[CQ-Contest] Best Paddles?

[Chris Plumblee]

This question is a bit like asking which political party or religious
denomination is best and why...many passionate responses and little
agreement.

I like the N3ZN paddles; Tony makes an iambic paddle with a smaller than
normal gap between the two fingerpieces, which is my particular preference.
The feel of the paddles is also very good, and they hold their settings
well.

I've also got a Schurr Profi 2 which is very nice. It's slightly wider
between the finger pieces, but it is easy to send accurately and quickly
with, and it looks very nice on the desk. They're not available new any
longer; you'll have to scour hamfests and online classifieds.

I've used a couple of different Begalis, and they're very nice. Their
cheapest paddle is not much more expensive than a new Bencher, and looks
and feels very high-end.

There are probably a million Benchers around the world. I find there is a
lot of variation in feel between them. I have one that feels pretty good.
N4WW has one set that I actively dislike, and three more that are perfectly
good. For lack of a better term, the ones that feel bad (to my fist) feel
mushy and imprecise...I want a repeatable action, even if it's slightly
longer or requires more force than the action on a high-end designer paddle.

I've also tried Vibroplex paddles and Vibrokeyer single-lever keys, as well
as Kent iambic paddles and a set of K8RA paddles. I used to be able to
switch between single-lever and iambic keying pretty seamlessly, but as I
practice more with iambic and send faster by hand, I find it much more
difficult to switch. Pick one discipline or technique (single-lever or
iambic) and stick with it.

As far as weight, you can get a mat from DX Engineering to help your paddle
stick to your desktop, or just use rubber shelf liner available at
virtually any department store. I don't find I have big problems with the
paddle moving around unless I'm distracted or trying to send too quickly.
For a contester (not a ragchewer) I send a lot with a paddle, but it's all
short bursts...callsigns, fills, "TU", etc. Almost anything will work for
that type of sending. If I were doing log ragchews where I had to send for
30-60 seconds at a time, I'd probably be more picky.

73,
Chris W4WF

On Wed, Dec 6, 2023 at 10:19 AM <pwhelton at earthlink.net> wrote:

> Hi Joe.  I graduated from the Bencher paddle to a Begali Sculpture.  What a
> difference.  I have a heavy hand.  No more sliding all over the place.  Big
> difference.
>
> Regards,
>
> Pat - KZ5J
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: CQ-Contest <cq-contest-bounces+pwhelton=earthlink.net at contesting.com
> >
> On Behalf Of Joe
> Sent: Tuesday, December 5, 2023 3:11 PM
> To: cq-contest at contesting.com
> Subject: [CQ-Contest] Best Paddles?
>
> In your opinion, What are the best CW Paddles out there?
>
> Joe WB9SBD
> _______________________________________________
> CQ-Contest mailing list
> CQ-Contest at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> CQ-Contest mailing list
> CQ-Contest at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
>


-- 
Chris Plumblee
407.494.5155