DJ do you have the specs on this it looks good.

Thanks Dave ,

Can't wait to use this paddle .

Have one ordered , might be here next week.

Rich

Another photo of the Methane i got of the zone if anyone's interested

Hi DJ,
I finally got to use a Kialoa over the hols. It must have been the Shaka, very light paddle. It was a lot stiffer than I thought it would be, but it has a little more flex than my full carbon one. Real easy to paddle and no walk even with the flat blade when powering.

I am also making smaller blades for the surf, you really don't need that much leverage in the surf and when you get going a big blade grabs to much water and slips in the power, as well as putting you off balance. Especially when trying to power around white water, big blades are good for big dings at the tail of your board.

A couple of design points that I observed on the Shaka are the flat blade surface, no dihedral, and the narrow top of the blade at the neck near the shaft. The blade has a small curve longitudinally, this I feel makes it easier to enter the water and starts the power a bit earlier. My chilli one is a bit harder to enter the water and pulls later, but it is a smaller blade than the Shaka and is flat in both planes but it does have a 12 degree blade angle. It was made neutral to test this sort of stuff.

The Shaka also has less flex on the side of the shaft and virtually no twist thru the shaft at all.

My thinking on the Shaka ( this is the only major paddle I have used ) is that less side flex and no twist reduces paddle walk as well as lower blade surface area and a narrower blade at the neck. Good paddling tecnique also helps.

What do you think?

Rod

boardbumps said...

Hi DJ,
I finally got to use a Kialoa over the hols. It must have been the Shaka, very light paddle. It was a lot stiffer than I thought it would be, but it has a little more flex than my full carbon one. Real easy to paddle and no walk even with the flat blade when powering.

I am also making smaller blades for the surf, you really don't need that much leverage in the surf and when you get going a big blade grabs to much water and slips in the power, as well as putting you off balance. Especially when trying to power around white water, big blades are good for big dings at the tail of your board.

A couple of design points that I observed on the Shaka are the flat blade surface, no dihedral, and the narrow top of the blade at the neck near the shaft. The blade has a small curve longitudinally, this I feel makes it easier to enter the water and starts the power a bit earlier. My chilli one is a bit harder to enter the water and pulls later, but it is a smaller blade than the Shaka and is flat in both planes but it does have a 12 degree blade angle. It was made neutral to test this sort of stuff.

The Shaka also has less flex on the side of the shaft and virtually no twist thru the shaft at all.

My thinking on the Shaka ( this is the only major paddle I have used ) is that less side flex and no twist reduces paddle walk as well as lower blade surface area and a narrower blade at the neck. Good paddling tecnique also helps.

What do you think?

Rod

Hi Rod.. Glad you got to try the Kialoa.. and I agree with you.. Good that you noticed the flex that I would rather call 'spring'.. it's not soft and flexy.

It does enter the water very silently and it does require a good paddling technique to get the most out of these paddles.. (I think)

I was wondering about paddling faster and found that with most paddles it's very hard to paddle fast with the blade fully dipped.. I think the narrower blade helps.

The Shaka Pu'u is 8 5/8" wide and the Nalu 9 1/4" and I can easly notice the difference. The Methane is only 8" wide.. and I'm sure I will notice the difference also.

When you make your next paddle you should try a similar shape blade.. and what did you think of the Kialoa shaped shaft?.. It's pretty narrow and rectangular isn't it.



Hey Brooko.. Sounds like you're getting a Methane (or Shaka Pu'u).. Congrats.. You're gunna love it.

DJ

Rod in regards to the walking a flat face paddle will always walk regardless of the head width , the water needs direction to flow off the face and thats what a diheral does it controls the flow off the blade face evenly in all directions.

Rob

Brooko said...

Should get mine tomorrow Just got my 9 6" had my first paddle today in the lake, feels awesome and very stable for such a small board for a 100kg person cant wait to get into some waves on it

which one are you getting brooko...the methane or the poo...(jeez who comes up with these names!!)

which ever one u get i'm sure you'll like, it will probabably feel wierd at first, but after a couple of hours you'll get the feel of it , then after acouple of sessions you'll be dialled in. MAgic paddles.

If any Sydney paddlers are up for to demo or want to take a closer just let me know as they're in store now. There's a 78" all set up ready to demo. Casso?

Brooko said...

Hey windy im getting the methane.... new board new paddle

sweet, keen to hear how u go

Nice quiver of Kialoas, DJ. Very jealous. Can't wait to hear how it goes.

Have you put PVC tape on the blade edge or is that how it comes?
Is the Methane's handle the same as the others?

Dj your making me jealous with all those nice paddles

BWDave said...

DJ Great selection, It would be very interesting to paddle one after the other for a comparrison. Are you heading to torquay on Saturday? Heard any more?

Yes Dave I'll be there from about 9.30 on..Are you coming?.. You can try my Kialoa paddles and see what you think.

Casso.. I put the tape on them all..I took the tape off my paddles not long ago because I never seem to hit the board anymore..other than the slight tap with the shaft.

Then about a week ago I was stepping off my board and placed the paddle on the deck as I stepped of and accidentally slid the paddle across the deck.. It made the sound of chalk on a blackboard and scratched the deck of my board..and I thought if the tape was still on it would not have scatched...So I put it back on.

Champ the Glide might be here in a couple of weeks.. (fingers crossed)

I tested out my new Methane today and it was..arr..er..interesting.

Brooko... Check this out for when you cut your new Methane..

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=39056&SearchTerms=cutting,paddles

I have a couple of pictures to post from today and I'll explain my thoughts on the 'small' Kialoa Methane paddle.

DJ

Good one Greenroom but it's a shame that old Fart Man vid wont play..well for me it wont..

But I've seen them all.. I love farts.. maybe that's why I like the Methane..

DJ