Hi everybody. Been supping for the past 8months and have decided to update to a carbon paddle. I'm undecided wether the go for an 8" blade or a 9.5". I weigh 83kgs and will be using the paddle mostly for surfing and some flatwater cruising. I'm Currently using an 8" blade but I'm curious as to what difference a larger blade size would make. Unfortunately I can't demo one either. Any advice would be appreciated

Hey IMO stick with the 8" if you are happy with what you were using. It shouldn't make any real difference in the surf but for flat water cruising your body will be under more strain and get tired much faster. The jump from 8 - 9.5 is quite a lot.

Defiantly 8"... IMO..

DJ

Easy
,Get the 9.5, then when you discover its too big(OR GLUED OUT OF ALIGNMENT AT THE FACTORY) trim it down on successive occasions until it's about right,when you may discover you now have the wrong shaft length in relation to blade size adjust it up,down,up down etc(depending on what gets sore 1st,back or shoulder.
Takes about 8 mths of tinkering to do it this way
When the adjustments start to decrease your performance,buy a new one at exactly the right size ........ if you can rememberv what that was,
like i said,Easy
ps youll most likely be on an 8 by this stage anyway
l lead a very sheltered life

Thanks guys! Will stick with the 8" blade. has anyone tried the the new naish 2012 adjustable paddles? Are they any good?