Stand Up Paddle Discussion with Pro Surfer and Jim from Tropical Blends Surf – Video Part 2

[singlepic=1812,188,125] We hear from this two-part video a discussion between Jim of Tropical Blends Surf and a Pro Surfer about stand up paddles. They talk about the different aspects of the paddle -- from the grip to the blade -- and even the history and global influence put into the stand up paddle.I think the bottom line here is that stand up paddle surfing is still in its early stages and it's good that people are out to try new stuff for the sake of the development of the sport.(click thumbnail to launch video)[gallery=26]Jim: So itrsquo;s all good. Itrsquo;s all good stuff and I carry them all. And I try tohellip;Man: This stuff is impressive. Thatrsquo;s good forward-thought. I always believe in reducing the blade size. Because look at this, itrsquo;s way bigger than this still. You know what I mean? Look at this, itrsquo;s way bigger than this.Jim: And look at how efficient we are with just our hands. But now you do have a part of your forearm thatrsquo;s working too right. Thatrsquo;s exactly what the thought process was there. ldquo;Letrsquo;s stretch it out a little bit. Letrsquo;shellip;rdquo; I tried the Infinity one, the one that is upside down, and I like that one to a certain degree too. But I felt like I needed to be a little more consistent with what I get in the water.Man: Itrsquo;s weird, like, itrsquo;s all these paddle influences from different paddles around the world. Because if you look at Infinityrsquo;s paddle, thatrsquo;s like a very African river paddle.Jim: Itrsquo;s like thehellip;Man: The Amazon River paddle, thatrsquo;s what it is.Jim: Yeah, yeah. And when you look at it, itrsquo;s like a shape of a leaf, right? Itrsquo;s so cool. And you know, they have been paddling like that for forever. Tens of thousands of years.Man: And I think another thing with those things, the African river paddles, I think theyrsquo;re shaped like that too to push off the bottom, like, to (_____).Jim: That makes sense too, doesnrsquo;t it? Itrsquo;s just cool that there are that many different things. But anywayhellip;Evan Leong: What equipment are you riding now?Man: I ride Dave Parmeterrsquo;s shapes. C4 paddles, but I have been trying a bunch of different stuff, a bunch of different paddles. But Irsquo;ve always been riding Daversquo;s boards.Jim: Yeah, Dave is a really really talented guy ndash; very very talented guy.Man: Hersquo;s just my friend ndash; and like started with him and just keep on going. We have like, ldquo;Thatrsquo;s my crew.rdquo; And we have development coming there then we have all of our little brain tank then we go show up at places then we see what other people are doing and then we see what Dennis is doing, and then we see maybe when Leo comes over, see what his trip is. And now that there is more flair, there are more guys coming out of wood work too, different shapers taking all there own interpretations.Jim: I think thatrsquo;s the beauty of the sport right now too. Wersquo;re such in an infancy stages that wersquo;re just going through all these things. Take surfing back 50, 60 years thatrsquo;s where we are.Man: For sure. Thatrsquo;s why itrsquo;s so exciting. And itrsquo;s even way more adaptable than surfing because if you think about it, I surfed this morning on pure swell over shallow reef. And it was flat. It was like nothing. It was just like a bump but you could still do it. And then you get the whole downwind aspect, like once you get downwind stuff; you know you expand into downwind. Thatrsquo;s almost as fun as surfing if not more fun.Jim: I live in (____)hellip;Man: Yeah, you know the grounds are right out there.Jim: So I just go right out behind my house, about three times a week I paddle out to the (____). And everyone ask me, ldquo;Do you paddle back?rdquo; You got to be kidding me I paddle back.Man: You drive back. ...