Stiffness of Paddle & Distance Paddling

[greatdane]

I guess what I was getting at was that the Nitro has the same surface area as the Shaka Puu, which is a very popular paddle for racers, like Chuck P.  I am built tall and skinny, and the smaller blades suit my high-cadence better... no matter how much time I spend in the gym, a larger blade always tires me out more quickly... but we are all different.  Lot's of factors at play.

[1paddle2paddle]

It also depends on the water you will most often be paddling in.

For downwinders and catching bumps, I've found that my blade needs to be at least 6" taller than my surfing paddle.  I also found for downwinders that I needed a lot more surface area on my blade than I required for surfing (I use an Infinity ottertail in the surf).

I have the C4 race blade for downwinders and really like it.  It has a nice catch and the paddle has enough flex not to hurt my shoulders.

[sharksupper]

My beginner 2 cents...   I've never done any races, but regularly do 4-6mile runs up/down a local river.  Most times I'm powering through not drifting with current much.

I started with a C4 8.5" carbon paddle, it was good for when I was very new as it's light and a bit flexy and forgiving.  However, after not too long my strength increased and I was drawing air behind the blade when trying to pull full power strokes.

Next I bought a QB Peahi and was super stoked with it's power, massive!  I never went back to the C4.  The flex seemed about the same.

Recently, thanks to a posting here, I bought a PowerEx SO.  Like the Peahi it has lots of power (I cannot overpower the blade) and it's insanely stiff compared to the previous two paddles.  I loved it right away, but wondered how I'd like going back to the Peahi.  I got the chance last weekend when I had to use it because I left the PowerEx at a friends house.  I did a 6mi river run and had lots of time to get used to the Peahi again.  At first it felt like a noodle!  I could hardly paddle the thing.  I soon found a slower steady stroke worked best, low cadence.  The issue was, with the paddle loaded up at all times from the flex I could not get it to release very clean from the water at high cadence.  This is where I found the stiffer paddle better, it unloads and releases much quicker.  I was also missing some power from my strokes from the flex.  On the good side, it certainly was easier on the joints, all the movements blend into eachother because of the flex. 

Just my experience/opinion, I'm sure it's different for everyone.

[CMC]

Air behind the blade during full power strokes has nothing to do with blade size.  This is technique and certainly not an issue with paddle design.

If you can paddle a fully loaded 6 man Outrigger canoe with full power from standing start by yourself without cavitation (air) you can definitely avoid it on a moving 10kg SUP.  We practice this all of the time to teach paddlers how not to cavitate with power.  I would hazard a guess to say you can also apply far more power to paddle in an OC also.

The solution is reaching deeper into the water.  Also off the line from a standing start try reaching deep and reaching less at first.  Like 5/8 reach 1st stroke, 3/4 2nd, 7/8 3rd and then full reach as you are moving at what should be pretty much full speed on the 4th.  Paddle always out and into recovery stage by your ankle.

[skyfish]

Werner Nitro, has the surface area, lightness and can use as a low or rapid cadence paddle. Just finished the Rincon (Puerto Rico) race and used the nitro against 20 mph and gusting. Moved my Holo w/ no problem and did not get  my shoulders out of whack while trying. As time passes and stsart tiring, can use it as a shorter, faster cadence strokes to get to the finish line.