Has anyone gone from a big paddle blade to a smaller blade in order to increase cadence (paddle rate) and found an improvement when surfing? (Mine is 8.3" wide or 101 sq in)

I switched from my Werner Nitro (100sq ") to a Quickblade Trifecta (86sq") to make it easier for me to get a few more "quick" strokes when trying to get on a wave when i do downwinders. I have only done on DW run with the Trifecta so far, but i noticed a difference. I also noticed that i can paddle more consistently on flat water too. I made the switch to hopefully make it easier on my shoulders. I also went about 3" shorter in length.

Yes.

Yep 100sq" down to 95" first, now 84" and loving it.

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cantSUPenough said..
Has anyone gone from a big paddle blade to a smaller blade in order to increase cadence (paddle rate) and found an improvement when surfing? (Mine is 8.3" wide or 101 sq in)

Just about everybody that has been paddling for the last ten years. It's the go in every paddling sport.

Thanks everyone. I guess I need to buy a new blade...

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cantSUPenough said...
Thanks everyone. I guess I need to buy a new blade...

I'm about to buy a new Kialoa Pipes 2 so you'll have to check it out when I see you next..

I'm a bit of a contrarian on this one. I like a big solid blade in the surf, bit of a KeNalu fanboy but I've switched back and forth between small, medium and large blades for surf and my happy place is with an X-Tuf Molokai. I seem to succeed more with the big blade and a bit of twang in the shaft. I also sometimes surf with an older Starboard Enduro 550. I'm a large, heavy man with large, heavy boards and tend no to paddle at a fast cadence anyway. Horses for courses (or clydesdales for courses).

Same as HumanCartoon: I love big blades and a very slight flex in the shaft. But definitely 99% (at least) of people now use smaller blades, so the answer to the original poster should be: yes

Perhaps I could ask your advice. Very early in my SUP days (one year ago), I thought I would buy an adjustable. Not knowing a thing about paddles, I bought the paddle shown below. I have never liked the feel of it so I only used it a couple of times - but it has a smaller surface area than my normal paddle. Should I persist with it? To me the blade shape looks very different to every other paddle I have seen out there. It is 17.5 cm wide, and 33.5 cm long - see below.

No give it to a third world country or donate it to science

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micksmith said..
No give it to a third world country or donate it to science

Thanks Mick, I was afraid of that... I guess I need a new paddle.

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DavidJohn said..

cantSUPenough said...
Thanks everyone. I guess I need to buy a new blade...

I'm about to buy a new Kialoa Pipes 2 so you'll have to check it out when I see you next..

Thanks DJ. Our paths haven't crossed for a little while...