Holding your paddleboard paddle wrong is the number one mistake I see new stand-up paddleboarders making. And it can make a huge difference in not just paddling efficiency, but also maneuverability, stability, and comfort. Here’s how you can always know how to hold a paddleboard paddle correctly.
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Here’s How to Hold Your Stand Up Paddleboard Paddle…
This isn’t a recipe website. I’m not going to make you search through an entire memoir to get to the good stuff.
Here’s the short of it: If the blade is scooped like a spoon – use it like a spoon. If the blade is flat, but angled (aka Raked), the angle should point the blade forward toward the front of the board. If the blade is flat and perfectly straight, then use it either way!
Two types of SUP Paddles and How to Hold Them
There are two basic paddle blade shapes that make holding your SUP paddle confusing. And sometimes these shapes are blended together – making it even harder to understand which way the blade faces.
SUP Paddle Blades – Rake Angles, Scoops, and Flats
Rake angle, also referred to as blade angle, is the angle that the paddle blade meets the paddle shaft. Many paddleboard paddles designed for beginners, or sold with entry-level SUP kits, have no or very little rake angle. This means the blade comes straight out of the paddle shaft.
But these paddles often have what is called Blade Scoop—a curve in the blade from shaft to tip that makes it look a bit like a spoon.
The other common type of SUP paddle has a Flat Blade (no, or very little scoop), but a larger rake angle. These paddles are used with the blade angled forward.
The photos below show a few of the most commonly found scooped vs flat SUP blade shapes. The first two (Scooped Blade and Flat Blade) are the most common. Blades that are mostly flat with a slight scoop (often with other shaping as well) tend to be found on more advanced paddles.
The last image shows a double-scooped paddle blade. I hate these things. They are awful for beginners as there is no clear indication which way the paddle should be held as both sides are scooped and they offer zero advantages over other blade shapes. These paddles should be used like a regular Scooped paddle blade – with the vertical scoop pointing toward the tail. The horizontal scoop (across the width of the blade) should point toward the nose. You can see how it would be easy to get this paddle turned around backward—especially when the handle section can be freely turned during length adjustment.
Why Hold Scoops Backward and Angles Forward?
Thank you, I thought you’d never ask!
Blade Scoop actually becomes flat during the paddle stroke!
Scooped blades are primarily made from nylon—a soft plastic—that bends and flexes during the paddle stroke. This is great for durability. If you hit a rock or drop the paddle or step on the blade it’s not likely to break. But it means that when the blade is under load during your paddle stroke it bends. If the blade weren’t scooped “backward” toward the tail of the board, it would flex too much out of the way and make it very difficult to paddle.
With the softer blade scooped back it straightens out and gives it an angle forward – like a raked blade. Caveat: double-scooped paddles don’t do this as much and tend to hold their shape more, which actually messes up the stroke mechanic even more. They really are just poorly designed.
Advantages and Disadvantages – Scoped vs Raked SUP Paddles
The biggest advantage of the scoop shape is its user-friendliness. Most people who have never paddled before can pick up a scooped paddle blade and intuit which way to hold it. And you do get the durability benefit described above.
But once you start learning proper paddling technique the scooped shape presents many limitations. It shortens your reach (and stroke length), causes cavitation during the catch, and holds and lifts water at the release. All of that leads to inefficiency, extra work, a slower pace and even less stability while paddling.
The Raked paddle blade fixes basically all of the disadvantages of the Scooped blade. The forward angle increases your effective reach, the flat, rigid blade provides instant support without cavitation at the catch*. The rigid blade provides consistent power through the stroke, and the flat shape releases water and reduces water lifting at the end of the stroke. It also makes it easier to take bracing strokes to support you and provide momentary stability. It’s also easier to take faster strokes and because more of your energy is transferred instead of used to bend the blade they are more efficient for propelling your board.
The disadvantages are that these blades are counterintuitive for new paddlers to use as most will default to holding it backward like a scoop, and they are generally less damage resistant since they are rigid.
At the end of the day if you want to know which design is better overall – take a look at high end SUP paddles. These paddles, whether for racing, surfing, whitewater, touring, or even just for cruising around all have raked blades that are either flat through their long axis or have a very slight curve (usually just at the tip). This basic shape offers the best feel and performance in the water.
*You do have to use good form with a flat paddle blade to fully avoid cavitation, but it’s always going to happen on scooped paddles.
How to Hold a Paddleboard Paddle Handle
The vast majority of SUP paddle handles are asymmetrical. Just like the blade they have a front and a back and it is important to get the handle set correctly.
The “deep” or “concave” side is the front of the handle. This deeper pocket is where your fingers rest and points toward the nose of the board.
The “shallow” or “flat” side is the back of the handle. This flatter section rests against your palm and points toward the tail of the board.
This SUP paddle handle has a very dramatic shape that makes it great for an infographic. Not all handles are this pronounced. If you aren’t sure which way to use your paddle, try holding it each way – you’ll find that one way (incorrect) the handle digs into your palm, but the other way (correct) it fits nicely in your palm.
There are some handles out there that are symmetrical. They tend to be far less comfortable because they are always digging into your palm or they have no room for your fingers. Avoid these whenever you can.
If your paddle is adjustable length you may be able to turn the handle section around in the shaft. You want to make sure that the “deep”/”concave”/”fingers” side of the handle is on the same side as the “back”/non-power face of your paddle blade—back of the spoon for scooped blades and on the side the blade points toward for flat/raked blades—and is pointed toward the nose of the board.
Some adjustable paddles have indexing grooves and ridges built into them. These grooves should perfectly align the handle section to the blade for you. Or they may have printed indicators on the handle and shaft for alignment. I still recommend double checking as some cheaper paddles use an indexing system that isn’t always aligned properly at the factory.
Why Does Holding a Paddleboard Paddle Matter?
Can you use a SUP paddle backward? Yes, technically you can, but there are some big issues to consider when doing so.
Improving SUP Paddling Comfort
There are only four touch-points when stand-up paddleboarding—your two feet on the board and your two hands on the paddle. An improperly fit or incorrectly oriented paddle can have a seriously negative impact on your overall comfort. If the paddle handle is turned around backward, you’ve got no room for your fingers to relax and you’ll have the handle digging into your palm.
If the blade is pointed the wrong way then you’ll run into problems with paddling efficiency—you’ll need more strokes to go the same distance. You’ll also be wasting energy by lifting water with each paddle stroke or fighting a paddle that seems to wander with a mind of its own in the water.
Improving Stability On Your SUP
When your paddle blade is not oriented correctly in the water you miss out on one of the most important things a paddle provides: Stability. An active paddle blade in the water acts like an additional point of contact and creates a triangle of stability with your feet. But, a backward paddle blade will slip, wander, and flutter through the water completely eliminating this stability benefit, and—if you aren’t ready for it—can actually cause you to topple off the board if you were anticipating that extra stability during your paddle stroke or if the blade suddenly “catches” in the water or against your board. This is also where flat/raked blades outperform scooped blades. The flat shape allows you to instantly put pressure on the blade as you begin your paddle stroke. It also aligns the blade for better bracing strokes – an advanced technique of slapping the water with the paddle in a specific way that gives you a brief instant of stability to prevent falling off the board.
Paddling Your SUP Faster and Straighter
Paddling straighter is one of the most-requested “How-tos” in stand-up paddleboarding. It can be a tricky skill to master, but one of the most important things is making sure your paddle is properly aligned to begin with. This allows you to make small adjustments in the paddle angle to help steer the board straight. Straighter paddling means faster paddling. If the handle or blade are misaligned, then you’ll be fighting your equipment the whole time and techniques like sprint paddling won’t work at all.
How to Hold a Paddleboard Paddle Correctly—Clear as Mud?
Let’s hear it! Did this guide help you? Leave you more confused than before? Do you have more questions about how to properly hold your SUP Paddle? We want to hear from you! leave a comment below or contact us with your questions.
If you are looking for a paddle upgrade (especially if you have one of the dreaded “double-scoop” paddles) We’ve been using the Hydrus Ruckus recently for everything from racing to casual cruising and love the feel in the water. It’s a little expensive, but is about half the price of some other race paddles like Quick Blade and Black Project offering the same level of performance You can save a little off that price with code SUPOLOGY at checkout, too. If you are looking for something a little less expensive, we also really like Nixy’s lineup of their Nixy Pro 3k Carbon Fiber paddles. They offer a great balance of comfort, performance, and price.