Braca XI Surfski Version

Has anyone tried the Braca XI "surfski" version and compared to the original Braca XI and Extra light XI blades?

I remember reading somewhere Oscar Chalupsky's feedback was utilized to update design reinforced blade/shaft, but wondering if anyone can comment from experience. The Extra light is lighter and I believe stiffer, but the other two seem to have the same published specs.

Surfski version:
paddles.braca-sport.com/paddles/other-pa...sen-92-surf-ski.html

Original/Extra Light
paddles.braca-sport.com/paddles/kayak/br...xi-van-dusen-92.html

Hi,
I'm actually the Braca paddle importer for the US, have been using the various versions of the XI for a couple of years. The Surfski version of the XI is different then the Surfski version of the IV that Oscar uses.

The XI Surfski and Extralight are essentially the same paddle in weight and stiffness. The XI Regular has more built in flex, but weights slightly more. Individual preference to which works best for the paddler. For the XI Surfski and Extralights, we use more flexible shafts. For the regular, folks tend to like slightly stiffer shafts...all depends on preference and what works for you.

The IV Surfski that Oscar uses is slightly heavier then both the Extralight (lightest and stiffest) and the regular IV, but obviously thicker, stronger to handle surf. We build all the Surfski IVs (and most XI EL or SS) with 19K soft shafts (Oscar's input to Braca) that have 10cm of adjustment for the wider range of ocean paddling.

Just another note on the shafts, I have 5 different stiffness of 2 piece shafts to mix and match with all the blades depending on the requirements. Lots of combo options.

If you'd like, lease reach out to me directly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have any more specific questions (have all the blades and shafts in stock)

Thanks
Chris
FastPaddler.com

ccchappell wrote: Hi,
The XI Surfski and Extralight are essentially the same paddle in weight and stiffness. The XI Regular has more built in flex, but weights slightly more.

Thanks for the reply. Is the quoted statement correct as written? The published specs on the previous link have the Regular XI and Surfski XI at the same weight(no stiffness spec) for every blade size except the largest 775 where they deviate slightly, but at every blade size the Extralight XI is published as lighter weight than the Surfski XI/Regular XI.

Hi, yes the statement is correct based on the inventory I have in stock, or sold.

I weigh every blade when I receive and inventory my shipments. Have about 32 XIs in stock and 45 on order, and for all the XIs (sold and inventoried) the weights of the XL vs SS have only varied by about 10g for a blade set, with the Regular about 30-40g heavier per blade set. Depends on size of blade as well.

I tell customers the Braca website is good for guidance, but any questions on weight let me know I can weigh any specific combination. Lightest versions are the 1 piece shaft obviously. But even the 2 piece versions (which add about 50-75g over a 1 piece shaft, depending on the stiffness) paddle lighter since the most of weight is in the middle of the paddle.

Hope this helps!
Chris