Quickblade UV82 review and comparison to QB Vdrive 91 and others

 I just purchased a Quickblade UV 82 paddle last week and I own a few other paddles that I will compare to this paddle with the reason I am either selling them or did not purchase them. I spent the better part of a month trying to research what size UV I should get as I was concerned that the 82 would be too small. The reason for this concern is I have a Kenalu Mana 82 and I find that that slips in the water when pushing my board above 5.5 mph. I also have a V drive 91 and I love the hard catch and locked in feel of that paddle. I also have a Kenalu Mana 90 which is my go-to paddle for any paddles over 1.5 hours as it has a smooth entry and is a little softer overall compared to the V91.Since I was so used to the larger blades I was still unable to believe a UV 82 would be the right choice. I contacted June the Machine and he told me UV82 was perfect for him and he is heavier than and I also contacted QB and they stated that the UV82 is for anyone under 175lbs. I then reached out to the local retailer and found they only carry the 82 as they find most find the 88 too large so I really did not have much choice unless I want to do an order from the US. Through that local retailer I was able to go out paddling with one of their customers who is my height and he lent me his UV82 full Carbon for the entire 10k paddle. I instantly felt at home with this paddle. It feels like the V91 in many ways. The key differences  to the 91 that solidified the deal for me was it is a little softer overall than the V91 so I can paddle this for longer than 1.5 hours without feeling the effects as hard the next day. Because I loved the paddle and the stock was low, I guess Covid has many upgrading equipment, I drove strait to the store and got one of their last full carbon models. Evidently there is a little more flex in the fiberglass Hex blade and I wanted to ensure I had the same feel as the one I tried. I have now had over a week with the new paddle and have had it in many different conditions so I will now give my full impression of the new paddle. 

So you can understand my size for comparison. I am 5'9" and about 157 lbs. I bench 235lbs and can row more than that. I tricep extend and bicep curl 110lbs. My normal paddle cadence is 57 strokes per min will bump up to 62-65 when I want to go over 6mph and will do 75-85 in sprints. 

To understand why the catch may be about the same as the V91 I compared the size of the V cup on the 91 and the UV cup on the 82. It was not surprising to find that the UV cup is larger. The V91 V cup is 11cm wide but does not go all the way to the tip so it is only 27cm long and about 4mm deep. The UV Cup is over 30cm long and is again 11cm wide but is over 1cm deep. I believe that the cup is where this blade gets its holding power from. The entry is about the same hard catch of the 91 but perhaps a little softer as I can paddle for more than 2 hours without the same empty tank. The UV 82 blade loves a good smooth catch and make sure you keep downward pressure and the more the better. Falling on the paddle is very easy and there is a lot of support when you need it at the end of a long distance. I find the the new diamond pattern raised grip on the shaft has great grip even when palms are sweaty from 90 degree heat with 80% humidity. The top of the tapered shaft is still large enough that it feels solid when choking down. I also found that the oval area in the lower hand portion of the shaft is just enough to allow you to know that your paddle is oriented correctly and is extremely comfortable. I have been for paddles longer than 2 hours without the same soreness and wiped out feeling I have with the V91. I believe that if I would have gone for the larger size it would have been too big and I would not be able to use it for longer than 1.5 hours. 

Now to compare this to my Kenalu paddles. The Kenalu Mana 82 has a softer feel on the catch and also softer on the power phase to the point I feel the blade slipping under power. The Kenalu 90 again has a softer catch, does not have the same power as the UV 82 or V91 at the power phase but does not slip like the 82. Both of the Mana paddles can wander back and forth a little during the power phase if your catch is not perfect and you cavitate a little. 

To compare with another brand I did have several multi-hour trials of the Black Project Hydro Racing Paddle Medium, 84.5 sqin, paddle in the standard shaft. For that paddle to work properly I had to be almost perfect on the catch or it cavitated. For me to have a good catch I had to really think about it and be precise which was an issue at the end of a long hard paddle so I got slower at the end where I normally maintain speed by falling on the paddle harder. If I did not cavitate the paddle had OK power. I would say it had less power than my Mana 90 and about the same as the 82 with a harder catch. This would be expected with the squared off bottom. I am thinking that the 8 degree angle and softer shaft that Black Project advertises was something that would take a while to get used to and perhaps with a lot more time I could have adapted to this paddle. For the shaft I again took this out on a hot day and found that the shaft became slippery and I would have to have added wax or a grip tape to get the same amount of grip that the QB shaft has. Overall I did not like the paddle enough to get one and no one had the larger blade size for me to try to see if that was any better.

This is my experience with these paddles so please take it as my experience. I am not sponsored in any way and purchase all my paddles at full pop.