Hey, I am reasonably new to riding my SUP, but after a bit of use I would like to try and find a paddle with a bigger blade. I am riding with a trident at the moment, full carbon with the curved blade, I love the shape but would like more surface area on the blade. I am a bigger guy, 6'4 and 104kg. If anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate it.

Quickblade 100 or 110 square inch. Depends on use downwind at 105kg I use 110 race elite and surf I use the slim Jim 100.
Ke Nalu Molokai which at 105 sq inch is a good option too.

AA at Balmoral has the qb on special at the moment

IMO.. Don't do it.

Being a big guy is no reason to be doing it all wrong.. I'm sure that down the track you will think..'what was I thinking'.. I think big blades suck for so many reason and you should reconsider.. I'm all 6'4" and concider myself a strong paddler.. An 8" blade (about 100 sq in) is plenty big enough and using a bigger blade will have an effect on your technique and put a huge load on your joints.. Smaller blades may take some getting used to but using big blades is a lot like riding a bicycle and only wanting to use the big front chainring for starting off and even going uphill.. Bigger blades may work ok for some racing and some down-winders depending on he board speed.. or even just cruising along at a casual slow pace.. What type of paddling will you be using it for the most?

DJ

Ha ha yes DJ does not like big blades lots of people do. Pono Bill talks about a girl in Maui using the Molokai paddle in this thread www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=13448.0 each to their own. Dave Kalama uses a 10 inch paddle what does he know?????

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hilly said...

Ha ha yes DJ does not like big blades lots of people do. Pono Bill talks about a girl in Maui using the Molokai paddle in this thread www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=13448.0 each to their own. Dave Kalama uses a 10 inch paddle what does he know?????

.. Yeah.. What does Dave Kalama know.. .. Iron Phil (Downwinder) also loves big blades.. Didn't he once say that Jim Terrel from QB said that he only knew of three people using 10" blades.. and that was DK.. Phil and one other (maybe Laird).. .. That doesn't mean that the other 99.9% of paddlers out there are wrong..

DJ

Hi Max

just checking to be sure that you are aware that there are two models in the Trident full carbon range? Apologies if you already know this information.

the 'Ultra' is the small spade;
Blade length 369 mm
width 177 mm
volume 0.2 ltr (very important for pulling power)
(left paddle in photo)

the larger one is the 'Elite'
length 433 mm
width 192 mm
volume 0.3 ltr
(right paddle in photo)

(paddle in centre is adjustable Ultra)

Just wanted to post in as I am a very big fan of this paddle..I am using the 'Ultra' smaller one as both my wave and race paddle. the difference between the Ultra and Elite surface areas and power is massive. Personally the Elite is too big for me. I am 88kg and 5'11'', I feel like my paddling strength is ok and i am on the board 5 days a week at minimum.

If your on the Elite already then the 2010 Naish Carbon or Carbon/Kevlar came in bigger blades (you will probably be looking for older models as the current trend is for smaller blade). DJ's points are very valid and the main reasoning why most companies are now reducing their overall blade surface area.

My personal suggestion would be to stick with what you have for a while longer. There is a lot of discussion about paddles/shaft length etc now days (which is all valid and important) but i was recently fortunate enough to spend a period paddling with Jamie Mitchell (10 X Molokai race winner) and Justin Holland (vice world SUP wave champ) at Australian Surfing Academy NSW. I was amazed at how much technique alterations changed the way your paddle actually feels in your hands, stride associated muscles and power that can be generated.

I hope this helps..good waves and clean water to you all..regards Nick

+1 i'm 100kg 6'2 Gone down to the QB slimjim will never go back, but also have a dodge elbow.

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DavidJohn said...

IMO.. Don't do it.

Being a big guy is no reason to be doing it all wrong.. I'm sure that down the track you will think..'what was I thinking'.. I think big blades suck for so many reason and you should reconsider.. I'm all 6'4" and concider myself a strong paddler.. An 8" blade (about 100 sq in) is plenty big enough and using a bigger blade will have an effect on your technique and put a huge load on your joints.. Smaller blades may take some getting used to but using big blades is a lot like riding a bicycle and only wanting to use the big front chainring for starting off and even going uphill.. Bigger blades may work ok for some racing and some down-winders depending on he board speed.. or even just cruising along at a casual slow pace.. What type of paddling will you be using it for the most?

DJ

I agree with DJ, i'm 6'3" 105kg and use a 7.5" blade.
I come from an elite kayaking background including coaching and tend to find that most paddlers using a smaller blade tend to learn to search from grip on the water and naturally develop a better technique and end up with with less injuries, we've found that often large blade users develop short, choppy splashy techniques as they try to lessen the over powering grip of a large blade on the water, especially when you consider what a massive lever a SUP paddle is.

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windup said...

+1 i'm 100kg 6'2 Gone down to the QB slimjim will never go back, but also have a dodge elbow.

DavidJohn said...

IMO.. Don't do it.

Being a big guy is no reason to be doing it all wrong.. I'm sure that down the track you will think..'what was I thinking'.. I think big blades suck for so many reason and you should reconsider.. I'm all 6'4" and concider myself a strong paddler.. An 8" blade (about 100 sq in) is plenty big enough and using a bigger blade will have an effect on your technique and put a huge load on your joints.. Smaller blades may take some getting used to but using big blades is a lot like riding a bicycle and only wanting to use the big front chainring for starting off and even going uphill.. Bigger blades may work ok for some racing and some down-winders depending on he board speed.. or even just cruising along at a casual slow pace.. What type of paddling will you be using it for the most?

DJ

A SlimJim is still a big paddle at 100 sq inch that is what I use for surf and general paddling. Only pull out the big paddles (110 sq inch) for good downwind 20 knots plus.

If you want to look after your joints a sub 90 sq inch or really flexi shaft would be needed. I find the SlimJim is pretty stiff.

The bigger head is really only for down winding IMO. Go with the medium or maybe smaller head and work on technique. Also consider not having too long a paddle, your front hand with the handle should be roughly in front of your face when reaching out to bury the blade. Or roughly your height plus a hand span (tip of thumb to tip of pinkie finger) as a maximum guide.
I use the Ke Nalu paddles, but try as many as you can. Spend the money on a good light carbon blade, it's worth it.

Thanks guys, I really do appreciate the help :) all the info has been really helpful!!!

just the opposite to everyone im 6 5 and 100kg and love my kioloa Narlu and QB 110 to each his own

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Gassa said...

just the opposite to everyone im 6 5 and 100kg and love my kioloa Narlu and QB 110 to each his own

+1

www.quickbladepaddles.com/documents/QB_choose_paddle_chart_sm.pdf

Try this it may help to narrow the choices down!

Yo Blakey,

stoked your getting into it.

hey man biggest thing i found is, you got to match your blade to the type of paddling your doing..

i find a smaller blade is plenty for waves because a lot of the time your "sprint starting" from a standing stop.

if your doing DWers, then a big blade works because your moving through the water so its less resistance.

go see pete and mike.

Starboard have so nice all-round paddles and the fanatic full carbon is sweet too, pretty cheap for what you get.

good luck boss

Hi Peeps,

I've read everyone's thoughts on this topic and I don't understand how anyone can proclaim that one particular paddle size is right and one is wrong. There is no one particular paddle size or shaft flex which fits everyone.

Paddles are all VERY different to one another. Blade size, curvature, dihedral, angle, shaft length and stiffness are all components to making a good paddle. As with all people, young, old, weak, strong, strong joints, weak joints, some surf, some sprint, some DW and some race. How can one paddle fit everyone?

Listen to all the worlds elite paddlers talking about technique, they all vary in their thoughts and approach to the ultimate technique. From Dave Kalama to Jim Terrell, to Danny Ching, Conner Baxter, Tom Bradley and so on. Who is right and who is mistaken? No one! They know what technique suits their shape, size, strength and chosen discipline.

Bottom line is, you need to go and talk to a shop that knows what they are on about to get a few ideas on what might work best, then demo some paddles, then borrow some mates paddles, and THEN, make your mind up on what suits you best.

The only thing that is proven is that around the 100 sq in paddle seems to suit the majority of paddlers, but still lots of paddlers like larger, and some even prefer smaller blades.

DM

Got to say I'm loving little blades and shorter paddles(4" over head height for the Ace and 6" over head for the Bullet) all the time, in particular for downwinding. Love being able to up my rating with ease when it's time to hook a run, makes a big difference after a couple of hours of paddling. Big blades don't let me do this to the same level and tires me out too much. For me, big proved to be slow.

Got put on to this by Kissa who has a world of experience in SUP and ocean ski paddling where the better downwind paddlers are going smaller in blade size and paddle length. Every now and then I test the larger blades back to back but can't achieve let alone maintain the same speeds over a long time.

Try stuff out before you buy and remember first impression are not always right. Different often feels weird first time out but as technique adjustments happen and you learn how to paddle better big gains might be there.

For me to paddle what Dave Kalama paddles just does't make sense. He's much stronger than me, fitter than me, technically better than so me so as a result can pull a 110 or 120 size blade through the water all day.

At the moment I'm using the Starboard Carbon Enduro 430 which is probably closest to the Quickblade 83 size.

Anyway, just thinking out loud as I don't feel small paddles get the credit they're due.

Sam.

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remember first impression are not always right.

This is so true... It is quite humbling to re-try a board or paddle one year after and see how much you were wrong in your feelings at the time... and realizing you will feel the same next year!

For surfing not down winding this is my opinion. I like the larger blade because you can really lay on it in turns . I find with the smaller blades they sink when you really put pressure on them in the turn. I'm an absolute Quickblade fan the construction is so tuff especially in the head. I have been smashed on reef breaks and driven the paddle into reef to stop getting cut up and you only end up with a small ding in the blade other paddles will crack and delaminate on the paddle edge. The QB's also have a really clean knife edge which just lets the paddle slice through the water and gives a really clean entry at the start of the stroke. The dihedral on the face (convex shape) stops any sides ways movement through the stroke.

I use the Quickblade Elite which is 9-1/4 wide I also have the QB Kahana 110sq inch which is narrower but still prefer the wide Elite for surfing.