I have 4 kids and want a good adjustable carbon paddle for all to share ,I can't afford $395.00 per kid . I've seen the adjustable alloy one's and there to heavy . I looked on c4' watermans site and sore a c4 "steady" adjustable 8" blade paddle it looks great, you can adjust it on the move and has a ball type handle. So has any one used one and are they any good ?
Is there a suppier on the gold coast so I can have a look?

I've heard that some people have said that the Kialoa adjustable is heavy and that really surprises me because I think it's pretty light.

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=46003

It's by far the lightest adjustable paddle that I've tryed.. I like the adjusting system because there's no spring pins.. Spring pins suck IMO.

The Kialoa adjustable feels light because there is very little weight in the blade so you don't get much swing weight.

I think those who think it's heavy must be used to the feather weight Methane.. Anything feels heave compared to that.

Naish have a new adjustable paddle that looks good in the pics.. There's also the C4 Stendy.

DJ

Hey Tankman,

From personal experience the Kialoa is not any lighter than the Bic Jungle and depending on the age and strength of the child the blade size is way to big.

I have tried that paddle blade size with my 8, 11 and 13 year old daughters and they simply do not have the power in their arms to drive the the blade in the water. Kristi 13 uses a Kialoa methane very successfully and it is an excellent super light weight paddle with a significantly smaller blade area and it doubled Kristians wave count from that day on! Niki 8 and Nesha 11 the 2 younger ones use plastic canoe paddles with extened shafts.





The best and most cost effective solution is to buy a plastic canoe paddle from a canoe store or the paddle blade and hand grip and replace the aluminium shaft with a longer shaft as shown in the above pic. You can them put a 12 deg bend in the paddle shaft to improve the catch if you wish.

Cost is approx $50 total per unit including replacement rivets etc!
Original paddle app $20
New shaft $25 makes 2 paddles
Rivets $5

4 x paddles approx $200.

There was a thread up on SB a few weeks ago with the same questions.

Regards

Phill

Thanks Phil and Simon, now I have some great option to think about!

TANKMAN

lacey.. The Methane feels noticeably smaller than the Shaka Pu'u allowing faster paddling and less strain on the body.. but needs to be paddled faster to work.

DJ

The Shaka Pu'u is...
Surface Area: 100 sq in
Blade Width: 8 5/8"
Blade Length: 16 1/2"

The Methane is...
Surface Area: 97 sq in
Blade Width: 8"
Blade Length: 16.5"

The adjustable 'Hinalea' is...
Surface area: 100 sq in
Blade width: 8 1/16"
Blade length 16 1/2"

DavidJohn said...

lacey.. The Methane feels noticeably smaller than the Shaka Pu'u allowing faster paddling and less strain on the body.. but needs to be paddled faster to work.

DJ

The Shaka Pu'u is...
Surface Area: 100 sq in
Blade Width: 8 5/8"
Blade Length: 16 1/2"

The Methane is...
Surface Area: 97 sq in
Blade Width: 8"
Blade Length: 16.5"

The adjustable 'Hinalea' is...
Surface area: 100 sq in
Blade width: 8 1/16"
Blade length 16 1/2"

umm, i thought the shaka was noticeably quicker than the "qb". i use my shaka for surfing,i really happy with the power and speed

DavidJohn said...

umm, i thought the shaka was noticeably quicker than the "qb". i use my shaka for surfing,i really happy with the power and speed

qb...?...do you mean QuickBlade?...Which one?

DJ

i had a nine" kanaha and also tried the 8", both very good paddles for sure. i just found the shaka suited better when surfing my 8 10 sup.

Fantastic DJ !!!!! the photo of the girl sorry, ajustable babe sorry, paddle looks great.
That's the best information on ajustable paddles I have ever received.
Thanks to every one.

TANKMAN [}:)][}:)]