Why has this paddle blade got cuts across it?
Cut blade technology looks set to change the paddling world, especially paddleboard racing and rowing. Here’s a little look at this fancy paddle as seen at a paddleboard conference
It had to happen. Your paddle blade is under attack. But in a good way. The clever folk at Oscar Propulsion have figured out (with much science and testing) that if you slice lines through a paddleboard paddle, then the paddler can go faster.
The new cut blade design has a definite tech aesthetic, as it should given it was inspired by tests on engine propellors. In photos the new blade looks slightly like Belgian lace, or a louvred window shutter. But it’s not delicate like lace, in fact the manufacturers claim this design actually stops blade flutter. And it doesn’t look vertically and horizontally clunky like shutters. Instead, precision cutting tools etch out the best shape to enable you to have less resistance when you put your paddle into the water.
Just as running shoes have cleverer and cleverer designs, now your paddle can too.
You can check out the science of cut blades on the company’s website here which shows how it reduces drag, enhances stroke efficiency and can reduce muscle strains on the shoulders, arms and back as well as prevent injury.
The result says Duncan Troy, CEO of Oscar Propulsion, at the British Stand Up Paddleboarding Association (BSUPA) conference in Poole on 22 March 2025, is a lighter paddle that can help you improve performance by 15%. So, some paddlers might improve by 20% and some by 10% or less. But if it’s marginal gains you are looking for, especially in the race world of paddleboarding (or rowing), then this is the new paddle for you.
BSUPA board member, advanced race coach and very lovely person Anni Ridsdill Smith from Frangipani SUP in Essex said she’d found the new blade revolutionary. Anni not only adores racing, she raced for Team England in the 2022 SUP sprint European Championships
The one I tried in the sea at Poole harbour was super light. It is carbonfibre and was available for under £300.
In other words, this is a top of the range, expensive paddle.
Have a go
In my short little trial manoeuvring out of the way of the boats using the harbour entrance near the North Haven Yacht Club I couldn’t feel any performance difference. And nor did Jem, paddling beside me. But… that’s probably because neither of us are a paddleboarder at the top of their game trying to find ways to slither off minutes (or seconds) to race times. To be fair I used the paddle for a very short time but with a longer test I’d expect to feel the shaved off weight and less water resistance, both of which would make any endurance paddle much more comfortable. I’m not sure my three-day paddle across Hertfordshire to London on the River Lee Navigation in 2024 really counts as endurance, but even 10 miles a day can make your shoulders ache, especially when paddling into a decent breeze. How nice would it have been to have a really light, efficient paddle?
Reach for the wallet?
I’ve already got a nice paddle, but I always tell keen new paddleboarders to buy a paddle (ideally made of carbonfibre) before they buy their own board – that way they can work on technique and figure out what sort of paddleboard activities they want to do. For anyone in that situation I think maybe this new cut blade paddle might be an incredible investment.
I loved trying the new Oscar Propulsion cut blade paddle in order to share the news with other paddleboarders. It’s exciting that the solid shape of a paddleboard blade has been given such a neat revolutionary rethink.
Find out more
To try or buy a cut blade paddle the website says email sport@oscarproplusion.com
Follow on insta @oscarpropulsionsport
Find out how to train as a BSUPA instructor or make your first steps and turns on a paddleboard with the fab two hour Ready to Ride intro course (there’s also a Ready to Tour and Ready to Race option) see
https://www.bsupa.org.uk/ If you’re in Hertfordshire/north London then check out the Ready to Ride at Herts Young Mariners Base (HYMB) in Cheshunt. It can be reached by train (2 minute walk) but also has a free car park.
PS If you enjoy reading then you’ll probably love my comic novel about paddleboarders. It is available as an ebook and a paperback. Here’s the link, Not That Deep