Gear Review - Hydrus Ruckus Flyweight Race Paddle
by Michael Carney, SouthCentral Regional Rep

Hydrus Board Tech has been focused on performance-first designs since day one. Over the last two years, Hydrus has been making it a priority to help grow SUP Racing by creating accessible, affordable, and of course performance-level equipment. They’ve also been sponsoring local races and other paddling events around Idaho and signed on as a Silver level sponsor with USA SUP this year (and are giving away a race board as part of the USA SUP member raffle this December!)

Ruckus Flyweight Race Paddle

I’ve worked closely with Hydrus owner Jason Zawadzki for several years. When he called me one day to get some of my thoughts on race paddles I was ecstatic. The one-piece Hydrus Toughblade has been a fantastic all-around and sprint race paddle for me the last two years, but I’ve always felt it could be better - and so did he!

After dozens and dozens of iterations and tests, Hydrus announced their new Ruckus Flyweight Race paddle early this summer.

Hydrus Ruckus Flyweight Specs: Blade size (S): 15” x 6.4” ~84sq in Blade size (L): 15.25” x 7” ~90sq in Blade rake: 10° Blade material: 30T prepreg carbon fiber Shaft: Tapered 30T prepreg carbon fiber 1-piece or 2-piece (single length) Handle: Molded carbon fiber in a large or small size Weight: Small Blade, Large handle, 77” - 16.7 oz

Paddle Options

The Ruckus is available with two different blade sizes, two different shaft options, and two different handle sizes.

The Small blade is 6.4” across roughly 82 square inches and the Large blade is 7” across and roughly 87 square inches. Jason encourages people to not get too hung up on the surface area measurements, especially compared to other paddles, because of how this paddle is shaped. More on that in a minute. There’s a double-dihedral concave with tapered edges, and the toe is curved slightly in.

The shaft is made with a slight taper to give it a flex profile that can drive in a sprint, but is comfortable for a distance race. Both options are cut-to-length, but you can order it as either a single piece paddle (lightest option) or as a two piece paddle for easier traveling. 

Lastly, Hydrus developed a new handle shape that’s a little larger. Jason swears by it for easing up some of his elbow tendonitis. Compared to a few of my other paddles the large size is about 1/16-1/8" wider front to back. I have smaller hands and found the large size a little odd at first, but had completely forgotten it before I was finished with my warmup. But, they are offering a more traditional “Small” size handle as well.

On the Water

Of course the first thing I did was take the Ruckus (82 sq in) and my Quick Blade UV88 (88 sq in) out on the water for a test. I warmed up and then did alternating half-mile segments out-and-back for four miles on flat water switching between the two paddles. 

 

I kept my cadence the same using a speed coach (40-45 strokes per minute) and kept my heartrate in the same zone (zone 2 with the tail wind and zone 3 with the head wind). There was a little ~5mph breeze, but I kept it evenly on head or at my back, testing each paddle in both conditions multiple times. The Result: I had the exact same speeds with the two paddles. I averaged 4.5 mph with each paddle throughout the test (including both headwind and tailwind), distance per stroke, stroke rate, and heart rate were all equivalent throughout the test. Considering the Ruckus is notably smaller in surface area than the UV88, I found that to be incredibly impressive.

But, what I think was most compelling for me was the feel of the Ruckus paddle in the water. It took me a few miles of paddling before I realized it, but I didn’t have a single bad stroke with the Ruckus. No slipping on the catch, no fluttering or wandering side to side during the power phase, and the catch and release were both clean without cavitation or lifting. On the other hand, I do find my UV88 to be less forgiving and will slip at the catch and wander slightly if my stroke isn’t spot-on.

How I use it

The Ruckus (small blade) is now my preferred distance paddle. If I’m paddling 5k or more, I’m going to be on the Ruckus.

The forgiving stroke mechanic, smaller blade, and balance of power and comfort make it a great paddle to use for long distances. 

The smaller blade doesn’t work as well for me for sprints and short tech races as it doesn’t have the same maximum power output as my larger bladed paddles, but I’m excited to see how the new large-blade Ruckus does for me in this category. 

Value

Hands-down, the Hydrus Ruckus Flyweight provides the best value to performance ratio I’ve ever seen. It’s got an MSRP of $375 - compare that to the $550 MSRP for a Quick Blade UV88. Not only that, but the Ruckus also comes with a padded paddle bag.

As a sponsor of USA SUP, Hydrus is offering a limited time discount for USA SUP members. Use the code “USARUCKUS” to save 10% off the Ruckus through November 15th.

Until next time - Safe Paddling and I’ll see you on the water!