Kialoa GL Surf Paddle

[jd]

Glad we finally got some first hand experience.  Starman, what QB paddle do you have?

Seems odd that the QB would be dramatically heavier if yours is an all carbon.  My Kanaha is about 84 or 85" with the 9" blade (110sq in) and weighs in around 18oz. 

Maybe the Kialoa site has the weight for the GL overstated?

[Kojack]

Kojack, I had a chance to demo the Kialoa GL (Gerry Lopez) at the Standup for the Cure Saturday. REALLY liked the paddle. Nice feel on the catch and it felt very comfortable. Went back to the beach and grabbed my QB for a side by side test. There was a pretty stiff breeze yesterday so had a decent test in both directions. Right away I noticed the difference in weight. The Kialoa GL felt MUCH lighter. So much so that I started to think my QB had a rock tied to it. I would stroke about 4 times on a side and quickly switch paddles and, again, I could not believe much easier the GL paddle was to lift out of the water. Never a wobble and nice clean grabs but the game changer was the weight and how it felt paddling. Hope that helps.

Starman thanks for the review.  Am curious was the kialoa the GL race paddle or surf paddle.  The review leads me to believe it might have been the race paddle.  Thanks again for your help.

[Boludo]

Nice paddle but what's to justify the much higher price?
All this talk about weight doesn't really matter near as much to me as I need small blade and flex. Sounds like the shaft is stiff. Is that right?  The flex in shaft is what keeps me in the water longer with no joint and back pains.
Now what about blade size.  At 100 sq.in. blade I would not consider buying one. I know many of us that really on the high cadence 84 sq in wiki blade to keep our small boards moving without significant yaw.  For a surf paddle they need more blade options (smaller).
With all that said, I love Kialoa and the design looks amazing but could they have missed such an important feature?

[Kojack]

Nice paddle but what's to justify the much higher price?
All this talk about weight doesn't really matter near as much to me as I need small blade and flex. Sounds like the shaft is stiff. Is that right?  The flex in shaft is what keeps me in the water longer with no joint and back pains.
Now what about blade size.  At 100 sq.in. blade I would not consider buying one. I know many of us that really on the high cadence 84 sq in wiki blade to keep our small boards moving without significant yaw.  For a surf paddle they need more blade options (smaller).
With all that said, I love Kialoa and the design looks amazing but could they have missed such an important feature?

Boludo

Thanks for your feedback-I agree the pricing is really high.  More than anything I was curious just to hear from people that actually have seen the paddle.  I am interested to hear your thoughts on the smaller boards, smaller blade statement as I am stepping down and what you referenced with yaw makes a great deal of sense-and not something that I had thought about.  I also like the ideal of a bit more flex as I have a balky shoulder so anything to keep me pain free I am supportive of as well.

[JeanG]

If you want a great paddle which is easy on your joints, there is one specific paddle which jumps immediately to mind.

[starman]

Kojack, I had tried the race paddle with the oval shaft. They did not have the surf version. As far as cost the oval shaft is more difficult to build. The paddles are (or at least the shafts) made in Bend, Oregon and not China. But that's a fuzzy factoid I would double check with Kialoa. The other feature had to do with some voodoo with the blade length but that would be a question for the Kialoa rep as I don't have a good enough memory to pass on what I was told. I think it involved the ability to alter the depth you "stick it" to change how it pulls.

They are also making available several different handle designs for their paddles.

They did not have the surf specific GL paddle to demo so I can't offer any input. But if it's anything like the race paddle then it's likely to be pretty sweet. Considering Gerry Lopez was providing the input during the design I suspect it should work well for the rest of us mere mortals.

Kojack, depending on where you live I would contact Kialoa for the name of the local rep to see if you can demo the paddle. Lot's of blah blah blah on gear so trying is the only way you will know if it's right for you.

[skyfish]

Try Werner's Nitro, best surf paddle ever! Lots'of'power in high or low cadence. Been using mine for almost 5 years in Puerto Rican north shore waves almost every day. Never wash it and keep it on mymsurf racks most of the time. Still going strong with all of its war scars.
Ah! And it is made in the USA!