Analyzing Paddle Length for your Surf SUP

[nosarapaddlesurf]

Hey all,

Not having seen a comprehensive, all in one spot, piece on using a shorter paddle for SUP surfing we thought we'd write one on the Zone.  Be keen to hear people's experiences as they've gone shorter or maybe you haven't...

Analyzing Paddle Length for your Surf SUP

One of the first equipment conversations that come up with our guests is paddle length for SUP surfing.  Most SUP surfers' paddles are too long; a flaw that is easy to spot in the line up. Paddle length has an impact on a high cadence paddle rhythm and maneuverability on the wave. This combination affects your surfing and the length of your paddle is key to bettering both. There are personal preferences and situations that play an obvious part in determining paddle length but for purposes of this piece, I'm assuming we are working with a healthy SUP surfer looking to maximize their ability on the wave. When it comes to surfing, your paddle length should approximately match your height, but be careful because it is not that simple.

If your paddle is more than a few inches taller than you, it is best to make incremental changes. Among many issues that could come up with drastic paddle length changes, the most important to avoid is injury. Dialing in your optimal paddle length through a process will help maintain proper muscle use and form. I personally enjoy this process, and so for fun, will delve further and discuss a few of the key variables that help determine ideal paddle length including; board thickness and volume, paddle technique, paddle blade length and surfing skill. The result will be unique for each person and may continue to change over time as his or her surfing develops.

Board Thickness & Volume
With a lower volume board your feet will sink deeper below the water's surface. This effectively shortens the distance between the water level and your head compared to when you stand on land.  Conversely, if you are on a higher volume thicker SUP leaving you standing 4" above the water's surface the distance increases. By being shorter in the water you can compensate for this height change by shortening your paddle. How much depends on how close your feet are above, at, or below the water surface.  For example, my ankles are under the water on my current board and right now my paddle is 5" shorter than my height.

Paddle Technique
Common sense rules that the lower the volume of the board, the more pronounced are the flaws in paddle technique. Additionally, standing on a board that is submerged underwater requires more power to lift it up on plane and accelerate. This is where efficiency and technique is key in order to effectively drive power without injury as you shorten your paddle. Proper technique offers the appropriate frame while your core body muscles provide the necessary power. This, followed by an efficient exit and quick recovery, set you up for the next stroke. A slightly shorter paddle shortens the time of each stroke thus speeding up your cadence.

Blade Length
Typical blade lengths can range from 15" – 19". Two paddles, cut to the same length, one with a blade length of 17" and the other at 19", will have a different feel. Though counterintuitive, the paddle with the 17" blade will feel longer because there is less blade to bury in the water.  We can get into the details and although not as significant as board volume or the skill of the surfer, it can make a difference. The assumption is you are leveraging proper paddling technique and fully immersing the entire blade, regardless of shape, during the power phase of your stroke.

Surfing Skill
Two key elements to consider here are body compression and degree of fitness. Also, as you work to add more progressive turns to your SUP surfing, having a shorter paddle will make your paddle transitions smoother. Examples include your paddle change to the inside with a frontside cutback and your paddle change combo with a backside crossbow top turn.

A shorter paddle will highlight body weight distribution errors such as leaning on your paddle during turns compared to keeping centered over your hips. Additionally, as you surf with a more compressed body, a longer paddle becomes restrictive making you clumsier rather than fluid. As you maintain a coiled and engaged body, you shorten your body length profile. A higher degree of physical fitness leads to more core body use, engaged thighs and less injury.

All these variables are fun to explore, however, time on the water and your personal drive trumps all previous technical analysis. It just may not be practical to kit up with a new paddle every so often and/or take the chance of ruining your favorite paddle as you resize it. And unless you get out and surf enough to commit to multiple paddle lengths for the varied SUP disciplines, your efforts will have limited returns.

For those interested and committed to improving their SUP surfing, experimentation is a must.  Make incremental changes to paddle length and take note of the differences. Each time you get a new board, re-examine your paddle length and optimize the pairing. 

Above all else, embrace the perspective that you are surfing with a paddle. The paddle is not a cane meant to keep you from falling; it is a tool to leverage your surfing for power and speed and is meant to enhance your surfing.

[Mil-Surf]

Great post!

[supthecreek]

Thanks... that brought up a lot of good points that are ofter overlooked.
Good to consider fitness as well as height, I find the lower back is tested as paddle length decreases.

[standuped]

   I'd take issue with a blanket "Paddle height equal to paddler height".     If you are over plus 10% body height then certainly look at going shorter.   But for surf paddles there are some additional unique factors to consider.         So many people are using blades that are hideously to large and wide.  The analogy I have been coining  lately is a surf blade should be like that of the small chain ring on a mountain bike, seemingly absurd in most conventional circumstances but excel in the critical  moments, like driving into a wave, or accelerating from 0 to 4 mph after clearing white water.   It's all about acceleration, not efficiently sustaining top end pace, all of the conventional "distance racer" biomechanics don't apply.

Famous quote from Chariots of Fire,
Sam Mussabini: Do you want to know why you lost today?
[Harold nods]
Sam Mussabini: You're over striding.
[Sets coins in a row]
Sam Mussabini: Now these coins represent the steps in your sprint.
[Pushes coins together]
Sam Mussabini: Can you find me another two coins, Mr. Abraham?
[Harold looks up]
Sam Mussabini: Remember, over striding. Death for the sprinter

You need to be able to have a complete "front to back" stroke available to you.  That doesn't mean always paddle front to back in the surf ,  but if you can't make a full pull when you need it you are over propped.   Classic example If you find yourself being sucked up the face of a large wave, and critical positioning is required to make the drop and you find your paddle has that "stuck in the mud" feel your blade is too big.  Or if you clear big white water and are driving for your life before the big one comes  and the paddle seams "stuck", again over propped.  Also the shape of the edge of the blade is also analogous to the tread on a bike, too much tread and you have too much rolling resistance.  A very renowned paddle manufacturer just introduced a surf paddle that has a "revolutionary" rounded edge on their blade.  Well folks that have been custom cutting there blades down have already discovered a slightly round edge gives an element of micro slippage that is invaluable for tuning for the full pull  and tuning it is.  Large ocean racing "cigarette boats"  use air injected into the prop to create slippage to help prevent lugging the engines at low speeds whilst trolling though slow zones during poker runs etc.  Bottom line if you can't drive through the full front to back stroke when you critically need it, your paddle is too long and your blade is too wide/big.  Both need to be adjusted.
Also, as the Righteous One has previously mentioned, too short of a paddle can compromise bracing effectiveness.  Again a major element in successfully making it out in certain challenging, shore break conditions when you don't have the luxury of a dry hair, channel paddle.
Also I would take issue with the concept of surfing without using the paddle as a cane, I think people not using the paddle enough is as much of a mistake. But that is a style discussion for another post.
Overall I'd say B- on the post possibly some demerits as well for adding a link to a commercial entity that you are affiliated with.   You could have just made the post.  It's a public forum, so I you want to get free advertising you also open  yourself up to free (open) public comment.... Just Sayin

[Beasho]

Most SUP surfers' paddles are too long; a flaw that is easy to spot in the line up. . . . .When it comes to surfing, your paddle length should approximately match your height.

Agreed 100%.

When I am watching SUP surfing videos it is now painful to see people with long paddles (usually older videos).  They look incredibly unwieldy.

In contrast watch videos with Mo Freitas, Zane, Kai or any high performance SUP surfing and you will see them all using short paddles. 

I add that when I switched down to a paddle that was roughly 2" overhead I could immediately perform a crossbow turn.  This move seemed impossible to me until I went short.

[SUPJorge]

"Bottom line if you can't drive through the full front to back stroke when you critically need it, your paddle is too long and your blade is too wide/big.  Both need to be adjusted."

Lot of wisdom in those words, but I would add (or qualify, or ask) that it's equally a mistake to have too small a paddle, even though you'd easily be able to drive through the full stroke. My preference based on my (limited) experience is to have the biggest blade I can have that still allows me to drive hard when I critically need it. Sometimes I forget and pull myself off the board, but that's my fault. In the critical surfing moments you describe I want to be able to put in the kind of extraordinary, powerful stroke that will torque me from where I am to where I want to be in the shortest time possible, strokes that I'd otherwise never be able to maintain for any extended period of time.   

[Badger]

I've been noticing how with my 94 square inch blade, my cadence seems too slow and I actually feel like I'm not getting enough power out of it because the blade has so much drag through the water.

I'll be going to an 83 square inch blade soon. I have a feeling it will give me a little more power on the take off. At the very least it should be less of a strain on my shoulders.

[Tom]

I find that paddle length is also correlated to board length, shorter boards need shorter paddles. On a shorter board, like Mo Freitas, Zane, and Kai ride, you switch sides much more often and a short paddle is helpful. Small boards yaw more and don't glide as well as longer boards so you must switch more to keep going straight. When you compare today's video to older ones, notice how often they switch sides.

Smaller blades allow a higher cadence and I find I paddle with three strokes to get into a wave on my smaller blade to what what would have been two strokes on my larger blade.

[stoneaxe]

You folks all seem to forget how personal all this is. There are some great generalizations in the original post and in the follow up but there are so many variables that come into play that trying to say what exactly is the right length for anyone but yourself is somewhat meaningless. I started out long like everyone else, went down to as short as same height. I'm now back up to 82". 6" overhead. I also love a big blade in surf.....again its relative....I'm a rather large piece of beef....84 feels like a toothpick in my hands and I move about as well with it. I like, and need with my crappy balance, the bracing power of a big blade. Molokai all the way. It's personal, there is no wrong or right, that simple.

[sup_surf_giant]

Well said Bill, not only is it personal, but I think someone said it above, it's also board specific.

When I'm riding my 6'10 I need the smallest blade possible or else I'm paddling in a circle, just too much water moving for the board I'm on.

When I'm on my 8'5 I can put a bigger blade to use and not have it spin me around.

More paddles is yay!

[Wetstuff]

I got a new Rivera paddle and cut the width to match my Kialoa Methane ..then cut the shaft to be a couple of inches overhead.  First time in the surf in nearly seven months a couple of days ago ..had me going back in after about an hour to get my longer Methane.  The ability to 'brace' seemed easier with the longer shaft - the triangle's base is wider.

Question:  Is there a different stance I should take?  Bend at the knees or waist to fully sink the blade.  In another forum a fellow, Kolas, takes a very low stance for takeoff with his rear knee close to the deck...

Standuped - I welcome anybody who's willing to spend that much time keyboarding advice that all can use ..I don't care if it's that guy who jumps into every posting with; "I maka board you will like too!!!" ..as long as there is information in the posting.  Since there was no link, I'd bet a high percentage would not know what a cool place Nosara is vs. just his'er-her name. 

Jim