Are there any top quality racing standard adjustable paddles on the market that would be appropriate for bop, or downwind racing?
Adjustable paddles seem quite popular with ski paddlers as they can use different lengths according to the conditions. Would this work for sup?

Both Naish and Quikblade make very good adjustable paddles - the Naish ones are quite a bit cheaper.

As far as I know the adjustable paddles for ski paddling may be useful for changing the blade angle/pitch and I guess if you were paddling different width skis etc - whereas an adjustable paddle for sup racing would really have no purpose or advantage other than being useful for different people using the paddle. If you are the only one using the paddle then get a very good paddle cut to the right length to suit your height/board and forget about an adjustable.

akhawk said...

billboard said...

As far as I know the adjustable paddles for ski paddling may be useful for changing the blade angle/pitch and I guess if you were paddling different width skis etc - whereas an adjustable paddle for sup racing would really have no purpose or advantage other than being useful for different people using the paddle. If you are the only one using the paddle then get a very good paddle cut to the right length to suit your height/board and forget about an adjustable.

You are right about the ability to adjust blade angle for ski paddling. I had also heard that ski paddlers adjust the length depending on whether they were paddling in flat water or varying conditions in the ocean. With this in mind, I was wondering whether a sup paddler would choose a longer paddle for flat water and a shorter paddle for dw and whether a top quality adjustable would allow for this.

imo yes to have the ability to change is huge. most of us have more than one board,to have the ability to change the length of your favorite paddle to suite the board or conditions is gold