Hi All,

I am looking for a paddle for my new naish mana 10.

When I bought the board I didnt really think about paddles (for some crazy reason) and just grabbed the adjustable one they where offering me with the deal. It was a trident ultra adjustable carbon paddle.

this paddle seemed ok to begin with on flat water!

Now that I have been for a number of surfs and am beginning to feel a lot more confident with my equipment, I am feeling that the paddle I have has a lot of flex about it. Other paddles I have used seem to be a lot more rigid.

My train of thought ATM is to get a better quality adjustable handle so it can service flat water and surfing, then when I gain more experience i can get 2 paddles respectively.

can anyone suggest a new interim adjustable paddle for me?? Or does anyone think I am on the wrong train of thought???

I realise that there is not one paddle to service all uses but as you all know this gear is not cheap so the right choice first up is critical!!

Cheers in advance

My advice would be not to get an adjustable... I've had a GSI Trident Ultra Carbon (Fixed) for a couple of years and love it. Bought a Fanatic Innegra 80 (Adjustable) recently and already regretting my decision. I bought it because my girlfriend paddles occasionally and I wanted a paddle she could also use, but the paddle lets in a fair bit of water (especially when the surf is a bit bigger and you're getting pounded occasionally) and gets dramatically heavier when this happens. By the end of a long surf my arms and shoulders were exhausted... The only plus side was that the water inside the paddle was handy for washing sand from my feet before getting into the car ;-)

C'mon people.

Just need a few clues so I can minimise my google parameters.

Even just a few good brand names and some blade sizes. There is way too much info out there for me to decipher.

Cheers

IMO get a good quality fixed length carbon paddle and have a length that is a compromise in length between surfing and flat water.. About 6-8" overhead.

Brands like Naish, Starboard, Fanatic, Coreban and Hobie all have good paddles these days and brands like Kialoa, KeNalu, QuickBlade and Werner are other good options.

IMO get a blade size that's about 8" in width max.. and choose a skinny shaft over a thick one.. Your local sup shop should be able to help you decide.

If I had to choose one paddle to recommend out of the hundreds out there to choose from it would be the Kialoa Methane..

Amen brother Dave!
Fixed paddle is the go. Shaft round or contoured is personal preference.
8 " blade has worked for me for three years. Even on the 8 8 board I use now I get acceleration and glide, Merimbula last year got me to reduce my length to about 4" overhead. But I am in surf 100% of the time and it works well.

But, I paddled for two years at 8" overhead. On was just getting to the point when one of the Guru's at Starboard suggested going shorter. I put that down to technique improvement.

Carbon is the go and spend as much as you can afford. Flex is a matter of your strength. For my wife I purchased the Fanatic Carbon 80 as it has more flex. I use the 100% as it is stiffer and seems to suit me better.

Go the local shop, demo if they will let you.

You can try out my Ke Nalu on Thursday if you like, I really like it. It is the Maliko paddle. I find it works well for everything I do although I would like the larger blade version.

Thanks everyone. Appreciate the advice.

I pottered around with an adjustable aish makani 8.5 for the surf but felt the blade was too big. Swapped it over for an 8 inch makani adjustable but ithe shaft was thinner and way too flexy. The upside was that it helped me narrow down blade and length sizes. I then bought a ke nalu wiki and think its the ducks guts.