"I have heard it said that people who do what they want for a living end up doing what it is they are best at. I surf and build surfboards because I love it and think it's the only thing I know how to do. Dave Chun builds paddles because he knows how to do it right. KIALOA Paddles are state of the art. When I watch Dave working or just talking about paddles, I can sense some very heavy feelings. The Hawaiians call this Mana and I believe it is a cosmic energy that flows through everything in the universe like the wind, the waves, rocks, plants and animals. Mana in humans is manifested as great skills, talents, strengths, intelligence and character. When using a KIALOA Paddle, that electric sensation one feels is the Mana. Keep Paddling."

- Gerry Lopez

Technology and Tradition

Together on the Water

Born on the Island of Oahu in 1991, KIALOA Paddles grew out of Dave Chun's love for the sport of outrigger canoe racing. Driven by the desire to build the best paddles in the world, Dave started crafting wood paddles on his parents' lanai. Shortly thereafter, he met Meg, a midwesterner transplanted to Hawaii. It was a marriage of west and east, island heritage and mainland progressiveness. The Chuns moved the company to Bend, Oregon in 1992, bringing the Aloha spirit with them. Against all odds, they started an outrigger club in the High Desert. Nowadays KIALOA makes a full line of stand up, outrigger and dragon boat paddles. And you can still find Dave and Meg paddling on the Deschutes River near the shop, together on the water.

At KIALOA We Live Like We Paddle