Speedo Contoured Swim Paddles
Speedo Contour PaddlesGrowing up on the flat paddles, I distinctly remember wrapping my fingers around the top of these to hold them in place as we swam our pull sets. Man how times have changed!
While many new swimmers focus on adding fins to their equipment list first, triathletes should pay close attention to their pull and the time they spend training on their upper body. Unlike both the bike and running legs of the triathlon, the swim portion has a strong focus on the upper body and leveraging the strength of the triathlete’s arms. To do this, triathletes need to focus on their stroke and arm movement.
The Speedo Contoured Swim Paddles are available at most big box sporting goods stores. These run less than $15 and are well worth the investment. The contoured form allows for a comfortable handle on the paddles but more importantly it forces you to know how your hand enters and exits the water.
This paddle straps tight around the wrist and the middle finger and as long as they are secured tight, are comfortable and lightweight to use. The contour shape also provides the perfect position for your hands, helping to train new triathletes on the appropriate hand shape when competing.
Overall, I will give the product 3.5 out of 4 stars. These are significantly more beneficial for swim training than web options and Speedo has provided one of the top of the class in their contoured offering.
Comments
Thanks for your question Kris. I have found that the medium size paddle (Red writing) work best for open water training.
The smaller paddles are intended to allow breaststroke training which isn’t necessary unless you plan to vary your training significantly away from the front crawl.
The larger paddles will work for those with large hands. The challenge is that they don’t optimize the entry of the hand in the extended stroke in my experience.
Thanks for stopping by Need2Tri.
- Joel
How do you determine what size of paddle to get based on hand size? Is there a way to measure your hand?
Hi Carol. Very few people will need the large paddles. To decide your paddle size, I would use your typical winter glove size as an easy guideline. If you wear an XS or S glove, the small paddle will work. If you have an XXL glove, the large paddle would fit. All others will probably do well with the Medium paddle.
Thanks for stopping by Need2Tri.
- Joel
What is your review on sizing for these paddles?