Author Topic: 2016 Infinity Blackfish 14 x 27  (Read 69203 times)

warmuth

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Re: 2016 Infinity Blackfish 14 x 27
« Reply #150 on: August 19, 2017, 03:10:37 PM »
  You're surprised the mana is fast sprinting? That's what it does best. It's immediate power.

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Re: 2016 Infinity Blackfish 14 x 27
« Reply #151 on: August 19, 2017, 04:37:55 PM »
  You're surprised the mana is fast sprinting? That's what it does best. It's immediate power.

I'd say the Konihi is more of an immediate power type of paddle, much stronger catch than the Mana.
At least for my stroke style.
in progress...

warmuth

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Re: 2016 Infinity Blackfish 14 x 27
« Reply #152 on: August 19, 2017, 05:17:23 PM »
  It may be for you but the mana is well known for having a monster catch. My 82 mana has a good deal more than my kohini84 at the catch.

Luc Benac

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Re: 2016 Infinity Blackfish 14 x 27
« Reply #153 on: August 19, 2017, 05:26:26 PM »
I think that very short sprints might not be the only test you want to run, otherwise, you will have defined your best set-up for....short sprints :-)
This board should also shine in open water/choppy conditions. This is kind of the "raison d'etre" of both the shape and the width.
With 27" I am not sure that the full quad set-up is really needed unless ran with smaller fins on flat water.
Single fin (like a Stinger or Dolphin Jr.) with a ventral might be something that you want to test some more on longer paddles as an everyday set-up.
This is definitely a setup that I have come to enjoy on the Whiplash.
At least now you know that the board can go at decent speed :-) now you need to find your perfect set-up for long ranging runs.
Have fun :-)



Sunova Allwater 14'x25.5" 303L Viento 520
Sunova Torpedo 14'x27" 286L Salish 500
Naish Nalu 11'4" x 30" 180L Andaman 520
Sunova Steeze 10' x 31" 150L
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PonoBill

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Re: 2016 Infinity Blackfish 14 x 27
« Reply #154 on: August 19, 2017, 09:39:22 PM »
I'd characterize the Mana as a forgiving catch--make some little error and the blade corrects. It's nearly impossible to hold the blade at any odd angle to the water, the self-correction is very strong. It always catches. Might not be optimal, but it never just plain doesn't catch.

I'd call the Konihi unforgiving. If you get it in the water just right it catches like crazy and gives great power and efficiency. If you blow any aspect of placement, angle, blade depth, blade angle you get that nasty flushing toilet sound and you toss that stroke away--it's done.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

Eagle

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Re: 2016 Infinity Blackfish 14 x 27
« Reply #155 on: August 19, 2017, 10:17:49 PM »
As noted before -> found the 95 Konihi with 100 Flex to be the stiffest set-up I have ever paddled.  So much so that it was way too harsh as my catch had zero slip zero flex so my traps were killing me after just a couple of minutes.  Felt literally like the blade was stuck in solid concrete and each stroke caused intense pain.  May be different for me now as am stronger -> but that was when the blade just came out.

So simply could not use that for my purposes.  Going back to my normal stiff premium carbon was much better and more pleasant as could generate whatever amount of slip and twist the blade to whatever angle I wanted.  Also the flex pattern was perfect for me.

Have paddled the QB V-Drive and Kanaha which were much more familiar feeling and had similar flex and slip as my paddles.  Other brands as well.  So would say the Konihi was extremely unforgiving and had instant intense full power catch.
Fast is FUN!   8)
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Luc Benac

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Re: 2016 Infinity Blackfish 14 x 27
« Reply #156 on: August 19, 2017, 11:56:30 PM »
I'd characterize the Mana as a forgiving catch--make some little error and the blade corrects. It's nearly impossible to hold the blade at any odd angle to the water, the self-correction is very strong. It always catches. Might not be optimal, but it never just plain doesn't catch.

I'd call the Konihi unforgiving. If you get it in the water just right it catches like crazy and gives great power and efficiency. If you blow any aspect of placement, angle, blade depth, blade angle you get that nasty flushing toilet sound and you toss that stroke away--it's done.
same hold true for the Mana 82 and the kohini 84 which requires full concentration if you want to maintain speed for a full run
Sunova Allwater 14'x25.5" 303L Viento 520
Sunova Torpedo 14'x27" 286L Salish 500
Naish Nalu 11'4" x 30" 180L Andaman 520
Sunova Steeze 10' x 31" 150L
Blackfish Paddles

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Re: 2016 Infinity Blackfish 14 x 27
« Reply #157 on: August 20, 2017, 04:14:37 AM »
I'd characterize the Mana as a forgiving catch--make some little error and the blade corrects. It's nearly impossible to hold the blade at any odd angle to the water, the self-correction is very strong. It always catches. Might not be optimal, but it never just plain doesn't catch.

I'd call the Konihi unforgiving. If you get it in the water just right it catches like crazy and gives great power and efficiency. If you blow any aspect of placement, angle, blade depth, blade angle you get that nasty flushing toilet sound and you toss that stroke away--it's done.

I could not describe it better. For someone like me who's using paddles with stronger middle stroke, like the Trifecta which requires perfect
placement to excel, the initial bite of the Konihi felt a lot stronger to me, too strong that it was taxing. That's why I got the Mana, I could
generate the same speed with a lot less fatigue and hold higher cadence over longer periods resulting better speed overall.
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Rideordie

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Re: 2016 Infinity Blackfish 14 x 27
« Reply #158 on: August 20, 2017, 12:00:03 PM »
Burchas, so what is a mini Stealth?  Don't recall seeing one of those?  Does Larry produce those or is that something you created?
2021 SIC RS 14 x 24.5
Naish Glide 14 (v2)
SIC X-14 SCC  
KeNalu Konihi 95 xTuf(s)
KeNalu Mana 90 100 Flex

Luc Benac

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Re: 2016 Infinity Blackfish 14 x 27
« Reply #159 on: August 20, 2017, 12:20:41 PM »
  You're surprised the mana is fast sprinting? That's what it does best. It's immediate power.

I'd say the Konihi is more of an immediate power type of paddle, much stronger catch than the Mana.
At least for my stroke style.

My experience with the Konihi 84 is actually quite the opposite of the 95. The catch is not in your face at all and demand careful consideration and listening to the paddle. The middle/power phase is stronger than the Mana 82. It is a very fast but demanding paddle. I could not keep this up for more than a few km and then speed started to decrease until suddenly you start paying attention again and tighten technique. It was very visible on the gps.
Sunova Allwater 14'x25.5" 303L Viento 520
Sunova Torpedo 14'x27" 286L Salish 500
Naish Nalu 11'4" x 30" 180L Andaman 520
Sunova Steeze 10' x 31" 150L
Blackfish Paddles

Rideordie

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Re: 2016 Infinity Blackfish 14 x 27
« Reply #160 on: August 20, 2017, 03:01:57 PM »
I want a Konihi 90. I think that would be about perfect for my taste. I am going to keep trying the Mana 90, but I know the feel of the Konihi blade so well that it is hard to consider a change.  We will see.
2021 SIC RS 14 x 24.5
Naish Glide 14 (v2)
SIC X-14 SCC  
KeNalu Konihi 95 xTuf(s)
KeNalu Mana 90 100 Flex

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Re: 2016 Infinity Blackfish 14 x 27
« Reply #161 on: August 20, 2017, 03:02:37 PM »
  You're surprised the mana is fast sprinting? That's what it does best. It's immediate power.

I'd say the Konihi is more of an immediate power type of paddle, much stronger catch than the Mana.
At least for my stroke style.

My experience with the Konihi 84 is actually quite the opposite of the 95. The catch is not in your face at all and demand careful consideration and listening to the paddle. The middle/power phase is stronger than the Mana 82. It is a very fast but demanding paddle. I could not keep this up for more than a few km and then speed started to decrease until suddenly you start paying attention again and tighten technique. It was very visible on the gps.

That seems to be general feeling with the Konihi, if you have tight technic, it performs like a champ but at 84 with
no slippage, this was way too much paddle for me.
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PonoBill

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Re: 2016 Infinity Blackfish 14 x 27
« Reply #162 on: August 20, 2017, 04:49:04 PM »
  You're surprised the mana is fast sprinting? That's what it does best. It's immediate power.

I'd say the Konihi is more of an immediate power type of paddle, much stronger catch than the Mana.
At least for my stroke style.

My experience with the Konihi 84 is actually quite the opposite of the 95. The catch is not in your face at all and demand careful consideration and listening to the paddle. The middle/power phase is stronger than the Mana 82. It is a very fast but demanding paddle. I could not keep this up for more than a few km and then speed started to decrease until suddenly you start paying attention again and tighten technique. It was very visible on the gps.

^^That.

I can't use the Konihi 95 at all anymore, as Eagle said. Once you start concentrating on your catch it's just way too much. It literally has yanked me off the board more than few times both flatwater and downwind. the 84 is fine, but you DO have to concentrate on every stroke. If you don't, the speed falls off quickly. If you do, it's a rocket. Fastest blade I've paddled with my geezer abilities.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

Eagle

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Re: 2016 Infinity Blackfish 14 x 27
« Reply #163 on: August 20, 2017, 07:45:20 PM »
"I can't use the Konihi 95 at all anymore, as Eagle said."

Yeah the paddle I tried back then was Luc's after we had a little DW run back into Britannia.  He was hoping the new paddle would be better for his injured shoulder -> but came to the conclusion that the combo was too stiff in the end.  So he found a buyer or swapped it out for another combo.

But my impression of that combo was it actually felt like you could chop lumber with it -> it had amazing zero flex reminding me like it was made from solid steel instead of hollow carbon.  I guess good if you can handle that -> but makes sense to drop down to the Konihi 84 or Mana 82 for less pain using the 90 Flex or xTuf.  Even the (S) if needed.  Tried the Mana 82 with 90 Flex and that felt more like it.  But with 5 paddles already have no need for more.  Kinda like boards and fins as well.  At this point -> we seem to have SUP equipment pretty well sorted.
Fast is FUN!   8)
Dominator - Touring Pintail - Bullet V2 - M14 - AS23

Rideordie

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Re: 2016 Infinity Blackfish 14 x 27
« Reply #164 on: August 21, 2017, 08:07:39 AM »
My apologies for the earlier version.  I now have the results on one page PDF.
2021 SIC RS 14 x 24.5
Naish Glide 14 (v2)
SIC X-14 SCC  
KeNalu Konihi 95 xTuf(s)
KeNalu Mana 90 100 Flex

 


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