The Best Hand Paddles
We looked at the top 6 Hand Paddles and dug through the reviews from 20 of the most popular review sites including and more. The result is a ranking of the best Hand Paddles.
Our Review Process
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Our Picks For The Top Hand Paddles
Perfect for all levels of swimming, these sturdy hand paddles have comfortable silicone straps, water channels for more controlled strokes and an ergonomic shape to encourage consistent, optimal performance.
Boost Your WorkoutThese paddles come in various sizes and have adjustable straps to keep them good and secure.
These adult freestyle training hand paddles have a unique surfboard shape to decrease resistance while lengthening every stroke. They also have skegs on the bottoms for the instantaneous stroke feedback that you need.
Improve That TechniqueYou'll see a vast improvement in the quality of your freestyling when you start practicing with these softly pointed paddles.
Designed for elite swimmers, these swimming hand paddles have a slight curve that fits right into the natural cupping of your palms. They also have adjustable straps for a perfect fit, plus an ergonomic design that feels right and protects your shoulders.
Elevate Your RoutineYou'll quickly notice a difference in your form when using these high-quality paddles.
At just the right price, these premium swim paddles are made from lightweight PC material and have adjustable silicone straps. Beginners can use them to strengthen their arms and work on their freestyle, breaststroke, butterfly and backstroke.
Ergonomically DesignedSafely build up muscle and become a strong swimmer with these comfortable, high-performing paddles.
Buying Guide
Hand paddles are some of the best tools a swimmer can use to become a better athlete. Swimmer hand paddles are a terrific way to improve one’s technique, and most competitive swimmers use them to build up their skills.
The paddles help show swimmers what they might be doing wrong so they can make corrections to their swimming strokes. Swimmers who use them regularly can also develop more muscle strength, coordination and speed.
These paddles are not expensive, either; price-wise, you can expect to pay less than $20 a pair.
Hand paddles also increase water resistance and can be solid or have channels built into them. They are ergonomically shaped to fit on the palms and can have holes or adjustable straps.
Some are designed for individual strokes, while you can use others for all four. They are thought to be especially effective for developing the breaststroke, but coaches and swimmers rely on them to improve freestyle, butterfly, backstroke and crawl.
Size counts when it comes to hand paddles; they come in small, medium and large sizes, and the larger ones create more water resistance. The paddle should be slightly wider than the swimmer’s hand to start; if it is too big, it will be challenging to train correctly, and the fingers and tendons could get injured.
When putting on paddles for the first time, make sure that they are comfortable; don’t stretch your fingers out all the way because this is not the position they will be in when swimming. Though some paddles do not have holes or channels to decrease the resistance, experts do not recommend this paddle type for beginners.
Why we recommend these hand paddles?
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Our experts reviewed the top 6 Hand Paddles and also dug through the reviews from 20 of the most popular review sites including and more. The result is a ranking of the best of the best Hand Paddles.
DWYM is your trusted roduct review source. Our team reviews thousands of product reviews from the trusted top experts and combines them into one easy-to-understand score. Learn more.
The Best Bang For Your Buck
SantTop Adjustable Straps Hand Paddles
Key Takeawy
At just the right price, these premium swim paddles are made from lightweight PC material and have adjustable silicone straps. Beginners can use them to strengthen their arms and work on their freestyle, breaststroke, butterfly and backstroke.
What other experts liked
What other experts didn't like
What to Look For
- Pointed hand paddles are designed for freestyle swimming practice.
- Swim gloves are different from handle paddles. They provide less resistance and help swimmers work on how they catch the water.
- It is best to begin with a slightly larger paddle than the hand and slowly build up to a larger one that offers more resistance. The same idea holds for the holes: start with more and work toward having none.
- Swim paddles are sold in different shapes, but the ergonomic ones mirror the natural hand shape. Many coaches and swimmers prefer these ergonomic options.
More to Explore
The freestyle/front crawl is the swimming stroke that most people like best and is known to be the fastest. The backstroke is similar but is done in reverse, with the body as straight as possible. Breaststroke is the slowest, and swim teachers often teach this stroke first because beginners don’t have to put their heads underwater to learn it. The butterfly is the most physically challenging, and the sidestroke is not usually seen in competitions.
Some of the less common strokes include the elementary backstroke, combat side stroke (used by Navy SEALs) and the Trudgen, a scissor-kick side stroke developed by English swimmer John Trudgen.
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