Just bought a new Fanatic Carbon Innegra fixed paddle 7.25 and used it today for the first time. It took a few minutes to get used to it but once I got going it was an incredible difference.
My old paddle is a QB 8'' and seemed to drag through the water compared to the 7.25. Catching waves was far easier with the paddle moving easily through the water for faster strokes and a light touch in the waves.
Recommended.

I bought the 8" version. Felt really good, but cracked on the 4th wave I caught.
Took it back, and upgraded to the full carbon version. Apparently it's quite a bit stronger.
Will see how this one holds up.

Ive got the 7.25 C.I for waves. I like it!!

I've hot the 8" and love it!

i have the 8" version which i'm really happy with. happy enough to buy the 7.25 version. wow what a fanatic paddle.

on a 12'6 boards we've been doing hi cadence paddle training to keep them running and this paddle is perfect. low fatigue. still grabs the water and the innegra shaft provides a really nice flex.

one of the few small blade paddles around with a really good shift. most small blade paddles have kiddies soft flexy useless shafts.


don't know about the carbon version, but this paddle puts fanatic firmly up the front of the world wide small blade trend

cheers

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laceys lane said..

most small blade paddles have kiddies soft flexy useless shafts.
cheers

most but not all......some have a choice of a full range of shafts

just dropped into roar this morning. they had a massive pile of these paddles and they've all gone except three.


guess paddlers at currumbin ck are really liking them


deano, not many have shafts as good as these innegra paddles- they are very nice and i've had the paddle you are referring too

I've been using the 7.25" Fanatic Innegra for months now and i just love it :)

I also have the Full pro Carbon in 7.25" but mostly use the Innegra now. I perfer the softer flex and really enjoy it for longer distance stuff.

Great paddle.

X angie

Hey guys
Still newish to forums though been browsing for a while. Some paddle advice?

I have a Kialoa Methane that Ive been using for fitness on my 14' over winter/spring, seems pretty good. Im pretty fit but have a rotator cuff injury so trying to take it easy on the shoulder... I dont like the bigger blades. I come from a Ski paddling background anyway as a clubby so high cadence seems better. WOuld this suit as a 2nd paddle for long distance or would it be pretty similar performance? ANy other suggestions? Id like to cut the Methane down a little (or another paddle if purchased) for surfing a 10'6 Nalu I recently picked up

Cheers guys

Steve 'cow'

Surfed with the 7" yesterday and was blown away with how much better it was in this instance.
Had used before on the race board but wasn't blown away where I had to go out and get one (I have the 8" for the race board) but was going to try a few more times.

But definitely want to use one with surfing now. ( Only need the wife to not notice her paddle is missing))

Does anybody know where the innegra paddle sits within the range in terms of flex? I'm looking for something that is slightly more flexible than a full carbon pro paddle might be. Use is purely in the surf. Thanks. Chris

Mine has a fair amount of flex which seems to drive harder and faster onto the wave compared to my standard carbon paddle.

Thanks Rockmagnet. Sounds like it could be what I'm after.

Has anyone got suggestions on which width would suit? Current weight 82kg and paddle a 14ft racing SUP on flat water and in the ocean, usually on longer paddles and some down winders.

The advice I have been given is split between the 7.25" and 8" sizes.

Currently paddling with a QB Kanaha 100, but have found this to be way too big after trying a 8" Naish Makani.

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Cow said..

Hey guys
Still newish to forums though been browsing for a while. Some paddle advice?

I have a Kialoa Methane that Ive been using for fitness on my 14' over winter/spring, seems pretty good. Im pretty fit but have a rotator cuff injury so trying to take it easy on the shoulder... I dont like the bigger blades. I come from a Ski paddling background anyway as a clubby so high cadence seems better. WOuld this suit as a 2nd paddle for long distance or would it be pretty similar performance? ANy other suggestions? Id like to cut the Methane down a little (or another paddle if purchased) for surfing a 10'6 Nalu I recently picked up

Cheers guys

Steve 'cow'

Hi Cow,
I am in a similar boat to you, so to speak, no pun intended.
I have shoulder injuries too and having just sold my QB 100sq, because it hurt my shoulders too much, am now looking to buy a new adjustable with smaller blade, for use with my race board. My other surf paddle is currently same as yours, a Kialoa Methane, good paddle, 97sq more flex than the QB. Not so bad on the shoulders but too short for the race board in good conditions. I feel a smaller blade would suit me better for the surf as well, and will try the new paddle out for surf as well, if it is better, maybe I only need the one paddle? However the two paddles I am considering is the Naish Makani 8.0, the Makani 8.0 has a bit more flex than the all carbon Kaholo 8.0, which I like and is 95sq. The other is the Fanatic Inegra at 90sq.
I want adjustable mainly because with the race board depending on conditions and application a differing shaft length is required. For instance: downwinders, rough conditions, need a shorter shaft because you will squat lower. Calm flat water, need a longer shaft due to a more upright paddling stance. Glassy small surf, something in between.
Hope that helps, I'm interested to hear how you go.
I may be able to demo some paddles in the day or so, so I may be able to report back with any findings.
Cheers,
Ken.

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watereverywhere said..

Has anyone got suggestions on which width would suit? Current weight 82kg and paddle a 14ft racing SUP on flat water and in the ocean, usually on longer paddles and some down winders.

The advice I have been given is split between the 7.25" and 8" sizes.

Currently paddling with a QB Kanaha 100, but have found this to be way too big after trying a 8" Naish Makani.

G'day Cobber,
In addition to my prior post I will say this, and it is only my own thoughts.
Blade size and the effort required to move you and your craft through the water is different for most punters.
Your weight and weight of your craft combined, plus in particular the width of your craft as well as the hull design relative to efficiency, all have a bearing on how easy or hard it is to propel the craft through the water. So if weight, width & hull efficiency are more to the hard end of the scale.
A smaller blade would be more desirable because it will take a lot less strength and torque to get moving, than if you used a large blade. Paddle stroke would be easier with a smaller blade but you'd have to do more of them comparatively.
In the case of a light, narrow, efficient design, a larger blade could be used due to less strength and torque needed to propel you through the water. So in this case even with the larger blade you could probably match the cadence of the smaller blade with the previous less efficient example, meaning you would be a lot faster.
This is of course with the same paddler. Different paddlers have different levels of strength and torque available to deliver to the paddle. Different strokes for different folks, (pun intended).
I'm sure some mad scientist could come up with an equation to work it all out?
Any how hope you can understand what I mean?

I have drag racing experience and can draw a parallel here.
With cars and bikes in racing it's important to match the gearing firstly to the engine / vehicle and then to the track.
It's about getting the power down to the ground in a way that gets you of the line quickly and has the engine operating in it's optimum rev range around the track or down the strip. I see the gearing to be similar to blade size of a paddle and the engine to be similar to the paddler and the vehicle the SUP. You want the gearing to not be too tall making you bog down at the start then are never operating in the peak rev range. You don't want the gearing too low so that you run out of legs and fuel, you hit peak revs too early, so your revving hard but not going as fast as you should be.
There are different engines as there are different paddlers, some engines, (like jap bikes), are made to have max power and torque high in the rev range. Some engines make gobs of torque down low and have a powerful midrange, (like a harley). These 2 bikes could go down the strip side by side as could 2 paddlers, 1 built like a jap bike, has a high cadence (revs), not a lot of torque (muscle), using a small blade (low gearing).
2nd, built more like a harley, lower cadence, gobs of torque, able to use a larger blade (taller gearing).

I have rambled on enough.
Hope it makes sense?
Cheers,
Ken

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KennyK said..However the two paddles I am considering is the Naish Makani 8.0, the Makani 8.0 has a bit more flex than the all carbon Kaholo 8.0, which I like and is 95sq.

Hey Kenny, I've got the 2013 Makani 8.5" and the 2014 Makani 9.0" adjustables.

The shaft on the 2013 version is a bit thin for my liking and has a lot of flex. Although it is adjustable it is very water tight. It doesn't have any alignment features - so, you have to align the blade to the handle each time you adjust it - no big deal, but not ideal.

The 2014 one has good and bad points - the shaft has a larger diameter and slightly less flex - which is good as the older paddle feels a little bit floppy. This paddle doesn't twist out of alignment which is great, but it does take in noticeable amount of water through the shaft to shaft join which I'm not happy with. Although it is a 9" paddle, the quoted surface area is less than the 8.5 - but I don't think that's correct, it's ever so slightly bigger. The discussion about narrower paddles and cadence is quite interesting. One thing I've noticed with the 9" is that it better to take a couple of quick half strokes to get moving before really hauling - which is inefficient, but also due to paddling a relatively heavy board (and rider). A larger paddle (and lower cadence) also means that if you muff up a stroke in rough water, then it takes extra time to recover from that mistake. The larger paddle seems to mean that the timing of those less frequent strokes is much more important in getting onto runners. The advantage obviously is that you can really haul some water in a short time if you don't mind putting up with the injury risk.

Both models have round shafts. Some other models come with oval shafts - try them out for comparison - I think I'll go oval shaft next.

G`day Foamballer,
Yeah I was worried about the intake of water with the adjustable paddles.
I'll try and check that out further if I can get a demo.
My Kialoa has an oval shaft, I really like it.
Cheers,
Ken.

Can anyone else comment on water intake with adjustable shafts?
Especially with the 2014 Naish and Fanatics.
Cheers,
Ken.

Thanks for the reply KennyK, that's all very useful information. I particularly like the drag racing analogy.

I have been paddling with an adjustable 2014 Naish Makani 8" and although the paddle feels super light with a nice amount of flex IMO, I have found that the clamp on the adjustable constantly slips and after half an hour it's an inch or two shorter. I'm not in a position to comment on water intake as I don't submerge it, but having it slip when you give it some isn't ideal.