WHY USE HAND PADDLES?
It is universally agreed that hand paddles will make swimming movements through the arms and shoulders stronger as they generally increase the surface area available at the hand. They provide more resistance and increase the work being done. Unfortunately, this is indiscriminate and will have no relevance as to whether the work being done is helpful to your swim technique or a hindrance. Paddles until this point have been about making the arms and shoulders work harder with little focus on making the hand a better shape or the pathway the hand and arm takes when pulling during your swim. This is what we wanted from our swim paddle.
WHY USE OTION HAND PADDLES?
The hands and hand shape have been overlooked in the world of swimming for years despite being such an important part of the stroke and our swimming technique. We had our suspicions as to what was ideal and finally the sports scientists caught up and told us after various studies were made. Many swimmers will swim with fingers too far apart (Coach Dan of SFT, co-inventor of the Otion Paddle, noticed this first with many of his swimmers who he was teaching to swim faster) or too close together. Challenging his swimmers to swim with small discs and coins between his fingers started the idea of a paddle that shaped the hands.
Explore our unique design
The Otion Swim Paddle was developed over 15 years and in that time we have tried many different designs, often solving one issue but causing another. We arrived at this unique restraint free design which requires greater hand co-ordination and fine motor control to keep the paddle in position while swimming. This can contribute to improved hand positioning at entry and a more efficient propulsion.
Explore the image below to see what makes our paddles unique.
TEXTURED SURFACE
While the top surface has a pimpled, gripping surface to aid grip, the non dimpled underside of the paddle leaves it slightly slippery in the water. This makes the hand pathways while pulling, work harder to maintain a good anchor as the body travels forwards.
THUMB HOOK
The thumb hook is there for support and reassurance and to help guide the hand shape, but it is possible to swim without it.
FINGER FINS
The lack of strap and use of finger fins to retain the paddles in place means the paddles are quickly put on and taken off offering more creative swim sets. They also cause less fatigue and irritation than having tight tubing around the fingers and hand.
CURVED SHAPE
The curved shape of the paddle encourages you to quickly tip the finger tips over after the arm extends forwards promoting a better ‘catch’ on the water.