Surf Paddles with Low Shaft Angles

Doug Lock has been experimenting with low shaft angles for surfing ever since he tried the Shaw and Tenney wood oar paddle. These blades of these paddles have a low forward bend, less than 5 degrees, verses the normal 10 degrees. He says this provides a quicker more positive power which is desirable for catching waves and manuvering in the lineup. Because there is less forward bend the stroke starts further back so the long paddle shaft doesn't bend as much which adds to the powerful feel. In addition when placing the paddle on the water while riding the wave it doesn't really matter which side goes down. Wet Feet has a couple of paddles that fit this bill. The Blue Soul surfing paddle with a unique blade shape 8.75 inches wide and the Everpaddle Bamboo model with a 8.375 inch wide blade. The Everpaddle looks very cool and "green" but the performance is top notch since the bamboo is over a carbon blade and shaft.













Other New Paddles

Doug likes small blades for distance paddling. He likes to stroke at a high cadence to keep the board momentum up. It works well for him and he is very fast. A new Quickblade 8 inch is his current favorite. Its small size is perfect for the tapping he likes to do and also works well as an all around paddle for women.















On another note Quickblade now offers an adjustable push pin shaft with size ranges from 68-72, 72-80 and 74-82.













C4 has a new race paddle called the XPR It has a "flex tip" carbon kevlar blade which provides "kick" and the weave gives it a distinct look so it is easily distinguished from the other C4 paddles. The blade has a lot of dihedral which in combination the the 8.5 inch width provides plenty of power but with control so you it doesn't pull you off balance during the stroke and there is less tendency to bang the rail. Evan from the stand up paddle blog www.StandUpPaddleSurf.net was able to stay with me at the Coast Guard race using the C4 XPR paddle in the "Battle of the Pake". Don't let this guy fool you with his humble posts.”.

~Jeff