CRBN 1X & 2X Review
Wow, after nearly a year and a half, CRBN has finally released a new line of paddles. After the fiasco over the summer, I was curious to know how or if CRBN would survive. Even after releasing new compliant paddles, it seemed like the interest decreased significantly after Joola came into the picture.
CRBN just dropped the new Power series paddles (denoted with an X at the end of the name), and they are really good.
Specs:
Price: $229
Thickness: 14mm or 16mm
Weight range: 7.9-8.1oz
Shape: Elongated (1X) or standard (2X)
Handle length: 5.5" (1X) 4.75" (2X)
Grip circumference: 4.25" (1X) 4.125" (2X)
Face: Toray T700 Carbon Fiber
Core: Polymer
Swing weight:
CRBN 1X 16mm: 123
CRBN 1X 14mm: 117
CRBN 2X 16mm: 109
CRBN 2X 14mm: 103
Additional:
Foam-injected edge walls
Unibody design (makes the handle stronger)
I appreciate the upgrades CRBN has made to the build quality of these new paddles. It now features a one-piece unibody design where the paddle face material extends through the handle to reinforce the area that would snap on a Joola Hyperion CFS paddle. While I can't confirm that this is more durable than a Joola, I know of two other companies advertising the same unibody design with the face extended into the handle and they are both VERY confident in the durability. Only time will tell, but I would like to think that CRBN took Joola's miss with the handle and decided to improve upon it and not have the same headache that Joola has gone through. A few companies are taking similar approaches to improve this design flaw, such as SixZero Pickleball and Legacy Pickleball. I anticipate seeing this much more in 2023 as people race to start making more durable paddles.
I even made a video of me trying to snap the CRBN 1X 14mm over my knee. You can watch it here
Aside from making the handle more durable, they've also sealed up the exposed polymer and made the handle size smaller. As a result, it's a proper octagon shape and feels very solid. Again, this is a welcome upgrade after we saw dozens of paddles cheap out last year by leaving the core material exposed in the handle. My only complaint is the CRBN2X handle. It feels like a square in my hand. If you unwrap it, you can see it has bevels for an octagon, but each side of the handle feels nearly identical in width, and the bevels are pretty small. Combine all that, and the grip feels like a square that doesn't feel great. Now to be fair, I'm being very nit-picky here. If I wrapped this with an overgrip, it would probably be better, but while playing, I could tell a noticeable difference between the 1X and 2X handles.
CRBN 1X handle
CRBN 2X handle. Notice how much smaller the bevel is. Probably half the size of the 1X
The final defining feature is the edge foam injected into the edge guard. This is the same concept that made the Joola Hyperion CFS so great, and as expected, it makes the CRBN perform very well, which I'll discuss more throughout this review.
Thankfully the weight on the 1X models isn't unbearable. Both of mine came in around 8.0-8.1oz. The swing weight of the 16mm 1X is quite high, around 123, which is very close to the Hyperion CFS' swing weight of 127. In addition to swing weight, I've recently started checking the balance points of paddles, and the CRBN 1X and Hyperion CFS 16mm have identical balance points. The difference in swing weight can probably be attributed to the CRBN 1X 16mm being a few ounces lighter. So, if hand speed is an issue for you with high swing weight paddles, keep that in mind when considering the 1X line. The 2X is considerably lower and feels very fast in the hand.
Spin:
The CRBN Power series has brought another level of spin to T700 paddles. The results are as follows:
CRBN1X 16mm: 1720 RPM
CRBN1X 14mm: 1786 RPM
CRBN2X 16mm: (It appears I didn't test these yet. I will update in a day or two with the test results. More than likely, it is in the same ballpark as the rest)
CRBN2X 14mm: 1843 RPM
Spin on all of these feels incredible. The serves that I'm able to hit are ridiculous. These bend the ball more than any raw carbon fiber paddle I've hit to date. I don't have any other words except that it is fantastic.
Disclaimer:
As you can see, the RPM numbers are very high on this paddle. Much better than what we have typically seen for raw carbon fiber. Because of this, I got curious and used my Starrett SR160 on the paddle (The testing device the USAP recommends that you use). In my testing, the paddle was over the legal limit. Another independent source told me theirs failed as well.
I spoke to CRBN and was told that my paddles were tested before shipment and passed using an even more accurate meter (the SR160 I have has a roughly 5% variance). So take all of this for what you will.
I want to be clear I AM NOT USAP THESE RESULTS ARE NOT OFFICIAL. These are my own test results, where I followed the guidelines to the best of my ability with the information that is publicly available. I'm sure after the CRBN ban in 2022 that CRBN has taken extra precautions to stay within legal limits. I would also like to think that USAP was on higher alert this time after last year's fiasco. I just wanted my audience to be aware that I noticed this. I also want to be clear that I’ve done extensive testing on other raw carbon fiber paddles, and these are not the only ones I have seen have this issue. This leads me to believe there is an issue that USAP doesn’t know how to deal with, or clearly, there is a tolerance that USAP allows that isn’t publicly known. If you watch the PB&J YouTube channel, he has also noted many paddles on the market failing when doing his tests.
At the end of the day, neither of our results matter when USAP makes the final decision.
Control & Power
CRBN 1X 14mm & 16mm
Despite having power in the name, these paddles are extremely well-balanced in terms of power and control. Specifically, the 16mm. I found it very easy to block, reset and dink with, but because the swing weight is higher, you have a lot of plow through on the ball, which means you get good power because the ball isn't resisting the paddle as much when you hit it.
It's not as soft and plush as "regular" raw carbon fiber paddles like the Vision, Electrum Model E, or the original CRBN, but it retains plenty of control. The new power series feels stiffer across the board. On the original CRBNs, the ball sinks in pretty deep and gives a plush feel when it rebounds.
The 16mm 1X is one of the best blends of power and control that I have personally hit. With that said, the balance of power and control is highly subjective and will differ for each individual. I would put the CRBN 1X 16mm and 14mm between the control of regular raw carbon fiber paddles and the power of a Selkirk Vanguard Power Air. It doesn't go to either extreme, but it strikes a great balance.
I gravitated towards the 16mm 1X the most. Everything about this paddle is so much fun. My serve might be the best it has ever been with this paddle. In dozens of the games I played, I would score several points in a row from my serve alone. Because of the additional power and spin, I could swing as hard as I wanted, and the ball would drop right at the baseline. The only other paddle that feels this aggressive to me on the serve is the Selkirk Vanguard Power Air. The amazing thing is it's so easy to go into defense after being aggressive with the 16mm 1X, which is something you can't really say about the Power Air.
The 1X 14mm is also excellent and shares many of the same characteristics, but you get even more power. I had a slightly harder time controlling drives, but that's to be expected with a thinner paddle. Hands battles were great with the additional pop, though. The main difference I found is that because the 14mm is stiffer, it felt slightly less forgiving and solid than the 16mm. Outside of other paddles on the market that I haven't gotten to spend much formal time with yet (SixZero and Legacy Pickleball), the 14mm 1X is the most powerful raw carbon fiber paddle I have hit to date outside of the Pro Kennex Black Ace.
With the extra pop and phenomenal spin, I could easily see this being a top-tier singles paddle.
Most people looking to purchase one of the 1X paddles will be best suited with the 16mm. While I enjoyed using the 14mm and adjusted to it without too much issue, the 16mm always felt like the better paddle.
CRBN 2X 14mm & 16mm
I spent the most time with the 1X line since I prefer elongated paddles, but I did play several sessions with the 2X and wanted to share a few important details. The big thing is that 2X has noticeably less power. It's still more than the original CRBN2, but compared to the 1X, I found that I had a more challenging time getting my serves to go as deep, and drives didn't feel as penetrating. This is due to one significant factor.
The swing weight is muuuuch lower. If you recall from the spec sheet, the CRBN2X paddles have swing weights of 103 and 109. For your reference, paddles between 100 and 110 feel very easy to swing. The 1X 16mm was 123, which is a significant difference in swing weight and will allow you to plow through the ball much more. Anything above 120 is on the higher end of swing weights for Pickleball, and anything below 110 is leaning toward the low end of the spectrum. Unsurprisingly, a non-elongated paddle would have a lower swing weight than an elongated paddle, but a 14-20 point difference is significant, and I could feel it throughout my entire playtest.
As stated previously, the 2X still has more power than the original CRBN2, but it's just less than the 1X. The bright side of the 2X is that your hand speed will feel much faster than the 1X, and you can customize the paddle with lead tape more because you have some wiggle room with the swing weight. Adding lead to the 1X 16mm would result in a very heavy feeling paddle depending on where it is placed.
If you were already using a CRBN2, you will likely still prefer the 2X. I wasn't a big fan of the 2X, but that's probably because of my bias toward elongated paddles.
Feel:
I mentioned before that these feel stiffer than non-foam injected paddles. Well, these are even stiffer than the Joola Hyperion CFS 16mm. Now I will say the Hyperion I'm using as my test sample was used heavily for three months by me, so it may have softened up over time. On the CRBN 1X, the ball sinks in but feels like it wants to get off the paddle face quickly. On the Hyperion, the ball sinks in and feels like it wants to stay there. It was easier to generate power on the 1X than on the Hyperion. With that being said, I enjoy how the Hyperion feels. It's one of my favorite feeling paddle faces in the game. The downside is you'll lose some power to gain that plusher feel.
Sweet spot:
The sweet spots of the new power series are very good. The injected foam provides a consistent feel across the face. I still believe that the Hyperion 16mm CFS is the best sweet spot on the market, but these aren't far behind. The Hyperion has a consistent feel all the way around, with a slight drop-off at the edges. On the CRBN power series, it's more off-putting at the edges but still better than paddles that don't have the edge foam. The biggest difference I noticed is that several paddles on the market like the Gearbox CX line, when you hit the edges there is no energy put into the ball, it simply dies. With foam-injected paddles, it might not feel great, but the ball still wants to go somewhere. Overall, the sweet spots on the new CRBNs are great.
Closing thoughts:
The new CRBN power series is good, like really good. The easiest way I can describe it to people is a more powerful Joola Hyperion CFS with better build quality and higher spin. The amazing part is, on the 16mm, you don't sacrifice much control despite having power in the name. But, as mentioned earlier, these still aren't as powerful as a Selkirk Vanguard Power Air or Pro Kennex Black Ace. So don't let the power in the name convince you that it has no control. Pickleball Effect uses the term "all court paddles" in his reviews to describe paddles that are a blend of power and control, and that's how I would classify this. It isn't as control-oriented as a Selkirk Labs Project 003 and isn't as powerful as a Pro Kennex Black Ace.
It's one of the best blends of power and control I have experienced in a paddle. I don't say that lightly either because almost every single company uses those exact words in their marketing, and most of the time, it isn't true. I’ll also add in one small note that this is probably one of the best singles paddles you can purchase as well. I would easily put it in the top 3 for singles and doubles paddles.
The only downside is the higher swing weight on the CRBN1X 16mm. It is close to the Hyperion, so if that was an issue for you, this might be similar. It didn't bother me, but there are many people who may think this is too much.
I'm not sure what more you could ask for from this paddle. It has some of the highest spin I've ever tested (while using Toray T700 instead of a generic T700), what appears to be one of the best build designs to date, good sweet spot, and options in shape, thickness, and swing weight. CRBN has taken all of the small things people wanted improved and implemented them. Is there anything innovative, new, or fancy in these paddles? Not particularly. It just does all of the things it needs to do very well.
If you were in the group of people who broke Hyperions left and right, I recommend looking into this. While there is a feel adjustment coming from a Hyperion, you hopefully won't deal with snapping handles anymore and have overall better performance. Unfortunately, there's no fast way for me to test the durability, so I have to take CRBNs word that this truly is as solid as they claim.
Not everyone wants to spend $200+ on a paddle. I get that. In fact, I think the majority of players in Pickleball don't need to spend that much. If you're looking for quick recommendations for paddles that utilize similar techniques as the new CRBN, you can check out SixZero Pickleball, Legacy Pickleball, and Vatic Pro. All of them (to my knowledge) utilize thermoforming edge guards, where you seal off the polymer inside the edge guard (a new technique you'll see a lot of in 2023), they have reinforced the handles, and SixZero is using the injected edge foam as well. I haven't spent time with all of them yet, but several of those paddles are receiving high praise at much lower prices and may be worth considering.
At the end of the day, it depends on how much performance you want to get out of your paddle. If you're a competitor or just a player who wants one of the best paddles in the game, the CRBN 1X 16mm is it.
UPDATE:
This evening, I spent more time with the SixZero Black Diamond and Legacy Pro. The Legacy Pro is very comparable to the 14mm CRBN 1X, but $150 instead of $229. I would personally have to say the Legacy is the better value overall. I will need more time to be certain, but if you’re on the fence about the price of the CRBN, the Legacy is right up there in performance with the same type of shared unibody design for better build quality. The SixZero Black Diamond is also incredibly impressive for the price. The paddle is much poppier than both the Legacy and CRBN 1X 14mm. I will work on full reviews of both paddles.
Discount code:
If you plan to purchase one of these, you can get 10% off by using the code PBSTUDIO at checkout on the CRBN website.