Ke Nalu's New Konihi

[Rideordie]

So, adding 3 inches to paddle length, but cadence increases??  Really, that seems like a great amount of shaft to add.   Is the blade actually shorter or are you really swinging a three inch longer paddle?  I don't get it.   
     

[robon]

So, adding 3 inches to paddle length, but cadence increases??  Really, that seems like a great amount of shaft to add.   Is the blade actually shorter or are you really swinging a three inch longer paddle?  I don't get it.   
     

Not sure if I get it either, but it makes sense to go longer on this paddle if you are paddling deeper to get rid of the sucking noise or whatever is making all the racket. Not sure if this provides a cleaner release or better catch, but going longer makes sense obviously if you are putting the blade in deeper than other models.

[PonoBill]

the blade is longer than a typical Ke Nalu blade, and it works better if you make sure you bury the blade, at least get it past the neck on the initial catch. It's not just for noise, the blade is more powerful when it's buried. It's also easy to pick the cadence up without feeling like you're hurrying the stroke. Like when you sprint to catch a bump. It's just eay. I know that seems counter-intuitive. All I can say is wait until you paddle one and THEN call me crazy.

Yes. it's a weird result, but most people have the same reaction. I left my Konihi with Bob in the East Coast and haven't replaced it yet. I think I'm slower without it--I'm struggling a little more to catch bumps, though I'm having good downwinders. Not a huge difference, it just seems to give me a little more speed for a little less effort. Enough to be noticeable--or maybe I'm just being fooled by the smoothness. I don't know. I look forward to someone doing a little comparative testing.

No question that it's a weird blade, and no question that the winglets are doing something profoundly different.

[desfluranesup]

Agree with Bill that you have to fully bury the paddle all the way for it to 'work'
I've just changed from the 84 to the 95, the lack of 'catch' feel after my Maliko was too much.
Just need this bad chest to go so I can get on the water.

[stoneaxe]

I found one thing I'm having an issue with. I use my paddle for bracing far more than most. I used the Konihi yesterday for 15 miles in a mix of conditions. For the most part it's awesome but I occasionally felt like I was catching the edge when I used the back of the blade. Particularly near the end as I tired a bit and the conditions went a little squirrelly. It also made me wonder how it would be in big surf on the face of a wave.

What size is this one Bill? I think I can go bigger.

[PonoBill]

It's the 95.

I need to write a long post on this, but lately I've been playing with close bracing instead of bracing by winging out the paddle. You try to brace exclusively with the blade behind you and close to the board. It's what you do in an OC6 to prevent a huli, because winging out your paddle can get them broken if you have a huli, or even trap and break your arm. You can put a lot of pressure on the blade with it right next to the board, and have very fine control. It also doesn't turn the board as much as a wide brace does.

Bottom line, the close brace works better than a winged out paddle for regaining your balance. takes a little time to come to trust it, but it's a powerful tool. Try it with the Konihi, I bet it works like gangbusters with the winglets.

[LM]

I found one thing I'm having an issue with. I use my paddle for bracing far more than most. I used the Konihi yesterday for 15 miles in a mix of conditions. For the most part it's awesome but I occasionally felt like I was catching the edge when I used the back of the blade. Particularly near the end as I tired a bit and the conditions went a little squirrelly. It also made me wonder how it would be in big surf on the face of a wave.

What size is this one Bill? I think I can go bigger.

Yeah Bob, that's the main reason why I don't recommend it for surf. It could make a fine surf paddle but as you've noticed if you use the back of the blade at all the winglets can hang up. The Ho'oloas have a pretty similar feel but they aren't quite as stable as the Konihis. Not to sell the Ho'oloa short, it's a really good blade too but there seems to be something special with the winglets.

I think your blade is a 95 & there isn't a larger size yet. With the trend going smaller in blade size I didn't want to make a larger blade but there seems to be a few folks requesting them, not sure if it's enough to justify the expense, we'll see.

[TN_SUP]

Want to get one of these once I decide size. Maliko is fine in glass conditions but wears me out in wind/chop, although its faster for me than the wiki. The necessary added length of the Konihi scares me a bit, my shoulders are sensitive enough that a half inch too long makes the difference between no pain and lotsa pain. Finally dialed in my Hooloa 84, extended it an inch at first but ended up same length as wiki, 8" overhead. Does the required longer length eliminate this blade for me?

[stoneaxe]

You might find the Konihi is just the answer for a bad shoulder. Bill had it fairly short, about 4" over my head, I lengthened it to 7" and it felt good and I could still bury the blade easily. The lack of flutter makes a significant difference for long distance paddles. My left shoulder is bad. Broken and dislocated multiple times so It's the first place I feel it. I was pleasantly surprised to have very little shoulder pain after the 15 miles the other day. I'm going to put it on an xtufS this weekend to see if that helps even more. I'm definitely using it for the CCBC.

[PonoBill]

I probably should have clarified that because of my recent shoulder surgery I've been using all my paddles very short. My usual race length is 83' for a wiki or Maliko, 81' for a Molokai. With my compromised shoulder and limited range of motion I started off using using 74" with the Konihi and then bumped it to 79" to get the blade under. For the Challenge on the Charles I bumped it again to 80" but It was too much for the shoulder, so I went back to 79" which is probably what the length was when I gave it to Bob.

I still can't raise my extended arm head high, but once it's on the handle I can push it overhead, and it doesn't hurt (much) so I'm at 80" with my Wiki and a regular xTuf (not an (S)) for downwinders.

If you followed all that, the test question is, "What's the difference in a duck?"

[LM]

When I was testing the Konihi I played around with length quite a bit & did lots of cross comparing (quick switching, taking about 10 strokes & switching paddles) between a Wiki 84, Ho'oloa 84 and Konihi 84. I was paying more attention to the paddles than my technique but in the end I found I liked using the Konihi (& for that matter all of the blades) at roughly the same length, I'd say at most perhaps one inch longer for the Konihi. I didn't get the noise that others have reported but again, I was really paying attention to the paddles so I made sure to get the blade fully submerged. I didn't feel I was crouching more for the Konihi than the others. Going a bit longer might be the solution for many but I don't think it's absolutely necessary. It might be of some importance to mention that my testing was done in sheet glass conditions.

Since the issue of shoulders has come up, this could be of some interest; this might be something that's been mentioned elsewhere, if so sorry for the repeat. I also have a bit of a "bum" shoulder & our Australian distributor does as well; His physiotherapist, who is also an avid paddler, gave him the advice to stand on your board with your paddle directly at your side submerged to the shaft/blade joint. Your handle should be about parallel to the top of your shoulder. I tried this & found it to be about where I was at already but figured it's gotta be good advise coming from a paddling physiotherapist. 

[SUP le Mental]

If you followed all that, the test question is, "What's the difference in a duck?"
[/quote]

One of its legs is both the same...

[PonoBill]

I played around with a 84 and a 95 Konihi today, timing runs with Motion-x and playing with length. I found the Konihi is VERY length sensitive. Get it a little too long and it feels heavy. Too short and it's noisy. Get it just right and it's kind of effortless, a little dead feeling, and you go very fast. Once I got the length right I did:
              Up          back
Wiki        4.3          4.4
84          4.8         5.1
95          4.7         4.9

84          5.0        5.0
95          4.7        5.0
Wiki        4.1        4.5

I was kind of tired the last run with the wiki. I actually did 3.8 for the "back" run, but I rested and did it over, giving it all I had.

The 84 doesn't feel that different from the 95. Neither of them feel like I'm working as hard as the wiki. there's bound to be a subjective element in a test like this.

Next: underwater Video of the paddles. I got the stupid water tunnel down from storage. I'll get to that as soon as I convince myself to put it together and sling water everywhere.

[Rideordie]

Very interesting Bill.  Thanks for the efforts and the post.  I would have pegged you as a power paddler and I would have expected you to have gone faster with the 95, rather than the 84.  It appears that you are significantly faster on the 84.  Are you usually faster on the Wiki versus the Maliko blade?  Are you possibly protecting the shoulder from powering up the 95?  Thoughts on that?  Do you feel confident that the 84 will be a faster paddle for you in the longer term?  Why do you think you were faster on the 84 versus 95?  I just ordered a 95, as I consider myself a power paddler, but this is giving me cause to reconsider, if the 84 might be faster.  I really value your opinion.  Thanks!! 

[PonoBill]

I don't really know. this blade continues to be a mystery to me. I think one reason the 84 worked better is I might have gotten the length a tiny bit more "right". I wound up being about a half inch longer than the 95. As for the rest, I just don't know. I'm certainly taking care of the shoulder, my paddle transition from right side to left is particularly slow and the first stroke is softer than subsequent strokes.

The ideal is to try both and see what feels best. I offered Rod Parmenter his choice of blades to try on the downwind and after paddling both he chose the 95. I asked him what he thought of the paddle afterward, and he said "I don't know". I think it's different enough that people will have to measure their performance to see how it works out. I thought I was as fast with the Wiki--or at least very close--as the two Konihis until I looked at the numbers.

Incidentally, I was paddling my 12'2" surfboard. 5 MPH on a 12'2" in flatwater is pretty good for me. I don't think I've hit that before.