Adding A Little Weight
I needed to bring someone their paddle they left on the bench during play one time. Once I picked it up, I noticed how different it felt. It was much heavier in the head than mine. The weight distribution on my paddle is pretty balanced. Picking up my friend's paddle got me thinking about a few things. How would I play if my paddle was more head-heavy? How would I play if my paddle was heavier, but the weight was balanced? Time to play around with lead tape.
By using lead tape, you can manipulate the weight of your paddle. It is completely legal. I ordered this from Amazon, and when it arrived I started by putting two strips on the top half of the paddle. It went from one side, up around the top, and down to the equal point on the other side. I then removed those strips and put two strips on the sides and not on the top side of the paddle. After a while, I then moved them one more time down to both sides of the throat of the paddle. I found that the tape on the top gave me more spin but was a bit harder to control. The tape on the throat gave me more control, and the paddle felt more like what I was used to. When the tape was only on the sides of the paddle I also got more spin but I found it easier to control. I had to loosen up my grip a lot and just let the weight of the paddle roll through the ball. I've left it on the sides of the paddle but I added a third strip. I like it a lot. It gives me some more power and spin. I was able to get used to it quickly. Once you find out where you like the lead just cover it up with some black electrical tape.
If you have never experimented with lead tape I suggest you give it a go. It is super easy to move around so you can find what you like.