🥒 Weighting Your Paddle

Where to add weight, what it changes, and what to expect. Take the quiz to find where yours should go.

Adding weight to a paddle changes how it swings, how it holds up against hard hitters, and how quick it feels in your hands. Where you put the weight matters more than how much. Tap a spot to see what it does, or take the quiz below to find where yours should go.

Tap a spot on the paddle.

Where should your weight go?

The basics

Where	What it changes	The trade
Top (12)	Swing weight. More power and drive through the ball.	Slower in fast hand battles, and the most load on your arm per gram.
Sides (3 & 9)	Twist weight. A bigger sweet spot; the paddle twists less on off-center hits, so blocks hold their ground.	A little slower overall. Keep both sides equal.
Handle	Counterbalance. More total weight for stability, but the head feels lighter and quicker.	Heavier paddle overall, and less power from the head.
Mixed	Weight in more than one spot, or different spots on each side. You get some of each effect.	Harder to tell which change did what. Change one thing at a time.

What to expect

Go in small steps.A couple of grams at a time. Tape comes off, so nothing is permanent.
Keep the sides even.Whatever goes on 3 goes on 9.
Give it a few sessions.The first session with any change feels wrong. Judge it after three.
Listen to your arm.More weight means more load on your elbow and shoulder. If something starts to hurt, take the weight back off. Not medical advice; just common sense.

My build

Even my paddle has a kit.

My widebody paddle runs a hybrid setup: weight low on one side, at 7 to 9 o'clock, and high on the other, at 1 to 3. The idea is to add plow-through while keeping the sweet spot. I'm testing the same setup on my elongated paddle right now.
Both of my primary paddles also carry about 12 grams on the handle, spread around it at 1, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock.
The Loco is its own thing: a one-ounce weight at the bottom of the handle.

Why hybrid? Because it's all give and take. Putting weight at the top adds plow-through, but it doesn't come free: it takes something away from another part of the paddle, like the sweet spot or stability. Splitting the weight is my way of getting some of the plow without giving up the rest.

None of that is a recommendation. It's what I'm trying, a few grams and a few sessions at a time.

Described for tape or weights you can take back off. Start small; your arm is the one doing the work. Not affiliated with doyouevendinkbro.com. I've spoken to him about it, but he insists we're partners. We have never been seen in the same room.