How To

Don’t Be Afraid to Fly with Your V-Drive The thought of packing my Quickblade paddles used to scare the living daylights out of me. But, after awhile, I got tired of borrowing blades or renting inferior ones and decided to invest in a good bag...

Thriving in Paddle Training Just doing the miles isn’t enough. To perform well, you need to do more than just miles. Paddle Monster Coach Larry Cain explains how bringing in different elements of training while simultaneously putting in the miles, is the different from a...

Joe Bark's shapes are unmistakable.  Period. When I came to my first SUP race, six years or so ago (the Cold Stroke Classic) Bark SUP boards were pretty much all I noticed. They are unmistakable too, but when I think of a classic Joe Bark...

It's All About the Brace I've come to believe that the brace is the most under-taught and under-utilized of the paddle strokes, especially in standup paddling. It is essential in paddling outrigger - because if you do not learn to brace almost without thinking on...

How to Remount a Surfski Surfski is growing in popularity...as more and more paddle athletes are seeing its value as a cross training tool and are lured into it by the speed and the fun. (That's my excuse, anyway - I take possession of my...

First of all, let me be clear. As far as I can see it, there is no dominant governing body that can regulate races. At all. So, no one is imposing anything on anyone. We are a collective group of independents. This could change...

Assisted Surf Ski Rescues Helping a fellow paddler is something we all will likely have to do at one point or another.  Knowing how to use your craft to rescue someone in the water is essential knowledge.  Here's a great video from  Alex Matthews and...

Safe SUP Surfing for the Beginner Slammed We all love the Kookslams Instagram feed, right? But precious few of us would really care to have a video of us posted there.  In fact, I live in abject fear of being a kook in the lineup. When...

SUP Drafting for Racing - Larry Cain Ever want to know what it's like to be Larry Cain, drafting?  Take a look at the new Paddle Monster trailer for his Drafting 101 video and find out!  You'll see how the master does it! The full video...

Outrigger Canoe Safety Setup John Beausang of DistressedMullet.com / paddlemonster.com shares his outrigger canoe downwinding setup, including how he attaches his spare paddle to his OC1, his leash setup, and hydration method (and tells us why you don't want to carry a water bottle when...

So you want to try prone paddling Prone boarding is pure.  It’s challenging.  It’s fun.  You get to lie down. The first time I tried it, Katie Elzer-Peters let me climb aboard hers…I almost didn’t give it back. But, it does come with it’s own idiosyncrasies. Balance...

Deciphering the Wind Forecast Wind. It can either make a great paddle, like when it's ripping toward the West Maui Mountains and the Maliko Downwind run is firing, or it can break us, like the 2016 version of Chattajack, when 25 mile per hour plus...

Entering your first standup paddleboard race Chances are, if you just bought your first paddleboard and you've discovered you're addicted to it, the thought of entering a paddleboard race has crossed your mind.  Or maybe you've just discovered that sup racing is actually a thing...

How to choose your first paddleboard Paddling season is here!  Maybe you tried SUP last year and have decided it’s time to take the plunge and get your own board. Maybe you just think it looks fun and cool and you want to give it a...

Picking out your first OC paddle So, maybe you've just succumbed to the pull of outrigger canoe and you're about to get your first OC paddle.  Might want to review this helpful video from Dave and Meg Chun at Kialoa before your pick your blade...

A few random suggestions and this is not a complete how-to list. Feel free to add to the bottom: Involve local and regional paddlers in the planning Use standard divisions and practices from the WPA (World Paddle Association) Finding a good date that doesn’t...

Downwind Surf Ski Skills Reading the water and the bumps is a key skill when it comes to learning how to downwind - regardless of whether your are paddling SUP, OC or surf ski.  In this video from Epic Kayaks, surf ski icon Oscar Chalupsky...

Surf Ski Skills: Open Ocean Thinking about taking your surf ski skills to the next level in the open ocean? Before you head out beyond the break, here's some great advice from the folks at Epic Kayak.  You can read the complete article here. Tips for...

So you just bought a canoe, want a canoe, or have a canoe. Regardless of whether you belong in one of those three categories, knowing how to properly care for your outrigger is vital if you want to prolong the life of your craft....

OC2 paddlers, learn how to install your rudder with Jim Foti and Outrigger Zone! "Installing a rudder into a Tempest OC2 (outrigger canoe) is easy. Just follow Jim Foti's simple instructions. You will need a Hhilips screwdriver and the parts that come with your rudder...

How many times have you heard someone tell you to pull yourself to the paddle, not pull the paddle toward you? That's been a tenant of Greg Barton's forward stroke philosophy for years.  Barton is the Olympic sprint kayaker gold medalist and co-owner and...

In all paddled watercraft the most fundamental principle of technique is to gather water on your paddle blade, secure it in the water and pull yourself by the paddle. In the 1980s, Tamas Buday, a sprint canoe athlete from Hungary was doing his coaching education...

by Larry Cain, Head Paddle Coach, Paddle Monster It’s crucially important to spear the blade into the water so that it is actually moving forward as it enters.  This helps us maximize the water we’re able to gather on our blade at the catch, thus...

Our friends on The Valley Isle of Maui have been posting some amazing shots of the huge conditions on the Maliko Run on the North Shore this week.  So, we thought we'd check in with Suzie Cooney, whose video and photos of one of...

Aches and pains still annoying you after a full summer of paddling or racing? More and more research is pointing to inflammation as the culprit. Amy Beausang offers some great suggestions for reducing inflammation in her blog post Five Healthy Ways to Quash Inflammation. In a...