OG SUP said...
Hey BB my 2 cents:
I used to use a Kialoa Shaka Pu'u and then changed to a Methane for both surf and race, this increased the ability to get onto waves in the surf and according to the GPS on the river runs i do increased the speed on my race board when everyone was touting 8.5 inch plus blades as a must have.
Since my back injury I have used a Kialoa Pipes thier smalest blade and have found that the smaller blade again increased the wave count over the methane and maybe 3-5% reduction in speed on race board.
I guess if your a massive unit and built like laird you can push anything, different for the average joe.
Phill
Phil - interesting you say that because I have actually been talking to a few people who have also been using the pipes which kinda goes against everything we have been hearing in the last year of so because the pipes is positively tiny compared to what the "average" guy is using. One of the reasons I am interested in getting feedback on this topic is because I, like you have a nasty back problem and I was thinking that using a smaller blade may take some load off the paddle stroke and as such be a bit easier on the back. I suppose though you would then have to weigh up whether you would need to paddle faster and perhaps more vigourously (not sure how to spell that one) to get the same amount of speed/power as the larger paddle and would that in turn be just as hard on the body as the bigger blade that you could paddle less intensely with. I have been paddling over the last week with a smaller starboard paddle - I think its about 8.1 inch and its a beautiful light paddle that is easy to turn over and very slick and stable through the water but I am not sure how much power I am losing with the small blade compared to say the kiakaha that I am used to. What I find with my kiakaha and another similar paddle is that because I am fairly weak at the moment I struggle to get the board going. Once I am up and running the paddle seems fine so long as you keep a reasonably good momentum up but the starboard paddle is soooo much quicker and easier off the mark. I have heard that the guys who have gone way smaller - and especially down to the pipes and similar that it did take a lot of getting used to but worth the change. Maybe I should use a starboard or similar smaller blade until I get a bit stronger and then compare again with my kiakaha - not sure what to do - too bloody confusing.
