what do you reckon?
methane, shaka, c4, kiakaha, quickblade, werner, naish, big blade, small blade, carbon, timber, plasticine? Declare my hand - I have one of Woogie's for my surfing sup. One request - can resellers & obsessive compulsives please disclose. Thanks!

I've paddled with Werner,Kiakaha,Naish,Shaka,C4 and all paddles will do the job fine.

The Naish paddles felt a bit to big of a blade for me and would probably struggle with it at the end of a long race. A bigger guy might love this paddle as the exit and entry in to the water was by far the nicest of all paddles. These are the new Naish paddles

Kia kaha and Shaka felt very similar with maybe the kiakaha a touch better as the Shaka feels a tiny bit small but when i swap around the paddles these two rise to the top of the bunch. The Shaka feels better in my hands as its a touch lighter and thinner.

Werner: This is a very nice all round paddle and down wind paddles really nice it would rank just under the Shaka and Kiakaha but only just.

C4: Its being a while since i have paddled with one of these and they might be a bit better now so i wont comment on this paddle.

The main thing is getting the right size blade for want you want to do and the right paddle length.

Longer paddle might get you more reach but will be harder to do short shape paddles to pick up the runners and will be harder on you shoulders.

Jacko

Down-winders are very different to normal stand up paddling in the surf or just cruising around..

It's often a constant paddle when there's no runners..and often for an hour..or two..or even more..and that's a long time to be constantly paddling.

I used to think a bigger blade might be the go because when you're on a runner a small blade takes a very quick stroke to make it work.

But the problem is that when you drop off a runner the board will almost come to a stop and you have to get it going again to catch the next runner.

So.. I'm now thinking a smaller blade is better.

You want a good paddle and there's a few to choose from.. You want light weight and flex in the shaft.. IMO.

I put Kialoa's at the top of my list and if you're a big guy maybe go with the Shaka Pu'u and if you're average size or less go with the Methane.

I also like the Werner Spanker but the blade is a bit on the large side now.. The new Nitro might be good but I've heard that the shaft on them is pretty stiff.

I've heard that the Werner Carve is a great down-winder paddle but I've not used one.

The C4's are also good but a bit on the stiff side if you're used to the Kialoa's.. They have a new race paddle that I'd love to try.

I've heard that the Quick Blades are also very good but I've only tried the older ones with a very large blade and more angle on the blade than most.

They also have a new race paddle that I'd also love to try.. Rich (Session) will have one soon so I might get to try it out.

I've not used a Kiakaha yet but if Woogie uses them they must be good.

I've tried many wood paddles but not found one that I would use on a long down-winder but I've seen pics of Hawaiians using them.

Paddles are a personal thing.. You need to demo them before you buy.

DJ

I've got a Werner Spanker and a Kialoa Methane, use the Methane 99% of the time. I'm 67kg though.
Tried the Werner yesterday with the Penetrator, thought I was doing a light wind flat water cruise but ended up with 15 to 18 knot Up-winder! Ground away up wind for over an hour into the wind-swell for my 20 minute down-wind reward! And boy have I got stiff shoulders this morning. I find going into strong headwind you really need to keep the stroke rate high and that was brutal with the Spanker, but on the downwind it was better than I thought and every ripple was a ride! Maybe because the Penetrator is so slick through the water it just kept the speed up even when it fell off the back of the wave. So maybe the paddle thing is also very dependent on the board, seems that on the super glidey Penetrator going downwind the bigger Spanker could actually keep it really motoring at my usual stroke rate - have to try it again when I can lift up my arms!

I own the C4 XPR Racing paddle and the Elite Racer Quickblade.

Hands down, light weight wins doing downwinders. The paddle cadence you can maintain when the paddle is lighter than air, is sick. Everything else feels like way too much work.

I found I could plane easier, and stay on a plane with less effort, using the lightest paddle (Elite Racer).

I must warn you, the Elite Racer is by far the most expensive paddle on the market. But, it's also by far, the lightest, and worth the money if you love downwinding.

My Elite Racer is 8.3" wide.

Beware, paddle blade width doesn't tell the whole story. The XPR blade is 3 or 4 inches LONGER than quickblade's blade. The XPR feels like a 10" wide blade (even though its 8.5") when compared to the quickblade

The Elite Racer looks like the Quickblade surf paddles, but construction is different. The shaft is prepreg, blade is lighter, handle hollow and thinner (when factory installed).

It's shocking how light it is. It makes other paddles we thought were light, feel heavy.

Blades sizes are 8.3 or 9 inches.

The regular quickblade is $340 US. The Elite Racer is $400.

Lobes said...
Are they on the market yet?

They have been selling in the US a long time. I first saw one in Jan.

Mine came with a label saying it weighed 15.2oz from the factory.

I have just purchased a C4 carbon 8.5 paddle ,and found it to be really light ,but then again i did have a brick as my previous paddle.

I do long paddles ,and are starting to do a few downwinders as well ,and I asked Simon at Newcastle SUP what would be the best paddle for me and he came up with this one.

I'm really happy with it!

Cheers

Boylos

I just stopped by the local shop during lunch. They had 8.3", 8.7" and 9.0" blades. I bought another 8'3" Elite Racer. Now the wife and I each have one. Weight was 15.7 oz on this one.

During yesterdays downwind run, we swapped paddles several times. The person using the Elite Racer always won the sprint race.

My wallet is empty now

When DC ad I did our Byron to Burleigh paddle we learnt a few things about paddles for long distances. For our next long paddle I will be using a paddle with the following characteristics:
not too long shaft
light carbon
flexible shaft to absorb shock
long and thin blade (for pressure adjustment in the water)
comfy handle for easy blade twist action
neon orange paddle back for safety

Bear in mind that we are not racing - we want a paddle that will be comfortable and efficient over a long time. It needs to be efficient for flats and runs and it needs to be as easy on the body as possible.

Thanks for the pictures.. Nice looking paddle. (QB)

What did you think of the flexy tip on the XPR C4?

DJ

That is a shame you did not like your XPR paddle Dwight. If you are 'tripping' over then obviously the paddle shaft length has been incorrectly sized? Lets catch up next race/paddle to discuss. Where are you located?
IMO, there are 3 factors for the winning formula as demonstrated last weekend:
Paddle/Engine/Board design

Billy loves his new XPR paddle and will be using it in this years molokai race.go billy

All my race paddles are 8" over my head, just as Todd Bradley recommended to me, and as I learned myself, feels perfect.

My issues with the XPR were most likely due to my other paddle (for surfing) being a quickblade. Quickblade's "blade" is 4" shorter than the XPR in stock form. It just never worked for me. It would probably feel good to someone who uses C4 paddles for their "other" paddle.

Mixing brands didn't work for me.

The tape is one layer of mastic covered with one layer of yellow electrical tape.

Boylos, I'm about to re tape my paddles so I'll post some pics (or vid) showing how to do it.. It's pretty easy but there are a few tricks.

We just use one layer of electical tape (Nito brand is the best) and if you tend to hit your board rails alot you can use two layers.

DJ