I am interested in trying hand paddles with my downwind board. There's a fair bit of comment about how good they are, but very little about what paddles people are using or where to get them.
There's any number of swimming training hand paddles.
I found some Sunova branded paddles but they're insanely expensive.
Can anybody share any experience on buying or making hand paddles for foiling?
My current thought is to cut out some paddle shapes, using some EVA leftover from previous projects, whack in some strappy bits and see what happens.
www.side-shore.com/produits/73878/plaquettes-hand-paddle-prone-dw-sunova
www.etsy.com/au/listing/1334005482/hand-paddle-co-hand-paddles
Template off SUP paddle. Seem to do the job pretty well. Put the grain this way so I could curve them a bit. Cost about $5.
I'd probably just start with some webbed gloves or nothing to start . If you are not a seasoned prone paddler the hand paddles blow your arms really fast plus you have to still be able to do a pop up which is super hard at the start with paddles on your hands. I'd just go in small surf for now with nothing and see how you go , prone paddling up a long board and a big foil is way harder than it looks . I got my ass handed to me when I first did it . The hand paddles actually work best kneeling which also helps with the pop up plus you can get a bit of a pump motion in the stroke. This video shows a couple of prone starts on my 7-10 .
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+1 with Piros.
I only used webbed gloves for surfing when it was the craze, but there is a reason nobody use them anymore:
For them to be worth it, you need:
- perfect technique: it is easy to lose all their benefits if the entry in the water is not perfect, and thus adding a lot of drag
- superior stamina, otherwise you will be exhausted very quickly
- good shoulder and elbow joints, because the added stress on them can hurt
Nice video of a kneeling start
www.facebook.com/share/v/kvEbK6WTKD8x73iD/?mibextid=WaXdOe
I guess kneeling helps with paddle/gloves as the entry is more vertical: so if there is drag on the entry it just pushes you up rather than pulls you backwards
