Rainbow Sandals' Battle of the Paddle

We work with Kevin Shaughnessy over at Channin for all of our surfboard and SUP R&D exploits. It's rare to find someone in the industry that is not only adept at translating desired function into form, but also has a hands-on, in the water understanding of how boards work.
Unfortunately, no board is immune to an angry, rocky coastline at high tide, so when a rogue wave swallowed up and crushed his race board just days before the race, he had no choice but to borrow my 11'0 Siren SUP. As a rule, the longer the board, the faster it paddles, so in a race full of 12'6 boards, he definitely had his work cut out for him. After 5 grueling miles, he came in a respectable 71st out of 100+ racers. Not bad considering he was under-gunned by a foot and a half.
It was really cool to see a Siren board in the race! Next year, I think we Siren girls are going to give it a go! There were actually quite a few women battling it out for their shot at the $5500 purse; very inspiring. Stay tuned for the Siren Racing SUP!

Kialoa Paddles: Now in Metal Flake!

Metal flake, more commonly referred to as glitter, has been a staple in the Siren Surfboards line since the beginning. In fact, Channin, the factory that builds our boards, actually pioneered its use for the open-molded wet-layup lamination technique (the technical name for how custom surfboards are glassed) many years ago. Now if only someone would make a metal flake clad paddle....


Enter Kialoa Paddles, who have just introduced metal flake as on option on their paddles. Here I am at Rainbow Sandal's Battle of the Paddle checking it out first hand. Kialoa's motto, "Technology and Tradition Together on the Water," is really apparent in everything they do. And with a great team to test the equipment and provide feedback, it's no wonder why they are able to build one of the best paddles out there.