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SUP vs hand paddles on barracuda style boards?

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B-Walnut:
Starting to come across a few videos of people advocating for hand paddles over learning to SUP when downwinding the narrow fleet of boards that have gained in popularity. The claims are that it's not that hard to get up, and you eliminate a lot of the balance/struggle of learning to SUP something so narrow. Anyone have first hand experience with both and care to advocate one way or the other?

Admin:

--- Quote from: B-Walnut on April 29, 2023, 07:35:46 PM ---Starting to come across a few videos of people advocating for hand paddles over learning to SUP when downwinding the narrow fleet of boards that have gained in popularity. The claims are that it's not that hard to get up, and you eliminate a lot of the balance/struggle of learning to SUP something so narrow. Anyone have first hand experience with both and care to advocate one way or the other?

--- End quote ---

Hi B-Walnut, I did see one vid recently, but it was shot way outside in lumpy swell and it did not look easy.  Do you have some links?  Thanks!

B-Walnut:
Here's one of James Casey, "trying out" hand paddles in surf and small swell.

He dives into the above video with lots of details and pros/cons in this second video."Hand paddles are going to open it up to a whole new realm of people."


Voyager Foiler did a three part series shots from Maui and the Gorge:

Part two, he flatwater handpaddles up onto foil and talks a lot about the SUP vs hand paddle differences.

Part three, "stand up foiling is the hardest discipline of all foiling"

He kept saying "It's easier, it's not as tiring, it's going to be accessible to everyone."

PonoBill:
If I could still pop up on any board in a reasonable amount of time (like maybe before I hit the sand) I'd do the hand paddle thing in a heartbeat. The prone foilers seem to have a really great time. Watching Annie Lai progress in prone foiling at Ka'a has me convinced.

Admin:
Lots of cool stuff in those vids. 

Very practiced foilers are using hand paddles to knee paddle, pump up, and pop up in flat water, so the concept is proven, for sure.  Also prone paddleborders can can catch swell easily with no hand paddles on 12 footers, no kneel.  Does the kneeling and hand paddling look easy/easier than SUP?  Not sure.  The videos above in small waves (ocean waves) seem like they should be easy to make waves on 8 foot boards, even prone without paddles and probably regular much smaller surf foil bords.  I get that the guys are using these waves to practice knee pumping but I am unsure if it looks easier.  My first impression is no.  I  remember when the longer, narrower, Barracuda boards were new they thought of them as either/or (SUP with an option for prone with hand paddles) and there were some vids of that then but it seems like that aspect had faded to just SUP.  I am imagining though, that guys who have mastered SUP downwind could transition to hand paddles with relative ease.  Of course, I am biased and very hopeful that no paddles or kneeling will be needed to foil downwind.  That (expected to be long) journey is about to begin :)

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