I got this paddle about a month ago and was at first a little sceptical of the size of the blade seeing that I had been using the Naish Kaholo 9.0 which is listed as 111.4cm2 and the Kenalu Molokai (115cm2). The new Race LE paddle is only 94.6cm2 - so a fair bit smaller.

The quality of the paddle is a step up even on the otherwise great looking Kaholo of 2013, it's full pre-pregged carbon so the weight is even lower. My Kaholo 2013 cut, was about 485grammes - the new Race LE came in at 419grammes (courtesy of our next door supermarket digital vegetable scale). The way the shaft is integrated into the blade is super sleek and the new handle is super comfortable.

The shaft goes from round to oval in the top half which serves two purposes. Firstly it reduces flex in the top half to virtually nothing, flex now only occurs near the blade which creates a spring-like effect. Secondly it allow the chokers to feel the direction of the blade when choke-stroking.

The blade only has 7degree bend as opposed to the more or less standard 10-12degree bend - this makes the paddle a little more unforgiving as any pull past your feet will result in increased negative angle. But if you paddle in front of your feet (like we are supposed to) you now have an increased stroke distance where the blade is near to perfect vertical angle - this is a good thing.

The shape of the blade has also been reworked extensively compared previous Naish paddles. Blade is much more elongated and has a fair bit of dihedral and rounded tips. The rounded tips makes it super forgiving on exit and you can easily use this paddle as an wavepaddle as well as the "corners" of the paddle are plenty forgiving for skimming the surface when surfing without catching and throwing paddle up. It is probably the paddle with the least amount of flutter that I have ever tried.

Despite the much smaller blade I feel is has virtually the same catch as the 9.0 Kaholo and although not as catchy as a Kenalu Molokai its way more smooth and forgiving. This all translates into one being able to hold a higher cadence with the same effort (which is a very good thing). What I also found was that pushing down onto the blade during the power-phase really accelerates your board, much more so than what I've experienced on the other paddles. I can't quite explain why this is but it seems to work and really increases your speed.

I initially used this paddle for flatwater and downwinding and it has been a revelation in both instances. 2 weeks ago I used a shorter one on my waveboard and haven't gone back to my old Kaholo 8.0 since - the extra catch and forgiving nature makes is perfect for waves as well.

It may not be the cheapest paddle on the market, but its one of the lightest you'll find and the performance you get is a whole new level - at least compared to what I have been using. Test it if you can.......

The new Naish paddles do look awesome.. I took these pics for those who've not seen them.

DJ