Contrary to what many beginner paddle boarders believe, the paddle slant should be curved towards the front of your SUP board. Another way to put it, the blade angle should be facing away from you. Not facing towards you. The part facing away from you in the water is called the Power Face.
Why Does It Matter Which Side The Blade Faces?
Believe it or not, holding the blade at a correct angle makes a significant impact. You probably won’t notice it right away, but after a few minutes of trying it on either side, you’ll discover that holding the SUP blade facing away from you provides more efficient rowing and greater speeds at less effort. This in turn, allows you to paddle much further without exhorting as much anything.
Like how I, unfortunately, learn most things in life, I learned the hard way of the right and wrong ways to hold a paddle on my standup paddleboard. My favorite river I paddle is a 1.5-mile trek one way. I used the wrong side going towards the destination, found out the proper way to hold it, and used the correct way on the way back. As you can guess, going back was much easier and required less effort.
What Happens If The Power Face Of The Blade Is facing Away From You?
So if you use the paddle the incorrect way where the Power Face is facing away from you, it’s much harder to row, requires more energy, the blade flutters side to side, and all of that tends to strain the shoulder. So use the paddle the correct way facing away from you, and enjoy a smooth paddle. Thanks for reading, have a great day!
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