Guide for choice of SUP paddle

Sizeguide for SUP paddles

When you have to choose your SUP paddle, it is very important that it has the correct size. A paddle that doesn’t fit your size kan cause overload on your muscles or just make your SUP trip a lot harder. It is therefore important that you choose your SUP paddle carefully, so it fits your size perfectly.  

Note that some paddles are adjustable and that you therefor have the opportunity to adjust it perfectly for your height.

You find the correct size for your SUP paddle by measuring your own height and then adding between 10 and 20 cm, depending on whether you are going into the waves or not. If you are going out on the still water, you will find yourself in a position with stretched legs and your SUP paddle should therefore be 20 cm taller than you. Are you on the other hand out in wavy waters, you will have to bend your knees slightly to be able to hold your balance and your SUP paddle should therefore only be 10 cm taller than you.

Material

When choosing a SUP paddle, it is important to be aware of your options. The three typical ones are aluminum, fiberglass and carbon. You can see what price level you can expect from the three different materials below.

Note that this table only is guiding.

Aluminium	55-80 €
Fiberglas	105-135 €
Carbon - henholdsvis 20%, 70% og 100%	105-470 €

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Effect

When choosing what material, you want your SUP paddle to be, it is worth knowing which materials that create the best effect possible on the water.

Note that the figure below only is guiding.

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Models of SUP paddles

Besides the different materials are there also different models of SUP paddles. Respectively being the one-piece, two-piece and three-piece. The three SUP paddle models each have their own advantages and disadvantages that you might have to check out before choosing your SUP paddle.

	Advantages	Disadvantages
One-piece	A one-piece SUP paddle is the most dynamic of the three because it doesn’t have any adjusting handles that can create friction when you are out paddling.	A one-piece SUP paddle is not adjustable, which makes it difficult to transport or travel with.
Two-piece	With a two-piece SUP paddle, you are able to adjust the length to your height. On top of that does the top come off.	TThe two-piece SUP paddle can be seperated into two, but is still for some too big to travel with. It’s adjusting handle can also create a lot of irritation if the paddle is being used over for a long time, depending on the type. Some SUP paddle adjusting handles cause friction with each stroke, which ruins the dynamic and ends up being annoying with time.
Three-piece	A three-piece SUP paddle can be adjusted and taken a part in both the top and the bottom, which makes it perfect for traveling.	The three-piece SUP paddle has two adjusting handles that cause alot of friction in the water and thereby also decreases the dynamic.

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Adjusting handles on two-piece and three-piece SUP paddles - Top and bottom.

If you have chosen a two-piece or three-piece SUP paddle then you have to be aware of adjusting handle your given SUP paddle has.

There is a total of 4 different kinds of handles, two in the top and two in the bottom.

Handles in the top – Straight click closure and lock closure:

If your SUP paddle has straight click closure you will experience that your shaft never will be closed completely tight after being adjusted. This can cause a lot of irritation if you go paddling for a long time.

SSUP paddles with lock closure are the ones that feel the best. All you have to do here is open the lock and move the shaft either up or down and then lock it again. This you can do without worrying about excess space that will irritate your arms.

Handles in the bottom – Straight click closure and crooked closure:

Straight click closure does also exsist in the bottom and causes the same troubles here as in the top. The shaft will never close completely tightly with this kind of closure, but will instead move around in the excess space. This does not only disturb the dynamic, but can also irritate your handling of the shaft.

A SUP paddle with crooked closure on the opposite side is able to do what is known as conical closure, which means that it doesn’t have as much excess space that can cause irritation.

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Should you have any doubts about anything, are you welcome to contact us here.