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| Fortis 2022 |
In September 2021 EO SUP sent me a new paddle which I didn’t get the chance to use properly until recently, this is the somewhat delayed review of the EO SUP Fortis 2022.
SUP My Race and EO SUP
SUP My Race is the Facebook group I run for stand up paddlers who want to challenge themselves to go a bit further, you can find it here. I am very fortunate to have some fantastic sponsors for the group and one of those is EO SUP. Based in Latvia, EO are a collection of technical specialists and craftsmen brought together by paddling, you can read about them and all of their products here.
At the start of 2021 I received their Oti paddle and an adjustable Fortis 2022 for others to use. The 90 square inch Oti is the paddle I use most for touring and winter paddling particularly in sub zero conditions when using an inflatable SUP makes a lot of sense, the extra thickness means dry feet and that extra thickness means a longer paddle and the Oti has been fantastic in use now for nearly 18 months. You can read about my Oti here - Oti 2021 long term review and my Fortis here - adjustable Fortis 2020.
As I started to get faster last year I had a conversation with Artis at EO about their race paddle, the Fortis. The demo adjustable Fortis 2020 is just a little too short for me to get the most out of it so you can imagine how happy I was to receive a fixed length, custom Fortis 2022. I was over the moon! Then some stuff happened and winter arrived and I didn’t really get the chance to get to know my newest bit of kit. Through this time EO have been fantastic, letting me recover and get back to fitness before sitting down to write this.
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| Fast kit at rest |
About the Fortis
First, it is gorgeous! At a time when many performance paddles are monochrome, black carbon or maybe silver with printed graphics on the blade to have something that is a little different and looks so natural is a joy.
The paddle is 2035mm long and weighs 496g which is pretty good for a very long paddle. The blade size is 95 square inches. The blade and handle are made from Obeche wood and the shaft is carbon fibre.
When discussing the paddle one of the questions EO asked was the distance from the waterline of my race board to the deck where I stand, something that is often overlooked in internet discussions on paddle length, the thickness of the board is an important factor in overall paddle length. I am 193 cm tall and maybe not the most flexible paddler, this paddle is actually shorter than any other paddle I have owned. It is 50mm shorter than my Oti and at first it was a challenge adapting to it but it is exactly right for me on the board I use it most with, my dugout McConks prototype race board.
The shaft is conical, a correction made by the engineers at EO when I referred to it as tapered, I like that attention to detail. Like the Oti the shaft is textured and does a good job with providing grip when working hard.
The handle and the blade are the main focus with the paddle, not only do they look good but they feel nice in your hand and that feeling continues with the shape of the handle. It is organic shape fits in the palm of my hand perfectly. One of the other questions EO asked me was my hand size and it is great that a company can make things to fit their customers. The finish on the wood for the handle and the blade is matte, as a personal preference I think I prefer the gloss finish on the Oti but EO can provide either and it’s nice to see the difference between them.
The blade is finished off with 'Sup my race' on the face of the blade, a little touch that makes me smile every time I pick it up.
Spring 2022
In February 2022 I started to train properly on the SUP for the first time under the guidance of Michael Booth, multiple SUP world champion and awesome coach. When spring finally sorted itself out and the ice had cleared here in Sweden I swapped from my really stable winter board to my custom McConks race board and from my winter paddle to my still new Fortis.
Getting wet
There is quite a big difference between the two paddles!
The Oti is a forgiving piece of kit, if you aren’t concentrating or have a lazy stroke it’s fine with it and flatters your stroke and on days when you are on-it then it copes really well and is a good, fast paddle.
The Fortis is a thoroughbred, a perfectionist. It demands that you pay attention and rewards when you do.
It is without doubt a more powerful paddle than the Oti and as a result it is faster, if you can keep up with it. Every part of the stroke is sharper, entry, catch, power and recovery feel fast and more engaged than other paddles I have used. To get that extra speed and power require a paddler that has good technique and that wants that extra from each stroke, this is the difference between a paddle for leisure and a paddle for racing.
When I have not been thinking about what I am doing or, for the purposes of a review I am deliberately paddling badly this paddle complains, loudly! Call it feathering or cavitation or simply wobbly paddle syndrome would be a better term to describe where the power available is not being harnessed, if you are not in control of the paddle then it provides feedback, instantly.
The blade shape is fairly simple, I could try to describe it but instead here are the words from the EO SUP website and some images. The short version, it works really well.
Through the use of complex CFD simulations and analysis, we have improved the shape of the blade. This has allowed us to reduce the slip of the blade through the water, to cut down the flutter even more, and to increase the general effectiveness of the blade.
This time we also worked on the recovery phase of the stroke. That means the paddle is more aerodynamic when going to the next stroke, therefore saving your energy and allowing you to collect more miles on the water in a shorter time.
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| Back of the blade |
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| Bottom edge of the blade |
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| Side view of the blade |
Speedy
There are a number of reasons I am faster now than I was a year ago, one is following a training program from Booth Training, of course I have written about that! and the other is the paddle. The rest of my kit is the same; board, fin and even my leash. Despite conditions this year that are slower than 2021 I am going faster and I have data to back that up. I am swapping between the Oti and Fortis to see if there is a difference between the paddles. And for me there is.
The Fortis: with the Fortis I am regularly posting stand alone KMs faster than 6’20” and last week recorded one interval at 6’05” or an average speed of 9.9 km/h. These are speeds I did not reach last year.
The Oti: I am still moving quickly but KM splits are between 4 and 6 seconds slower and average speed on the same interval session in similar conditions was 9.5 km/h.
I use average speed not top speed because I am not convinced my Garmin watch is accurate enough to record max speed consistently but for the record it was 15.3 km/h this week using the Fortis.
This extra speed is not free. The Fortis needs more energy to get the best out of it and I am more fatigued at the end of sessions but if the point of training and owning a race board is to go fast then investing extra energy into paddling and having a paddle that can translate extra effort into more speed is a good thing.
Conclusion
This paddle was made for me and it would be really hard for me to not like it but at the start of our relationship I have to confess that I did not fall head over heels in love with my Fortis. She was a little too strong for me and I would pick up my Oti in preference.
However, this year I am stronger, more confident and I now feel I can get the best from my Fortis. My increased power is reflected with extra speed and control on the water.
I am going faster partly due to the increase in blade size and partly due to improvements in fitness and technique. With extra speed comes more stability and I am much more confident in sub-optimal conditions on my skinny race board than I was last year.
I am on target to beat my performance goals this year, will update on progress with them later in the summer. When I beat them it will be down in part to my new Fortis paddle and the support I have had from EO SUP, I can highly recommend them and their paddles. Now... how can I try one of the EO SUP race boards?