Surf Ski Paddles, The New Jantex Gamma Rio by Wesley Echols, SurfskiRacing.com

Nothing excites me more than a new paddle other than a new ski. My new Jantex Gamma Rio arrived in the mail from Elite Ocean Sports. For the past two months I have almost exclusively used the Rio in both a short race of four miles, the Snow Row, and on my longer paddles of 10-15 miles. My other paddles are my long time favorite, the Gamma Mid. I have many variations of the Gamma Mid so see my review articles below I did previously.

On a few occasions, I wished I had a slightly smaller blade while racing, particular in the races over 120 minutes. As I get tired my stroke rate declines as does my speed, not always, but sometimes. So I had Chris shave one of my Gamma Mids down to accomodate my need for a slightly smaller blade. This cut down version is often is the one I now race for the longer races. Jantex seeing the need for something between their “small and mid Gamma” came out with the new Gamma Rio. Not only did they make it smaller, but they designed the shape differently from the Gamma.

When I first opened the box and looked at the Rio, I thought this is going to be too small. What I learned over the years about paddles and surf skis, you really have to try them first. Looking at them, comparing blade shape, hull design, from the seat of your computer chair can be misleading. It was not until I put the Rio blade in the water that I knew I had found another Jantex that fit my paddling needs. Just when I thought no one could improve on the smoothness and forgiveness of the Gamma Mid comes the Rio. Jantex calls it “centered”. When I read this, I wondered what this meant. If the the Gamma Mid is smooth, then the Rio is ultra smooth. Almost effortlessly, the blade enters on the catch and cuts through the water like the butter on my toast I had this morning. While the exit on the Gamma Mid is superb, the Rio takes it to another level. I was surprised quite frankly, it could be this good.

While the blade is smaller than my Gamma Mid, it is this new blade design that gives it this smoother(centered) feel on each stroke. The smaller blade size also allows me a slightly quicker cadence that I can maintain for longer distances. So the combo of the new design and smaller blade allows me to accelerate more quickly on to a boat wake or catch a bump, or maintain a more consistent stroke rate over my 120 minute threshold. In general, a smaller blade allows paddlers going upwind an easier go of it which is what I found also with the Rio. I paddle a lot upwind and the Rio excels in these conditions. At this point I have over 100 miles on my Rio in all types of New England conditions.

Despite all the great qualities of the Rio, I will be using my Gamma Mid depending on the distance and conditions of a race. I love the stability my Gamma Mid offers me in the bigger conditions, so I will continue to use it here. In the Snow Row, as I mentioned, I used the Rio. When I first started warming up, I almost went back to my car and got my Gamma Mid. The Rio felt slightly too small since I was well rested for the race. I had a very good race, 2nd, so it all turned out fine. However, since I am a strong paddler, my Gamma Mid will be my choice for the shorter to mid distance ocean races.

So the Rio now gives paddlers another option in the “small mid” size range. The virtual bomb proof lever lock that they have used for years, gets tweaked slightly, making it a more polished look with a slightly different shape and it now has three tiny screws holding it in place vice a different configuration used last year. Mark of Elite Ocean Sport sent me this size Rio which is the Small Plus with a soft shaft at 205-215 which turns out is perfect for me. I often get asked what length paddle I use.

With a lot of experimentation over the years in many, many surf skis and water conditions, I use between a 207-211 depending on the narrowness of the catch of the particular ski I am paddling. So I tend to use 207-208 in my Think Uno Max’s, Vajda Hawx, Epic V14 for better control while I use a 209-210.5 in my SES’s since the catch is wider. In my Mohican, I use a 209-210 for most flat water paddling. The other caveat is how rough it is. I go short in bigger conditions for better control meaning quicker exit, higher stroke rate, and quicker bracing capabilites while maintaining my technique. In rougher water we all tend to bend our arms more, so why not just shorten your paddle slightly and maintain your normal technique. I have gone as short as 206cm in one of my Blackburn Races years ago with success. By shortening your length you can effectively maintain a slightly higher stroke rate for longer distances. Also for downwind paddling it is easier to catch bumps with a shorter paddle since your acceleration will be quicker.

Jantex offers many different size options so call Elite Ocean Sports for more info. I am familiar with the Gamma Mid, Rio Small Plus, Gamma Mid Plus in the Jantex Line. Chris Chappell, web master, has three Gamma Mid Plus’s all slightly different in configurations. I think between Chris and I we have at least 25 paddles including Jantex, Braca, and more.

Above is the video I did a few years ago on surf ski paddles.

Quick Review of Wing Paddles: Below are the first few paragraphs of my review of surf ski paddles I did a few years ago to accompany the video above.

Over the years I have managed to accumulate almost as many paddles as I have surfskis. Bearing extensive collections of both, I thought it might be informative to do a paddle review to accompany the surfski review matrix. I do 99% of my paddling in the ocean, so this quick review is geared toward those paddles that fare better in the ocean, versus those intended for primarily flat water paddling.

Like surfskis, you may think there is not much difference in paddles; however, every paddle has a unique feel, just as surfskis do. You maybe able to make some predictions of paddle feel based on blade shape, blade size, twist, length, leading edge, etc, but ultimately you need to try it one or two times in the ocean to see how you like it. This is especially true of flatwater paddles that have varying degrees of twist. They may feel great in benign conditions, but in the ocean this twist can easily become a liability. See the below link for the rest of my review article a few years ago. https://surfskiracing.org/2012/01/quick-review-of-wing-paddles-by-wesley-echols/

Below is my review of the G Power, I did a few months ago.

My take of the G Power Galaxy Wing Paddle, Size Small by Wesley Echols

Since I did my last review of wing paddles in 2010 (click here to read), I have been paddling with the same brand/model of paddle for years, Jantex Gamma Mid. In fact that same hybrid shaft Jantex that I got from Lloyd Reeves is to this day,my everyday training paddle. It has been a wonderful paddle both in terms of durability and usefulness. This has been the paddle that I have most often used for all my time trials for my surf ski reviews. Since that paddle was made up for me, Jantex put a new lever lock that now is almost the standard on most paddles today. Onno paddles were the first to use that type of lever lock of the paddles I bought. Most manufacturers have some variation of this lever lock. Because I did not like the old Jantex hose clamp, I bought two single shaft Jantex that I most often use for my races. I have other two piece Jantex paddles including the latest one with the diamond pattern shaft that is lighter than all my others. I also have two Jantex Gamma Mids that have been modified slightly. The reason for the modified blades came about because of a race I did a year ago with Chris Chappell, training partner and web master of this site. Click on link above for the rest of this paddle review I did a few months ago.

http://eliteoceansports.com/

http://www.jantex.sk/products/surf-ski/gamma-rio