We recently sent some of our SUP paddles and SUP race fins to our friends at Core Adventure Sports (TX), owner & coach Dean People sent us his feedback on his new EPIC Pro SUP paddle.

Location & conditions: Lake Ray Hubbard (east of Dallas) Even though it’s a lake you get still get pretty diverse conditions depending where you go! The lake is very full which means in certain areas of the lake the chop will hit a mariner/soil erosion steel walls, boat docks etc. and create this evil 1-3 ft. ‘voodoo’ chop and swell that comes at you from all angles. Part of the down winder you go over the deepest part of the lake and under a major highway bridge which again creates this very unpredictable mess. Once though the bridge you get these 1-2 feet smooth swell lines which are very fun. The last 2k section is perfect mirror glass as its wind protected from another road and bridge.

Equipment used for testing:

Rider Stats: 5′ 10″ & 200 lbs.

Paddle Feedback:

I have been using the QB Kanaha 100 as pretty much my go to paddle for the past 2 seasons. I tend to be more of a power paddler and using the 100 size I think gave me the ‘power & catch’ confidence.

Most people I paddle with tend to be the same, it’s like we need to feel a strong catch and pull.  The major issue with this is fatigue and board strikes if you get lazy!  Two seasons ago I actually got a pretty severe abdominal muscle tear form pulling too much from the core.

So with the Epic Pro, my first impression is how light it is (almost 80 grams lighter than the Quickblade Kahana) but more importantly it felt perfectly balanced and neutral. 

My first 10-15 minutes I was just warming up and the blade felt very efficient but it didn’t have that crazy catch feel that I am used too.

Once I got comfortable with board and paddle, I took off on the down winder and I quickly realized that I’m going pretty quick…. like really quick! I was paying attention to my stroke and watching the blade enter and exit and it was SUPER smooth, possibly thanks to the shallower blade angle (8 degrees) than other paddles I have used. There was no more striking the board and actually found it to be pretty forgiving even when I lost temporary concentration.

So an hour in and I’m past the voodoo chop areas and I’m flying! But more importantly I felt very fresh and not this lower and upper back soreness that I would have already experienced from the QB at this stage of the paddle.

Onto the last section and the mirror smooth water, I feel super confident now and surprising not fatigued at all.

The flex on the medium shaft is perfect (my main fear was it would be too soft – but that never happened) from looking at the pics I’m putting a certain degree of flex on the shaft but not over loading it.

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More to follow…