It seems like the textured part of the handle that swells out should go in the palm of my hand, but I’m totally new to this, so wanted to ask.
If the paddle is straight, they it both ways. I would use it with the bulb in the handle pointed toward the bow.
Thanks. You mean the non-textured part facing the bow, and the textured part facing stern, like in the pic?
Yes. Assuming the paddle blade is completely symmetrical then you could use either face as the power face. A lot of SUP paddles seem to have a spoon blade. In that case the orientation will depend on the blade since the concave face is the power face.
But for an asymmetrical pear grip of that type, the palm swell is ordinarily intended to face forward.
Cool, thanks. Here’s what the blade looks like (attached). The top handle was confusing because it rotates 360 degrees, so the blade itself could be in the correct orientation, but the t-handle could be reversed. It does seem to feel most comfortable with the textured part in my palm, and the smooth, swelled portion facing forward with my fingers over it. I’m used to my kayak paddle, so this is all new to me.
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Yes, the convex face of the paddle blade is the non-power face (faces forward) and the concave face of the spoon blade is the power face (pulls on the water).
I would call it more of a pear grip than a T grip but you can call it a T grip if you please. You could use it either way I guess, but most people are going to find it most comfortable to grip if the “swell” portion faces away from you and the textured part toward your palm.
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If the top handle rotates, I would assume that it should be used in whatever orientation is most comfortable for you. The convex side of the blade is usually forward, as you have pictured it. However, I have seen a fair number of people and ads where the blade is used in a reversed orientation. Don’t know if this is a hanging offense like an upside down kayak paddle.
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Cool. This is how is seems to best fit the hand, but it’s easy to spin around if it doesn’t feel comfortable. Thanks.
Spoon shaped power faces have become very popular among whitewater open boaters and C1 paddlers as well.
The spoon blade offers a bit smoother water entry at the plant and feels a bit more secure at the catch of the paddle stroke.
Sure, you can propel a canoe or SUP using the paddle backwards, just as you can make a canoe move using a bent shaft paddle backwards. But in all of these cases you have now made the paddle significantly less efficient than a plain, straight shaft paddle with symmetrical faces would have been.
In all these cases the loss in efficiency is probably as great and likely greater than using an asymmetrical kayak paddle upside-down.
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