit with my paddling stroke of the Konihi blade when I tried these early on.

7
Gear Talk / Re: Weed fin for JL Sidewinder
« on: July 07, 2020, 01:24:39 PM »
The trick in cross-winds is to stand further forward from your normal paddling position. You achieve 2 thing doing that:
  • You have more control over the nose
  • in many board that means your fin isn't as engaged, specifically the lower part closer to the base
With the relative shallow depth of the dolphin keel, you'll feel this affect right away. And it makes a difference paddling in cross-wind. I would know, I do it for living ::)

I'm familiar with that trick!  :)

On my sidewinder, I'm in the habit of standing with my toes forward of the handle in strong side winds, and this definitely helps resist yaw.  With the the dolphin keel carrying so much of its area close to the board, I can see how this could be a particularly effective approach with that fin.

Thanks!

8
Gear Talk / Re: Weed fin for JL Sidewinder
« on: July 07, 2020, 09:23:13 AM »
Burchas, Larry, thanks for the recommendation on the Dolphin Keel. That's a nice looking fin!

While I mentioned "tracking" in my requirements, I think what I really meant was something that I can get a lot of strokes per side without causing the board to turn too much. Somewhat related to this, I'd prefer a fin that will "drift" a bit in in side winds, rather than causing the nose to pivot around a firmly planted tail fin and requiring a lot of effort to correct direction. Does this alter your recommendation for a relatively large area fin like the dolphin keel at all?

9
Carib, SUPeter - I'm up in Scarborough and paddle/surf Pine Point, Scarborough Beach, and Higgins quite a bit. If y'all ever get out this way, give me a shout. I'm just hearing about this wing foiling and would love to see it in action!

BS

10
Gear Talk / Re: Weed fin for JL Sidewinder
« on: July 06, 2020, 01:17:56 PM »
Thanks for the suggestions, A10! Those both look promising, and the Red Fish is priced to move right now.

With fairly similar area and height between the Red Fish/Byron Kurt, Weedless (maybe the 8.3 rather than the 7, though I can't find detailed dimensions for either SIC fin), and even the JL Tracker Weed fin (I just remembered I have one from my M-12 that I don't use on that board) I'm wondering what effect their very different shapes are intended to have on performance? The SIC is kind of "raked dagger" shape, with straight lines and lightly increasing width toward the base, whereas the JL Weed's area is concentrated more toward the tip. The Red Fish/Byron Kurt seem to have more area in the midsection, with a narrower base and tapered tip.

Here's my not-to-scale, ugly, freehand attempt to show their shapes superimposed on each other:


 ;D

At this point, I'll probably give the JL Weed a try before buying anything else, since I've already got it, but I'd like to understand the theory of why these different fins put their area in different places too.

11
Gear Talk / Weed fin for JL Sidewinder
« on: July 05, 2020, 05:49:12 PM »
Can anyone recommend a better weed-shedding all-around fin for the Jimmy Lewis Sidewinder? The stock fin seems to have a good enough balance of tracking, stability, and maneuverability for my use, but it's AWFUL at shedding eelgrass and similar stringy seaweed. I've tried the SIC Weedless (7" ?) from my Bullet on the sidewinder, and that's much better at shedding the weeds, but it makes the sidewinder a bit tippier than I'm comfortable with.

I mainly race and tour this board in flatwater and coastal chop (quartering wind, reflected waves, etc), so I'm more interested in speed and stability than downwind/surfiness.

Thanks!

BS

12
SUP General / Re: Storing boards in PODS container
« on: June 16, 2019, 12:08:37 PM »
I don’t want to hijack the thread, but it’s relevant, I think.  If a board is going to be sitting for several months, what position is the best way to store it?  On straps (like the Suspenz SUP rack), on two “arms” (like a flat rack), on its side on foam blocks, upright on its tail, or...???

I've left mine sitting either flat or on the side rails on a padded rack or on old tire in my garage year round. Haven't noticed any problems from them either way.

13
SUP General / Storing boards in PODS container
« on: June 02, 2019, 01:40:46 PM »
I've got to move everything out of my garage for a month or so this summer while it's under construction, and I was thinking a PODS storage container would fit all my boards, lawn and garden tools, and other gear securely in my driveway. My only concern is the heat... does anyone know if these get hot enough if parked in the sun to cause any problems for SUPs? Any other experience or tips on these, or good alternatives?

Thanks!

BS

14
Gear Talk / Re: glue on handle recommendations?
« on: April 07, 2019, 08:50:30 AM »
Yeah Luke, the NSI handles are the best. I've been using them for tail handles on all my boards for years. You've seen them.

EZ Plugs suck. The 3M adhesive pads on the NSI handles are far superior. If you shop around, you should be able to find them for under $30.

Pono's idea for using the soft NSI cargo loops seems like a simple solution as well and might cost less. For what you are doing, that might be the way to go. The rope they use for them is indestructible.

I've never had a problem with EZ Plugs, but the NSI loops with the adhesive pads do look like a lot less fuss, and easier to rig and detach from than the narrow holes on the EZ Plugs. Pono's "poor man's handle" idea may be just what I need, if I can't find a deal on the real handles.

Thanks!

15
Gear Talk / Re: glue on handle recommendations?
« on: April 06, 2019, 10:51:30 AM »
Thanks for all the quick suggestions! I've used the EZ plugs before and have been pretty happy with them. The NSI loops look even nicer, with less mess and maybe a more natural fit on the contour of the board. I was planning to try those anyway for my deck rigging, and their handle looks like a good option too. A little pricey, though, at $35 for a single handle. I'll have to look for that on sale somewhere.

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