Looking for new surf paddle. Suggestions?

[surfKnobby]

So since I started stand up surfing about 7 years ago I've only had 2 paddles - a Kialoa Methane and a Laird Pro X Carbon. Both have about 95 in. blades. Now with old age creeping in some days it feels like I'm paddling in mud. I weigh about 160 and want to go shorter with a smaller blade on my next one. Any thoughts? Thanks.

[JimK]

SurfKnobby,

can't speak to the Laird paddle But I did head to head testing in the surf and the KeNalu Elite Wiki just "Sped up" my surfing as compared to the Methane I loved. Solid plant off the bottom, quicken my top turn and caught waves I missed on the Methane It was an automatic step up in my SUS.

Since then I've upgraded to the Ho'Oloa 84 which was an improvement to the Wiki but at the cost of it was not as forgiving. Then I went on to the Konihi which was a bit better in the surf mostly catching waves and never "accidentally" caught on the wave face I'm excited to try the Mana These were all in Elite (100% carbon) construction. I'm a big guy with no shoulder issues so I'm not a fan (in the surf) of the Softer X-tuff or XTuff(s) Durability wise I've only ever broken one and that is in California and that paddle is used by my son, his wife all the neighborhood and I'm pretty sure abused before I broke it. Then the ease of just replacing the shaft (actually my son fixed it)

I can't speak more highly of these paddles

JimK

[surfKnobby]

Good stuff Jim - thanks for that. I also have no shoulder problems and prefer the stiffer shaft. One of the things I like about my Laird is the stiffness - really feels solid leaning into a hard bottom turn. Kenalu may be my next paddle.

[PonoBill]

I'm obviously biased toward Ke Nalu since I co-founded the company, but your paddle problem might be technique. I find mine slipping every so often and the result is usually a draggy feeling. Clean up your technique a bit and see if that helps. Reach a little further, push the blade in like sticking a letter in a mailbox, and pull hard for the first little bit of the stroke--that's where all the power is. I like to try to get the blade out very early, feather it as I pull it out and snap the blade forward in recovery, but really any way you get it back out there efficiently is OK.

I think people worry a lot less about technique in the surf, but when you want to catch a nice wave, good technique gets you there. I see people who are good surfers shoveling water by pulling too long, pulling themselves over to the rail and actually slowing the board.

I think smaller blades drive a higer cadence. That's fine if you can keep up with it, but if you're uncomfortable with high cadence you'll do better with a bigger blade.

I'm no longer involved with KeNalu, but I use their paddles almost every day. Works great for me to have such a tunable set of blades, shafts and handles to make my paddle work for me.

[Fog City Rider]

I weigh around the same as you & definitely recommend going smaller.  I recently ordered a Ho'ola 84 to replace the Maliko 95 I'd been using since day one.  Definitely prefer it.  I may end up going even smaller eventually.  Easier to sprint for a wave & I don't really notice loss of power; I'm lightweight so the blade holds fine once planted, yet feels much easier on my shoulders. 

Another option is the Werner Rip Stick 79.  I was considering this but since I already had the Ke Nalu shaft and handle, it came down to simple economics. 

[Night Wing]

A little history before I get to the gist of this topic.

I've been a kayaker for 12 years and with my SPTW, I always used an all carbon Werner touring blade named the Little Dipper which served me very well for those 12 years. Since I weigh 145 pounds and had a large bone spur removed in my left AC shoulder joint, I chose this blade style since it is the smallest of the kayak blades and it wouldn't put lots of strain on my surgically repaired left shoulder.

Since I only got into standup paddling during the summer of 2015, I looked at quite a few paddle manufactures (Quick Blade, etc), but being only 5'8" tall, I needed a paddle which I could use both for flat water paddling and well as standup surfing. I knew a paddle has to be shorter for surfing. Most of the manufacturers paddles carry adjustable paddles, but some might not be a perfect fit for me because of my height.

To make a long story short, I went with what served me well and I looked at Werner again. I went with an all carbon Werner 85 Trance blade performance adjustable in the 74"-81.5" length. This has been the perfect paddle for me with my Hobie 12'2"x32" sup since I use this paddle at the 80.5" mark for flat water paddling. I figure when my Hammer 8'11"x31" sup arrives, this paddle will do me well for flat water paddling, but since the Hammer is going to be less thick than my Hobie, I'm guessing I will probably have to use the 1" adjustment mechanism to shorten the paddle to fit me to the Hammer. Then I can shorten the length again for when I take my Hammer surfing.

The above is just food for thought since I'm a light guy poundage wise who had a left shoulder operation with me now sporting a 4" long scar.

[cnski]

The KeNalu Wiki recommendation is solid. I would even recommend at 160 lbs. to get the Wiki 74 blade. Or get both the 74 and 84 and try them both. Then decide which one you like better. You can change out component on Kenalu paddles because of their hot glue if you didn't already know that.

[DavidJohn]

I love my new Kialoa Pipes..

[mrbig]

Old guy with bad shoulders from too much baseball, hockey, and surfing! 5'8" 150 pounds.
!
My first paddle was a huge Ke Nalu Molokai - what a maroon!

Next a Kialoa Gerry Lopez. Ditto.

Currently using a Ke Nalu Wiki 74 and a Kialoa Wahini. Slightly below the top of my head. The smallest blade in conjunction with a slightly flexible shaft voilą no issues and plenty of waves!

[Area 10]

I love my new Kialoa Pipes..

Yes. Nice paddle. The new methane too.

[tautologies]

I have the naish with the 7in blade, the kialoa pipes II, and the kai zen with small blade form blue planet..I find myself choosing the kai zen pretty much everytime I go out, and I am so happy with the paddle..I guess my only wish is that it should have a single rod (I dunno the correct term...when I talked with the Blue Planet guys they said it is coming pretty soon).

all of them great paddles, with small blade for higher cadence, and they don't slip or do any funky side swiping even when you apply power.

[Bean]

I love my new Kialoa Pipes..

Yes. Nice paddle. The new methane too.

A10 and DJ, do you notice the extra 2 degrees in the blade angle?

Are Kialoa oval shafts no longer available?  I'm not 100% thrilled with my round shaft Hulu.

But then again, I'm still using my old oval shafted ShakaPu u's in various lengths in the surf so what do I know. 

[surfKnobby]

Thanks to all for the sage advice. Decisions, decisions...

[mosh]

I love my new Kialoa Pipes..

Yes. Nice paddle. The new methane too.

A10 and DJ, do you notice the extra 2 degrees in the blade angle?

Are Kialoa oval shafts no longer available?  I'm not 100% thrilled with my round shaft Hulu.

But then again, I'm still using my old oval shafted ShakaPu u's in various lengths in the surf so what do I know.

I picked up a 2015 Pipes II on sale and it's the oval Carbon/Fiberglass shaft.  For 2016, it looks like they've gone to round shafts on the Pipes/Methane.  Finally stepped down from the big Shaka Puu I've been running for years.