Dave Chun of Kialoa Answers Questions About Paddles (Part 3)

[singlepic=2855,125,188] Early last month I spoke with Dave Chun, founder of Kialoa Paddles, about his paddles, which he has been manufacturing since 1990. Dave started with stand up paddles in 1999.nbsp; I got him to answer some questions from our stand up paddle surf community at Wet Feet Hawaii's store.nbsp; You gotta tune out the noise from the store because we shot this during business hours.In this four-part series, Dave, who has for a long time been a leading manufacturer of outrigger paddles, answers questions from the public about stand up paddles.(click thumbnail to launch video)Evan Leong: What makes your paddle different from other brands? There are so many brands to choose from now, why should people consider your brand?Dave Chun: I really donrsquo;t like to compare myself to other products. It just makes everybody upset. You know, Irsquo;ll say this, I have been building paddles for 17 years. Irsquo;ve had most of the bad things happen to me. I continue to have bad things happen to me, itrsquo;s just the nature of the beast. We back what we do. Our paddles have a one-year guarantee. Everything is proprietary. I design everything. All ideas. We build all the parts to our own specific. I donrsquo;t do the aluminum. I donrsquo;t have an aluminum tube yet. I probably wonrsquo;t do that. Wersquo;ve got to do rentals. But the other thing is I do have background in designing paddles. This is what I have done full-time since 1990. We have been very successful in the outrigger market. In all modesty, I guess we are the dominant paddle in that market in the USmdash;seven Molokai Hoi winners since 1995, Womenrsquo;s Molokai Race four times. Irsquo;d like to say, those guys would have one the race using a broom. Itrsquo;s not the paddle; itrsquo;s the athlete. However, the broom they choose to use is mine and that makes us very proud.Evan Leong: I have a two-piece paddle that is starting to develop some flay at the joint, whatrsquo;s the best way to get rid of the looseness and how much will that weaken the paddle shaft?Dave Chun: I donrsquo;t make two-piece paddles. The reason is I consider it kind of a different technology because the joint, if itrsquo;s going to be useful as a two-piece paddle, it would be in the middle of the paddle. Itrsquo;s a little tricky because that is a high stress point in the paddle when yoursquo;re introducing a joint. What I would do is go back to the manufacturer who built the paddle. Tell them what problem you are having. Irsquo;m certain they are going to take care of you. They probably know what is happening and they can guide you. If you think the paddle is going to break, and thatrsquo;s just the way it is, just wrap that thing with a bunch of fiberglass, a bunch of epoxy glue, Irsquo;m sure itrsquo;s going to be fine. Your hands probably not going to touch it because itrsquo;s probably lower than your bottom half. Should be ok.Evan Leong: Next question is, Irsquo;d like to know if there are any differences between a good paddle like skinny guy like me and one of your pipe charging, big bruisers. I think this guy is probably about 170. Sometimes I stick to my 9-inch wide blade in the water and it just wonrsquo;t move for enough of a split second that I notice it slows me off balance. Irsquo;m thinking a skinnier blade, but how skinny coupled with more flex in the shaft is the answer but I donrsquo;t know. Could you answer?Dave Chun: Once again, Irsquo;d say trust your judgment. If you feel you need a smaller paddle then you probably need a smaller paddle. How much smaller, I really canrsquo;t answer that. If yoursquo;re saying that you feel that the paddle is not sticking up, you got to remember too, once you get a body in motion, itrsquo;s easier to maintain that body in motion. Classic example is a racecar is going around the track at 200 miles an hour; it suddenly starts to slide in the turn. Even the...