REASONS TO BUY
Easy to adjust
Sleek
Great paddle performance
REASONS TO AVOID
Handle more prone to hotspots
Kialoa Tiare Fiberglass Adjustable Review
This top-tier SUP paddle is designed with female paddlers in mind, offering easy adjustability and excellent paddling performance
Credit: Kialoa
RELATED: Best SUP Paddles
Our Verdict
The Kialoa Tiare is a premium paddle with a women’s-specific design. It offers a smaller grip and a thinner shaft that is more ergonomic for smaller hands. It’s easy to adjust with the built-in LeverLock in the handle and offers enough travel for a wide range of heights. The Tiare has great paddling performance, with a smaller blade area. All in all, this paddle is one of our favorites.
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Kialoa Tiare Fiberglass Adjustable | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  | | |||
| Price | $199 List | $219.95 at Backcountry Compare at 2 sellers | $178 List | $65 List $59.99 at Amazon | $42 List $29.95 at Amazon |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Pros | Easy to adjust, sleek, great paddle performance | Easy and sturdy adjustment, lightweight, high performance | Cuts cleanly through water, durable blade | Inexpensive, large adjustment range, durable nylon blade | Inexpensive, easy to transport |
| Cons | Handle more prone to hotspots | Smaller adjustment range | Heavy, looks like a toy, flutters under water | Heavy, top grip feels cheap, shaft bends during power stroke | So-so performance, looks cheap |
| Bottom Line | This top-tier SUP paddle is designed with female paddlers in mind, offering easy adjustability and excellent paddling performance | The Aqua-Bound Challenge has a a high-performance paddle for serious paddlers | The Vibe has a unique shape that functions as a solid all-around paddle that moves water well | An affordable and highly adjustable paddle that will stand up to multiple users and rough usage | This paddle is one of the least expensive options but performed commensurate to its price tag |
| Rating Categories | Kialoa Tiare Fiberg... | Aqua-Bound Challeng... | Werner Vibe | Barrel Point Surf A... | SUPply Co 3-Piece P... |
| Performance (30%) | |||||
| Weight (20%) | |||||
| Ease of Adjustment (20%) | |||||
| Locking Mechanism (20%) | |||||
| Aesthetics (10%) | |||||
| Specs | Kialoa Tiare Fiberg... | Aqua-Bound Challeng... | Werner Vibe | Barrel Point Surf A... | SUPply Co 3-Piece P... |
| Paddle Weight | 1.5 lbs | 1.3 lbs | 1.9 lbs | 2.2 lbs | 2.1 lbs |
| Number of Pieces | 2-piece | 2-piece | 2-Piece | 2-piece | 3-piece |
| Shaft Material | Fiberglass | Carbon | Fiberglass | Aluminum | Aluminum |
| Length Range | 66 in - 82 in | 70 in - 80 in | 68 in - 84 in | 65 in - 83 in | 67 - 85 in |
| Shaft Adjustablility | 16 in | 10.5 in | 16 in | 18 in | 18 in |
| Blade Material | Fiberglass Fibrlite | epX engineered polymer reinforced with carbon | Fiberglass reinforced injected molded nylon | Nylon composite | Nylon |
| Blade Dimensions | 80 sq in | 85 sq in | 100 sq in | 95 sq in | Not listed |
| Blade Shape | Teardrop | Rectangular | Teardrop | Teardrop | Teardrop |
| Blade Design | Dihedral | Dihedral | Dihedral | Dihedral | Concave/Flat |
| Offset | 10 degrees | 10 degrees | 10 degrees | 10.5 degrees | Not listed |
| Compact Size | 66 in | 66 in | 34.5 in | 65 in | N/A |
| Includes Cover | No | No | No | Yes | No |
| Locking Mechanism | Handle LeverLock | "Performance" Snap Button | Handle LeverLock | "TwinPin" Collar Clamp | Dual-Pin Collar Clamp |
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Our Analysis and Test Results
This paddle was designed in consultation with an expert female paddler, particularly for female paddlers. Our testers loved it — and we highly recommend it to any ladies looking to take their paddling to the next level.
Performance Comparison
The smaller teardrop blade on this paddle makes it easier for a faster cadence.
Credit: David Wise
Performance
Our first set of tests and evaluations looked at how the Tiare feels on the water. This paddle did exceptionally well, meriting one of the better scores of the entire pack of paddles. We based this on how much power we felt we were getting out of each product, how it felt to hold and paddle, and how cleanly it entered and exited the water.
The fiberglass shaft on the Tiare is very rigid and does a great job of effectively and efficiently transferring your power into pushing the board forward. It’s very rigid, so you aren’t wasting a bunch of energy by bending the paddle. The 10-degree offset gives you an increased effective paddling length per stroke, and the teardrop shape enters the water cleanly and easily.
This paddle has a 10-degree offset and a teardrop blade.
Credit: David Wise
However, this paddle does have a smaller overall surface area than many of the other top-tier products, so you are limited at the amount of power that you can get per paddle stroke, though it will be much less fatiguing to paddle if you don’t have a ton of upper body strength.
We also noticed that the ridges on the handle can cause hot spots or a bit more irritation than some of the smoother options.
Weight
We moved on to comparing and evaluating the heft of each paddle. Heavier paddles make longer trips much more fatiguing — even if they only tip the scales a tiny bit more than the lighter ones. The Tiare did decently well, earning a score in the middle of the group.
This paddle weighs in at 1.5 pounds or 24 ounces. The lightest carbon paddles are a little closer to 1.2 to 1.3 pounds, while the cheaper aluminum options can be as heavy as 2.2 pounds.
Ease of Adjustment
Next, we moved on to comparing and scoring how user-friendly and easy to adjust the length of each paddle is. The Kialoa Tiare did very well, earning one of the best scores out of all the paddles that we have tested.
It's easy to adjust the length of this paddle to get the perfect paddle stroke.
Credit: David Wise
This paddle offers up to 16 inches of adjustment, ranging from 66 inches to 82 inches. The telescoping fiberglass shafts move freely, and it’s easy to adjust the length, even on the water. We also like that this paddle offers continuous adjustment in that range, instead of discrete settings.
The locking mechanism integrated into the handle is one of our all-time favorites.
Credit: David Wise
Locking Mechanism
Moving on from the ease of adjustment, our next metric focuses on the locking mechanism of each of these adjustable paddles. The Tiare again delivered top-tier results, earning another one of the best scores.
This paddle has a LeverLock locking mechanism, which is a single lever in the center of the handle. Lift this up, and an internal mechanism releases, allowing you to adjust the length. Fold it down, and this internal mechanism locks the length in place, while the lever also conveniently lies flush with the handle.
This is by far our favorite type of locking mechanism, vastly outperforming the camlock or dual-pin paddles in our mind. We find it much sleeker and easier to use.
While it might not be the most striking paddle out there, the Kialoa still scored quite well in our aesthetics metric.
Credit: David Wise
Aesthetics
For our last rating metric, we — quite literally — looked at the aesthetics of each stand up paddle board paddle. This Tiare finished out the tests with another strong showing, earning an above-average score.
This paddle doesn’t have the most striking appearance, but we like the color combination and the smooth lines.
Value
This paddle is definitely one of the more expensive options out there, so it probably isn’t a great option for anyone shopping on a tight budget.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a top-tier product designed with the lady paddler in mind, then we highly recommend the Kialoa Tiare. It has great paddling performance and is very convenient and easy to use, with the smaller handle and paddle blade perfect for smaller paddlers.
—
Marissa Fox
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