yeah, the green blade with the timber veneer throught it.






i was on the hunt for a more flexy ier paddle and scotty from greenline suggested this paddle. i thought i'll give it a go and at worse case i can use as a surf paddle- i don't have one at the moment.

i was looking for a softer paddle as i was getting sore while training and afterwards. trainings pretty tuff at the moment.

i tried it today. i wanted to get in the creek mouth and catch a few runners on the 15' to get ready for tomorrows run.

yes it was nice. the catch is soft yet positive unlike carbon which can be brutal.

the blade pulled the water well with it scallop shape and the flex is nice on the body. at about half stroke or a bit more the flexy carbon shaft seems catches up and the rest of the stroke felt more like i only had to guide it.

the shaft/blade is flexy, not stupidy flexy and it has a nice positive rebound feel to it. the shaft is starboards premium carbon shaft

i'm told the blade consists of divinacell core, but it has a internal wood veneer extending on from the carbon reinforcing extending from the shaft fitting segment of the blade.

now you think fibreglass -yuk, but it is a 'fine' blade and i believe the internal wood veneer with the carbon shaft fit allow the blade to bend a bit, but it seems to rebound nicely too. the timber i believe makes the blade.
looking at the starboard specs now( after i paddled the paddle) this is made for flexy rebound performance paddling

i'm pretty impressed with the user friendly feel of this paddle, but it all so has some real substance to it.

i was planning to use this paddle for flatwater, but i'm going to take it for dw trial tomorrow.


cheers
http://www.star-board-sup.com/2011/news/read.php?post_name=starboard-introduces-worlds-multiplex-flex-blade-shaft-range-2

did a tweed run today. very happy with the paddle
cheers

Interesting use of the wood to stiffen the blade and the D-cell. The glass alone would not have been strong enough on the d-cell. The same foam or similar is in most carbon paddles. The wood does that and also contrasts well with the green color. Very clever.

JonathanC said...

Hey Lacy I've been thinking about one of these as a shoulder saver.

The sizes on the Starboard site are pretty hard to relate to Kialoa or Quickblade sizes, have you got a paddle you can put it up against as a comparison?

The size you got - the biggest in the range, the 550 is quoted as being 85.3 sq inches or smaller than Kialoa quote for their Pipes (their smallest) at 87 sq inches - something is weird!

Thanks

JC, I have a 550 carbon - sizewise (and in my limited experience of a very few paddles) the 550 maybe feels a bit more like a Shaka Puu, bigger than a methane but not as heavy going as a QB100. You'd be welcome to try my 550 sometime (although might be a tad long in the shaft ).

sorry, my error there.umm, i was able to change edit the post. i had the 100. i was looking at the 90 which seemed small.

i think this blade, the 525 ,is a happy medium.

also reckon the vision tech is the go


ps why is it sometimes you can change things next day and other times after two hours thats it

Thanks for doing that Tryfan, looking at the photos is seems that the Enduro 475 might be just a smidge bigger than the Pipes - does that sound right?

What is the cost of the enduro? i think i need a padle with some flex as ive had only a few training sesions and my shoulder is killing me.

teatrea said...

What is the cost of the enduro? i think i need a padle with some flex as ive had only a few training sesions and my shoulder is killing me.

Hey teatree - I think scottys got demo paddles as well but they are for shortasses like him so if you wanna try a longer one I have an enduro 525 which is I think 6'11 which you can borrow if you want to try one. Lemme know and I can give to L/L to take to training for you.

beerssup said...

Tryfan said...

Some pics comparing blade sizes (and shapes)


Starboard 525(carbon), Kialoa Methane, Pipes, QB 8.3, Enduro 474

Starboard Enduro 525, Enduro 475, QB 8.3(90), QB 8.7(100)

C4 8", C4 Carbon Kevlar 8.5, Pipes, Enduro 525

you pimpin again Scotty

]

as they say 'pimping to you is photo journalism to me'

well, i guess it depends whos doing it- raffertys rules
cheers

JonathanC said...

Thanks for doing that Tryfan, looking at the photos is seems that the Enduro 475 might be just a smidge bigger than the Pipes - does that sound right?

Yep, pretty close Jonathon. The outline of the 525 is very close to the Methane, where the 475 is closer to the QB 90 so would be a little bit bigger than the Pipes which is 87"(sq).

Fair bit of difference in the features of the blade faces of all these paddles though, so similar outline shapes will have a totally different feel because of dihedral vs flat, blade edges, blade angles, curved tips etc.

Good pics Scotty , interesting to see those paddles next to each other.