Has anyone used a Gearlab Kayakid paddle, in the surf? Looking to add more acceleration, to catch waves. Rather not wreck my shoulders, with a big blade euro. I used a GP, on my daily paddles. But my standard GPs, lack sudden acceleration needed to get catch waves. I have not been a Gearlab fan, in the past. But giving this some thought. It maybe a better tool, in the surf. Any of the paddle carvers played with a short fat GP before?
I haven’t tried the Gearlab Paddle, I see it is only 84 inches long, but havent’t seen any loom length listed. The loom length on a shouldered paddle determines the lever. I have no idea if they got the proportions correct. You will probably have to borrow one from someone to find out since all bets are off without the proper balance of the two. I have experimented some with making wider paddles, but not this one. I do know that as you shorten and widen you finally get a Euro Paddle.
I make bows from store bought lumber and trees I harvest and season. Arrows from trees, feathers, rocks or glass and reeds and strings from natural fibers. Why don’t you just carve a surf paddle yourself? I’ve made a greenland surf paddle in a weekend from home center cedar board , seemed to work just as well as expensive GL paddles my friends have bought. With wood you can make and change the design until you get what you want . Just need a hand saw, draw knife and sure form rasp, sand paper. The wood has a spirit and soul that effects your experience and are true to the tradition. Greenland paddle works OK in the surf but not as well as a short well designed surf paddle in big waves. You don’t need big blades, just proper technique to avoid shoulder injuries. I suspect the surf gods won’t respect a “traditional” carbon paddle with polyamide inserts, advanced ferrules and overly jargonned marketing strategies.
I am not sure another GP is going to give you much more acceleration than the one you have.
But you also don’t have to go to a big euro blade. Any paddle that has more surface area at ends (so you don’t have to get as much of it in the water before you can pull off of it) will be better. So even a smaller euro blade could work. Or make a GP with a wider blade than what you currently have.
@Peter-CA said:
I am not sure another GP is going to give you much more acceleration than the one you have.But you also don’t have to go to a big euro blade. Any paddle that has more surface area at ends (so you don’t have to get as much of it in the water before you can pull off of it) will be better. So even a smaller euro blade could work. Or make a GP with a wider blade than what you currently have.
Agree! Been there, done that. LOL! If you are going to use a GP for surfing, just start sprinting a little sooner. The downside is that you may waste some energy because it turns out you mis-judged where the wave was going critical and sprinted for nothing. 
sing
I use my GP only for my fishing SOT these days.
Looking for a quicker cadence. I am not the fastest paddler, so I am looking for more initial burst. A lot of the areas to play in locally, are around shallow shoals, with quick pop up waves. My longer GP will tend to bottom out, as I try to accelerate. My roughly 86” paddle with 3-1/4” blade, lacks the umph, with me. The Gearlab is ~ 78” with a 4 -1/4” blade width. I am thinking it will be a bid quicker, to get up to speed. Was hoping someone has first hand knowledge. Hate to spend $350, and it is no better, than what I am using.
@Medawgone said:
Looking for a quicker cadence. I am not the fastest paddler, so I am looking for more initial burst. A lot of the areas to play in locally, are around shallow shoals, with quick pop up waves. My longer GP will tend to bottom out, as I try to accelerate. My roughly 86” paddle with 3-1/4” blade, lacks the umph, with me. The Gearlab is ~ 78” with a 4 -1/4” blade width. I am thinking it will be a bid quicker, to get up to speed. Was hoping someone has first hand knowledge. Hate to spend $350, and it is no better, than what I am using.
Yeah. So, I carved GPs with widths of anywhere from 3.25"-3.5" for normal paddling. Way back when I surfed longboats (before transitioning to full on surf craft designs), I decided to carve a full blade at 3.75", using a nominal 2x4 piece of cedar. It didn’t make much of a difference. As least not as much of a difference as switching back to a full ww euro blade for that quick acceleration (because of the catch of a bigger blade tip). Like I said, I think you need to give your yourself more of a headstart with an oncoming wave when using a GP (at least that was the case for me). YMMV.
sing