Still no flat water practice for me on my 85L Armie board, but I did paddle up with hand paddles in knee high 25knt conditions. I changed out the 795 mast for a 60cm mast and I think that might have helped. Stoked!
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Beyond take off … for me being able to recover the glide with a couple paddles mixed with a proper pump when loosing speed and about to stall, is a MAJOR benefit of the paddle to better manage energy while flying, don’t know how this would apply with hand paddles, better be a good and experienced glider that doesn’t need those moments of paddle recovery to save the flight!
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We had a little break in swell the past few days and I took my Armstrong 121l DW board out for its first paddle in the surf. Just starting my downwind journey. Not coming from a SUP surf background I sure had a hard time staying on the board at 200Lbs + a 4/3 wetsuit with some chop in the water.
I’ll work on the SUP starts but really want to prone/knee paddle into waves on this board also and know that it will be more natural for me. So, what hand paddles are y’all using?
Not sure if I can get Jordan’s Hand Paddle CO’s stateside. I was thinking about getting something like Strokemasters
and strapping some hydro turf to it for grip.
Recommendations?
Thanks!
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@Bmncentralcoast you can get Jordan’s hand paddles shipped to the US. Just DM him on IG. I got a set sent to me here in FL.
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Thanks. Big winds is getting a shipment right now.
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About to send it on the DW hand paddle journey but still not sure exactly what size board to get. I’m 25 y/o, 65kg looking at the 99L or 109L Appletree Skipper - maybe the 89L if I can be convinced. Riding Lake Superior where we often get short period wind chop.
There was mention of weight + 20L for beginners early on here, but I believe that was in reference for SUP DW. Anyone have some further insight into learning solely on handpaddles at this point in regards to board?
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More volume, more easy. Aim for +30L
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I agree with Hdip. Also remember we are in fresh water witch is slightly less buoyant than salt water where all these tips/guidelines are coming from. I went a little over 30L and very glad I did(supDW).
With the box placement my 7’ board feels like I have less board under my feet when flying than my wing board.
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At 58 kgs, the 7’8x18.5 92L production Barracuda is perfect to use hand paddles with. That width feels good padding on knees.
Very fast.
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What foil are you using with the barracuda? I’ve got a Unifoil setup
Lift 150 HAX, KD 13R
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Can you tuck down a bit & hand paddle if you lose the glide or is that a step too far for a novice? Quite keen to give this hand job thing a go.
Ha, i wouldn’t think so no 
I’ve not tried, but you’d need to be efficient at getting back down on your knees smoothly, maybe moreso than the popup! Not having the SUP paddle has been great practice at navigation and strategy. You feel a little more chuffed when acing a run.
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Can anyone share dimensions for their hand paddles?
I used these for whitewater kayaking in the late 90’s. These were great, I loved those things. I have experimented with two hand paddle designs without great success. I have an urge to make a paddle that uses leverage like these do. I think a lot more power is available. I like the idea of getting the paddle blade deeper too. I also like a paddle shape that isn’t too wide. I’ve heard many warnings in the kayaking world about the dangers of shoulder dislocation using a high brace with a regular paddle. I think the danger zone is when the arm is extended above your shoulder. I think these are less dangerous than a regular paddle. I think my wrist would have bothered me a lot more using a standard hand paddle than using these.
Now most of the way through the SUP progression, and trying hand paddles a few times, I think they are semi-viable on a big slow foil in ideal conditions, but as soon as you change to faster foil or less ideal conditions, they are not going to be relevant. The reason being that super often you do 10 extra paddle strokes, which is effectively impossible once you’ve popped up with the hand paddles
Hard conditions where hand paddles difficult
https://www.instagram.com/p/C547IjGr3zh/
Easy conditions where they are viable
https://www.instagram.com/p/C6ntQuWvFMP/
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Fantastic editing. Going between the drone footage and selfie stick really gives a great feel for clearly tricky, messy conditions 