Just wondering whether paddle guards are a hoax? SurfCo Hawaii is the one someone suggested.

I only ever use one layer of electrical tape on the edge of my paddles and not long ago I even took that off because I was not tapping the rail anymore.

Then one day while getting off I rested my paddle blade on the nose of my board as I stepped off and the paddle slipped slightly..and scratched the deck. The tape would have stopped that.

Another day I hit my foot with the paddle blade and Jeez..the pain.. I was sure I'd cut it but hadn't.. Since then I've gone back to using the tape. With tape there's less chance of cutting yourself with.

Also.. As soon as the tape gets nics and tears and starts looking ratty I replace it.. It only takes about one minute to do.

I think that thick paddle guard stuff is overkill and only good for rental gear.

DJ

AA said...

DavidJohn said...


I think that thick paddle guard stuff is overkill and only good for rental gear.

DJ

So true DJ! The paddle blade is as important as your fins!
Anything you put on edge affects the performance of the blade. Electricle tape has little or no impact.
Best way to protect your rails is rail tape, IMO. $50 saves a $100 repair down the track.
Peel it back and your rails look like new!

AA

On the issue of rail tape-any one tried gaffa and have it stay on?

I've bought some yellow gaffa from Whitworths which is apprently water proof ($5)-haven't tried it yet-much cheaper than rail tape-which is bloody expensive and, I hear, causes cuts from edges?

I seen when some has gone to replace the rail tape on there board and the tape has actually peel paint off.

I haven't tried the paddle guards but they look to thick to me. I've tried a number of different tapes and/or combination of tapes and I think bro bill has come up with the best way to tape a paddle. The 3M masking tape covered with a single layer of good adhesive tape is near bulletproof and provides great protection. The wax really does make a difference. I don't wax the grip as Bill does here. I find the initial stickiness of the tape goes away pretty quickly with use and then the amount of grip is perfect for me.
http://www.kenalu.com/2008/12/27/prepping-a-paddle/

My 1st board had tape on the rails when I got it. It did pull off paint when I removed it. Definitely don't recommend taping rails. More than likely all its going to do is hide a ding that should be taken care of.

I think it depends on how sharp your paddle blade is (& that varies a lot in my experience) and weather you'd rather have tape on your paddle or your board. You could argue that tape on your rails affects board performance in critical surf. My kids use my board and paddle so I've got a paddle edge gaurd and the rails taped. I haven't noticed any difference in the performance of the board or the paddle but I'm no hellman surfer either. If you have a paddle blade with a sharp edge it, could do a bit of damage if you fall on it in a wipeout as well.

Th0m0

Insulation tape I put 3 layers and got no chips on a JL which is good seeing how easy they chip.
No loss of performance.

Went with the gaffa on the rails (yellow, $5 from Whitworths, matches the Naish colour to make it practically invisible) works a treat. Used two layers of 3M vinyl black electrical tape on the blade and a few wraps at the blade stem-again, works a treat-no discernible performance effect (could be my lack of skill......).

benbuckler said...

It would be straightforward for manufacturers of paddles to fix a guard at the factory level of production but they don't do this for the simple reason that it would affect the performance of the blade.

Not sure about that. I've seen a youtube vid of Dave Chun (Kialoa) saying that he thinks his standup paddles will eventually be produced standard with a rubberised trim on the blade. He said the only reason they haven't done it so far is that its too difficult to put it into production.

Th0m0