Kit review: Otion Swim Paddles

These innovative paddles will help improve your hand position while swimming

Do we need another type of hand paddle for swimming training? If you’ve been training for a while, it’s likely you’ve accumulated a few pairs and probably experimented with several others.

Paddles usually claim to serve one of two purposes: building strength and improving the pathway of your hand through the water. Some paddles claim to do both.

Designed by Dan Bullock of Swim for Tri, the Otion is the first swim paddle we’ve come across designed to help you improve your hand shape and finger position.

The optimal way to hold your hand while swimming is believed to be with the fingers a short distance apart. The hand should be relaxed and have a natural curve. If you hold the fingers too tight and tense, you lose potential surface area and add unnecessary tension. If they’re too far apart, water slips through and you lose purchase.

The Otion paddle has “finger fins.” Place your fingers on either side of these, and they should be in the perfect position. There’s also a thumb hook to help you keep the paddle in place.

So much for the theory. How do they feel in use?

Our pair was delivered without instructions, but this wasn’t an issue. It’s immediately obvious how to use them. Hands slip easily and comfortably into place. The curvature of the paddle matches the natural curve of the hand, unlike some flat paddles. Swimming was also easy and natural. The paddles don’t feel as if they will fall off easily.

In the early stages, you may find that your hand and fingers start to ache after a few minutes. This happened to us, which we concluded was a result of holding excess tension in the fingers. However, after a few sessions, you learn to relax – you exert just enough force to hold the paddles in place but not so much that your fingers start cramping.

The paddles also encourage an effective catch and pull. You need to angle the paddle correctly and press back to keep it in place. Other things we like are that the paddles are quick to put on. There’s no fuss with straps, nor is there any strain over your middle finger that you get with some paddles. They also float, which is handy if you happen to drop them. On longer swims, you do start to feel some fatigue in your arms and shoulders, which suggests some strength benefit too.

Overall, even if you already have several pairs of paddles in your kit bag, these are a worthwhile addition.

Visit the Otion website.