Paddles for surf.

I have a adjustable sunshine paddle i think the brand ie? Its meant to be a carbon/bamboo blend. It seems really stiff in the water. I find my momentum from stand still is quite horrible and dont seem to build up enough boost sometimes when others glide effortlessly. I'm not sure if its the paddle or the paddler. I see quite a few people on the water with flexible shafts and they seen to pick up speed really well and effortlessly.

Is there an ideal surfing paddle? Or all personal preference?
My board is a 10'2 jp fusion ast if that matters

It seems like racing is driving paddle innovation and marketing surf specific paddles aren't as much of a thing.

Fanatic Carbon 80 7.25" fixed. Great for surf and you can sometimes get them for under $300. They are light, strong and have a bit of flex.

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Nugdam said..
Is there an ideal surfing paddle?

I guess so. For instance Gong used to have plenty of different paddle shapes, but now has standardized on only one model, I guess quite close to the "ideal" surfing paddle. For surfing you want something:
- Light and strong: that means carbon, and fixed length (and of course cut to you height or less)
- Rigid shaft: in surfing, when you lean on the paddle you want as less "give" as possible. Actually some minimal amount of flex is still needed to avoid hurting your shoulders and elbows, but it should be kept at a minimal
- Fluid blade shape: the blade should glide on the water when leaning on it in turns, with good lift and little drag
- Narrow blade: this reduces weight, and keeps the paddle non-traumatic even with a stiff shaft. 7" is nice. I still find a 8" or 9" blade more efficient on take offs on short SUPs, but I now use a 7", as the nimbleness in the surf turns and the total lack of pain the day after are worth a bit of.

So now, Gong has had only one surfing model for some years, after having nearly 10 of them. And I guess most brands have/will follow the same path and end up with only one surfing model, maybe in different blade size for different rider weights.

Racing paddles are still a bit different, as you need to reduce flutter but do not need the fluid use-the-blade-as-a-foil aspect, they can incorporate design features that enhance the lateral hold but at the expense of "foiling", such as dihedrals.

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xurfxup said..

Nugdam said...
My blade is 225mm at the widest point. Is that considered a wide blade?

Seems pretty large.

That's nearly 9". very large.

I got a Naish 8 wave paddle this year .nice flex,and blade shape ,
makes catching waves easy .

Relatively inexpensive (about $200 USD for fixed length), easy on the joints, very comfortable, flexy, strong, and very light weight.
My go to paddle in the surf for about 8 years now with no complaints.
The Werner Session.

IMO the best surf paddles have a fairly small blade (for accelerating for the wave), but not too small (for bracing), a t-grip (for control in critical situations), an oval shaft that isn't too big (ditto) and a blade that doesn't have much of a scoop (for skimming when on a wave) , and it should be strong.

Good luck finding one though. Paddles aren't quite as critical for surf as they are for racing, so I presume not enough SUSers are willing to pay top dollar for these features and buy a surf-specific paddle. It's a shame that a brand like eg. Kialoa, which has traditionally marketed surf-specific paddles (and still does), does not allow you to buy the various components of a paddle separately and assemble it yourself, so you can create your own bespoke paddle. Instead the brands seem to insist on selling you a paddle that is as assembled as possible. I'm told that this is because people do a poor job glueing paddles together and then ask for their money back when it leaks or falls apart. But you'd think that they'd be some kinda get-out clause that brands could use for numpty purchasers. And they could make the paddles really easy to assemble somehow.

Of course, this pretty much describes the Ke Nalu approach, which is great. It's just a shame that they don't have an oval shaft option and the blades are optimised for racing rather than surfing (IMO). ZRE have a custom option and again, aren't too far off. But if you go that route and especially if you live outside the US, the paddle ends up crazy expensive.

Has anyone tried the new SIC paddles? SIC paddles used to be made by ZRE I think, but now they aren't, apparently, and I'm wondering what they are like. Mark Raaphorst is an ocean-dweller and puts a lot of thought into design details so I'm wondering what receipe he came up with for a surf paddle.

Went to ocean addicts in maroochydore this arvo was very helpful and I could see a big difference between my paddles and a good quailty one! Mine is so flat and shapeless.

I picked up a fanatic carbon 80. Cant wait for the weekend now.

love the kenalu mana--havent tried too many paddles, but cant imagine a better feel for surf

Counting down to the weekend to give it a run! Cant wait

I have a carbon 7" fixed blade which seems to work well for me but too be honest I have never really looked into paddles too much. I went back to a larger 8.5" paddle but really didn't like the harder power effort required. The 7" paddle lets me throw in 4 or 5 short sharp strokes for take off.

Thoughts ?

Phil