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Last summer's paddle length experiment (cut, test, cut some more, retest) predictably resulted in a paddle that's just a little too short, especially for my new Konihi blade. I'd like to experiment some more, preferably with the option to go shorter and longer, so I'm thinking the KeNalu Adjustable Part is what I need next.

Could anyone who's used this provide some feedback for me?

• Can it be used with my existing ergo-T handle, or do I need to also purchase an Extended ergo-T handle to use with it?
• Is the adjustable part comfortable and reliable to use on an everyday race, surf, training paddle, or would you limit it to use in an extra loaner/backup paddle?
• Once you dial in the right length with it, will you have enough shaft left to ditch the adjustable part and put a regular or extended ergo-T handle on directly?

Thanks!

Hey Zoners,

I replaced my no-name paddle with a Kenalu Maliko the summer before last and immediately loved its bite, power, and relatively lower weight. As I've trained and raced more, increased my paddling distance, and focused on my stroke more since then, I've noticed that my arms and shoulders seem to tire before I tax my cardiovascular system. Especially when heading upwind, I often feel that I can't increase my cadence to a point where I've got my heart rate up, and heading into strong winds, it's as if I come to a dead stop between each stroke before dragging myself and my board towards my well-planted paddle. Consequently, when out for a long paddle in windy conditions, I often wear down from shoulder and arm soreness while I've still got gas in the tank, and in races, I can only crank up my cadence for very short spurts.

So I'm thinking it might be time to try a smaller paddle blade, which I'm hoping would allow me to increase my stroke cadence, and also put less wear and tear on my arms and shoulders. I've seen lots of positive reviews on the forum for the Wiki, Ho'ola, and especially the Konihi, and I'm hoping someone who's tried them all can tell me how they differ from each each other in terms of performance, feel, and best use case.

For reference, I'm 5'8 175 lbs (150 not counting the spare tire  ), and most of my paddling is on the NH/Maine seacoast. Most of my training paddles and races are in the 4 - 10 mi range, though I'm trying to do some longer events this year too, if I can avoid burning out my arms and shoulders. If I get one of these smaller blades, I'll still have the Maliko available for surfing or other conditions where it might be better suited, so I'm really focused on which of the small ones will be best for racing and longer distance paddling, while minimizing wear and tear on my joints.

Thanks!

If anyone's in the market for a SUP/SUS-friendly drysuit deal, Amazon's got the Ocean Rodeo Soul available in Blue, size L for $685 ($200 below typical price). This is the lowest price I've seen that size in 6 months (last time it only lasted for a couple days), and the first time in any of the non-discontinued colors.

I picked one of these up in a different color when it went on sale early this Spring, and it seems like it will make cold weather surfing and downwinders more comfortable. I haven't used it enough to do a full review yet, but it's easier to get in and out of than my winter wetsuits, and it doesn't require a frigid change in the parking lot before getting back in the car. 

The frigid weather in New England has produced some really cool waves!



More photos in this article.

Any Zoners on the Cape or Nantucket surfed these slurpee waves? 

I'm going to be in Rincon, PR for a few days in late January and would love to get some paddle surfing in. Any Zoners have recommendations on where to rent boards down there, or where to find SUP friendly breaks?

Thanks!

I'm heading down to Nantucket this weekend and noticed that the surf forecast looks pretty good there. Anybody know of any shops down there that rent SUPs? Also, any good and SUP-friendly spots to surf?

Thanks!

The wind was only 10-15 knots today, but out of the WNW it was lined up perfectly for a run down the Piscataqua. I launched at Cedar Point on the north end of Little Bay about 30 minutes before high tide, and cruised down to Goat Island. Here's the route and data from my GPS app. The wind wasn't enough to build any real bumps, but it made for easy paddling at a decent pace anyway. Other than the Marine Patrol down by the 95 bridge and a couple small motor boats here and there, I had the river to myself most of the way.

Anybody in the area know of some other local downwind routes? I'd love to do some more, especially in the open ocean if there are any good runs nearby. My dream is to hitch a ride to the Isles of Shoals someday and downwind back in a howling east wind. 

I've been looking at different boards to replace my 11' Oxbow Cruiser (primarily for surfing longboard-style and on smaller days, and for my wife to occasionally flatwater paddle or do yoga on), and the Laird Standup Surfer caught my eye.

I noticed, however, that this board's volume is substantially lower than that of many similarly sized (in length and width, anyway) surf/all-around SUPs. The 10'6 x 30 Surfer, for example, is only 140 liters, which is smaller than my 8'10 Allwave, and smaller than many 10'6 x 30 boards by Naish, Fanatic, Jimmy Lewis, Starboard, and others that I looked up for comparison (mostly 155-165 liters and up). The only board I could find that was as low volume as the Surfer in that length and width is the SIC Recon (10'4 x 31, 144 L).

So I'm wondering how volume affects stability and performance (both surfing and cruising), independent of length and width. At 5'8 and about 165 lbs, 140 liters should be plenty of volume to float me, but how would a lower volume board  perform differently from a higher volume board with the same length and width? And does a lower volume board sacrifice any durability (i.e. does a thinner board snap in two easier when pounded by a wave)?

I got my first ding today paddling into a submerged rock:




It's hard to tell from these pictures, but the rock appears to have punctured the "high-resistance skin" on the bottom of this Fanatic Falcon, as well as gouging some deep scratches in it. Fortunately it happened about a minute before I got out of the water, so there wasn't much time for water to infiltrate.

I don't know anything about board construction beyond the marketing info, so I'm hoping the Zone can give me some advice on this. Should I keep the board out of the water until I get it patched up?  How is a ding like this repaired? Can anyone located near the NH seacoast recommend someone locally that does a good job with ding repair? And what should I expect to pay?

Thanks!

2014 Lobster SUP Cup last weekend was fantastic, and before the stoke can fade, Mark and Thor posted this awesome preview video announcing next year's event:



I'm marking my calendar right now!

RipCurl's new SearchGPS surf watch:

So, let's say you're an adequate surfer with some cash to spare. Should you buy Rip Curl's watch this October? Maybe. If you plan to take your game to the next level, it might be a worthy investment. In the right hands, the SearchGPS can be a powerful learning tool (and convenient way to track your undisclosed surfing sweet spots, right down to their GPS coordinates). Otherwise, as in my case, it's a $400 gadget that quantifies exactly how mediocre your wave-ripping skills are.

I don't need a $400 watch to tell me that! 

On my way back to the boat launch from a paddle around Alton Bay on Lake Winnipesaukee this afternoon, a woman swimming nearby struck up a conversation with me about SUP. She mentions that her cousins paddle, but in the ocean.
"One of them actually started some races, including a really long one from Plymouth to Provincetown. He started paddling to regain his balance after a serious illness."

I'm thinking, this sounds suspiciously like StoneAxe's story. "What's your cousin's name?"
"Babcock. Bob Babcock is the one that started paddling to regain his balance..."

"Oh yes, I've met Stoneax, er, Bob before, at the Wellfleet race last year! Very nice guy."

After some more conversation, she tells me "the oldest brother, Bill, who lives out in Hawaii" was the one that got them all into SUP to begin with. He designed some new kind of paddle too."

"You mean one of these?" I said, holding up my Ke Nalu Molokai" 

Small world!

Hey Zoners,

I'm looking for some fin advice for my new 2013 Fanatic Falcon 14' board. I've been paddling it for a couple months now, and while it's quite fast (especially in flat water) compared to my old 11' cruiser, I find its tendency to yaw and roll in any side chop slows me down considerably and reduces my endurance.

I'm mostly concerned with performance racing and cruising in open ocean conditions or protected waters that still have strong currents and lots of boat wakes. Stability and tracking are more of a concern that pure speed, since these factors have a bigger impact on my ability to maintain a good pace over long distances than the fin's drag.

Would replacing the stock 9.75" RaceAce fin improve this board's stability and tracking in mixed/side chop conditions, and if so, could anyone suggest a fin?

Thanks!

I'm look

Hey Zoners,

I'm trying to decide whether I need a board cover for my HRS Fanatic Falcon. Is sun/heat damage a concern with this type of construction? I generally store the board inside, so this would mainly be for those occasions when I leave it strapped to my roof in the hot sun all day at work or when I won't be going straight to/from my paddling destination. The Victory Koredry covers look like they'd provide easy and relatively cheap protection in these situations, but if the board isn't really at risk of sun/heat damage anyway, then I wouldn't want to waste $100+ on one of those.

Thanks!

It has felt like winter would never end up here in New Hampshire this year, but I was still shocked after seeing a nice weather report and surf forecast this morning to find this on the Jenness Beach surf cam:




Please, Summer Sessions, replace that placeholder image with something more seasonally appropriate before you give someone a heart attack! 

Hey Zoners,

I'm planning to purchase my first 14' SUP this season and am looking for some advice to help me choose one. My requirements are:

• Priced under $2K
• All-around board with decent performance in flatwater, downwind, racing, and cruising in a variety of conditions
• ledge-style handle
• durable construction

My other priorities are:

• Stability for my size - I'm 5'8, between 160-175 lbs
• Efficiency paddling against or across wind, current, and chop (most of my paddling is round trip, and I want to increase the range of conditions and distance in bad conditions that I can handle)
• Speed in mild to moderate flatwater and ocean conditions
• Downwind performance in mild to moderate conditions (much of my downwinding will probably be in relatively protected New England waters like Great Bay, Casco Bay, and nearby lakes and rivers on days that I'm comfortable heading out alone).
• Surfability - catching small to medium sized waves way outside at beach breaks like Jenness Beach and the Wall.
• Capable of handling bigger downwind conditions (I'd like to try it anyway!)

After reading lots of reviews over the winter with these criteria in mind, I think I've narrowed my choices down to the 2014 Naish Glide 14' GS and the 2014 Fanatic Falcon 14x27 HRS. I'm hoping to demo both before making up my mind, but since I probably won't be able to try them extensively in all the various conditions and types of paddling that I expect to use one in, I'd appreciate any suggestions, observations, or warnings from Zoners that have experience with these boards already.

What are the relative strengths and weaknesses of these two boards? Anything in particular I should pay attention to when demoing one or the other? Does one or the other sound like a better fit for my priorities?

Thanks!

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After paddling around in circles for a while today, I got out and noticed I'd lost a side fin on my 8'10 Allwave.   

With the number of times the board has landed on my head, I'm thinking if I've got to replace a fin anyway, might as well replace them all with something soft or flexible, like the Pro Teck fins. Does anyone have any experience or recommendations for these and know if they're compatible with an 8'10 allwave? All the fins I own came with my boards, so I don't know much about how to find appropriately fitting and performing replacement ones.

I'm thinking either the SuperFlex or PowerFlex would make sense for me. The SuperFlex are soft all the way though, and say for beginners through professional, whereas the PowerFlex are hard in the middle and soft on the edges and say for intermediate to professional surfers. I'm definitely a beginner, more concerned with trying to catch a wave (usually waist high or less) and not hurt myself than really pushing performance, so the SuperFlex sounds like a better fit. The guy I spoke with at Pro Teck said that those are typically used for flatwater SUP rather than SUS, so I'm curious if anyone else has experience with these.

Also, the Fanatic site says my board has a 5-7/8" center fin and two 5" side fins. The largest side fins Pro-Teck sells are only 4.5", and their smallest longboard-style locking center fin is 7". (They have 4.5" center fins, but it looks like they only come in futures/fcs/lokbox fittings... would I need something like this adapter to use the 4.5" fcs center fin?). Do fins need to be the same size as the stock ones to fit in the same fin boxes, and if not, how would the smaller side fins and larger or smaller center fin affect the board's handling? Again, I'm not looking for maximum performance, but just want to make sure I don't make a change that will make me even less stable when I try to SUS. 

Finally, are there any soft/flexible fins besides these Pro-Teck's that anyone would recommend? And any local shops near NH Seacoast that carry the Pro-Tecks or similar ones? I'd love to replace my missing fin quickly so I can get back out on Saturday if the forecast holds. 

Thanks!

Starting to think ahead about how I can keep SUSing through the winter in NH this year. I'm not very good, so frequent plunging in and out of the water is the norm for me. The last couple years I've given up by early December, but this year I'm hoping to overcome some of the winter gear hassles that have frustrated me and stick it out. I figured out last spring that wearing liner socks under my boots makes it much easier to slip them off after a session, and I'm hoping that thinner gloves will keep me warm enough while allowing me to grip the paddle comfortably and get them off my hands easier after a session.

The next piece I need to figure out is how to keep my head warmer. I've been wearing a 5/3 hooded vest over a 4/3 wetsuit but still find the resulting ice cream headache whenever I go under to be brutal. Is there any kind of hood or hat or face mask that other northern SUSers find helpful for curbing the ice cream headache in the winter? Or is it just an unavoidable consequence of cold water SUS?

Has anyone used these EQ Seals (formerly Sorky) ear plugs? They sound like a good solution to keep the cold water out of my ears during SUS in the colder months. Looks like they're available online for about $50 with shipping, which seems like a small price to pay to avoid getting my ears chiselled down the road, if they work. I'd love to hear feedback from anyone who's actually used them before I shell out the money though.

I've been trying to learn to SUS for the past couple summers on an 11'6 cruiser (no prone surfing experience before that) and have got to the point where I can pretty reliably catch a small to medium sized wave and ride it straight into shore, or occasionally enter at an angle or turn just enough to ride down the line if the conditions are just right.

I recently got an 8'10 Allwave and could use some tips on how to adjust to this board and continue to improve my SUS skills. I'm finding it particularly challenging to get into waves that I could easily catch on my longer board. On the cruiser, my technique was to stand in parallel stance right over the handle, paddle hard, as the wave approached, and lean forward almost like a downhill skier as the tail started to lift and take another stroke or two, and then jump into a surf stance as the board slid right into the wave.

On the Allwave, I can't seem to get the positioning right. Taking the same approach as on my cruiser, the waves seem to pass right under me. If I lean or step forward more, the stubby nose seems to plow into the water, slowing me down. If I lean or step back, the board just rides up and over the wave. The only thing that's helped any is trying to catch the waves closer to shore where the shortboarders are lined up, just as the waves are starting to break.

Is there something I can do differently that will make it easier to enter waves a little earlier? I'm sure more practice will help, but any tips to help me shortcut some trial and error would certainly be appreciated!