Electrum Model E Elite First Look
Electrum has been falling off the radar for the last year or so. They had released the Electrum Pro II, but it was largely a flop and wasn’t very popular. Shortly after, the Electrum Model E 13mm came out, but I also never saw this catch on either. They’ve been riding the success of the original Model E 16mm, and as competition started to heat up, the Model E has fallen off drastically in terms of performance.
Now Electrum is back with the Model E Elite, and I think it’s going to be a big hit.
Specs:
Price: $199
Discount code PBSTUDIO to save 10%
Thickness: 16mm
Weight range: 8.0-8.3oz
Shape: Elongated
Handle length: 5.25”
Grip circumference: 4.5”
Face: Raw carbon fiber
Core: Polypropylene
Swing weight: 122
Spin: 1800 RPM
Special:
Thermoforming
Edge foam
Warranty: 6 months
If you take the grip off, you'll notice that we have a molded handle rather than one that has pieces of wood to create the shape. It also appears that the handle is a separate piece from the face which I wouldn't classify as a "true unibody" paddle; if you want more information about this, Farmer Lanky made a video comparing several paddles and their durability with various handle design types.
Molded handle
You can see where the handle and face meet
It's not necessarily a bad thing that it is two pieces; it should still be much more durable than non-thermoformed paddles that don't have a unibody design. The grip is also a semi oval rather than an octagon. Personally, this one didn’t bother me like it usually does.
Feel:
I have hit almost every single raw carbon fiber thermoformed paddle on the market, and this is the stiffest thermoform to date. But don't let that fool you into thinking that's a negative. I LOVE how the ball feels off the face. It might be my #1 or #2 favorite feeling thermoformed paddle off the face. When the ball impacts, it feels very solid and stiff. I really don't have a great way to explain it; all I can say is that the more I hit it, the more and more I came to love the feel of the face. It has a nice response and feedback while using it.
Just be warned that if you're expecting it to feel like the original Model E, it doesn't. They are almost polar opposites.
Power:
Power is also fantastic, it's very hard to rank the raw carbon fiber thermoformed paddles in terms of which is the most powerful, but I would put the Model E Elite on the upper half of power for thermoforms. Counters and overheads felt very explosive, and this is coming from me, where both of those are some of my weakest shots in Pickleball. Specifically, my backhand punch felt like it had more power than I'm used to having.
Serves had great depth, save returns felt very easy to put near the baseline, and drives had a lot of pace. Occasionally I found myself having to dial back serve turn slices because they were going a bit further than I was anticipating. I think some of the additional power that I'm feeling could be the increase in swing weight from my Double Black Diamond because it's about 8 points higher, which is a pretty significant jump and probably contributes to the paddle feeling so solid.
If you didn't like the original Model E because it lacked power, the new Elite doesn't have that issue anymore.
Hand speed:
One of the biggest things you should note is the higher swing weight. Coming in at 122, this will not be a paddle for those who heavily favor hand speed. Unless you're already coming from a paddle with a high swing weight, 122 is pretty high and may feel very slow in your hand, depending on what you're coming from. As always, you can check out my paddle stats spreadsheet in the description to see the swing weight of your paddle and get an idea.
Anytime I switched back to my SixZero Double Black Diamond, the increase in hand speed was immediately apparent. When using the Elite, I had to be much more prepared because if I was late, I wouldn't be quick enough to catch the ball in time. I also noticed my arm being more fatigued after a session than when I used my Double Black Diamond.
To be clear, this isn't something unique to the Elite; this would happen with most paddles in this swing weight range.
Control:
When it comes to control, I didn't have any issues getting used to it. It's very clear that we've separated gen 1 raw carbon fiber from gen 2 raw carbon fiber, and at this point, I'm so used to the gen 2 paddles that I don't notice a big adjustment when I start reviewing them.
In fact, there are certain areas where control has become easier because I don't have to swing as much. Particularly blocks and resets in the midcourt. I can hold my paddle completely still, and the ball has enough energy to make it back over.
Just be warned that if you haven't tried a gen 2 paddle yet, this will be a big adjustment from gen 1. I'm not saying that these are easy to control, just that I have played with them for so long that they have become natural to control.
Sweet spot:
When I first started playing with the Elite, the first thing I noticed is that outside of the sweet spot, the feedback was more harsh than other thermos I've hit so far. The energy return wasn't worse than the others, it was just more apparent when I hit outside of that center.
On other thermos, you can feel the difference when outside the sweet spot, but it's much less noticeable than on the Elite.
The more I played with the paddle, the less I noticed it out of the box I found it jarring, but after a few sessions, I stopped noticing. This may also be a pro for some people who enjoy having that response and feedback when they are missing the center of the paddle.
Overall, this is on par with the sweet spot of all the other thermos.
Closing thoughts:
I didn't expect to enjoy the Model E Elite. Electrum has been falling behind, and I thought this would be another thermoformed paddle that started to blend in with the others. I was wrong. I ended up loving this paddle; every play session, I had a huge smile on my face.
The feeling you get from the Elite might be my favorite of any thermoformed paddle on the market right now. If I had to go to a tournament tomorrow, I could easily bring the Elite and compete.
The only downside I had with the Elite for my game was the shorter handle made it more difficult to do a two-handed backhand, and I didn't love the higher swing weight.
I could still use my two-handed backhand; I just found it more difficult than when I used my Six Zero Double Black Diamond. I like to speed up off the bounce with two hands for my backhand, so it was an adjustment to do that on a shorter handle.
The higher swing weight also fatigued my forearm faster, which made longer sessions more difficult.
Those were my only two complaints about this paddle, and I could, in theory, get over both of them. At this moment, I don't think I'll be switching because I value that longer handle and faster hand speed on my SixZero, but the Elite could easily be my second choice at a tournament. If this paddle were made in the same shape as my SixZero or even with a slightly longer handle, I'd be all over it.
My recommendation
if you like the Model E and wish it had more power, this is a fantastic upgrade, and I have no issue recommending it.
The Elite is for a player who can handle high swing weights, wants high power, and doesn't mind a short handle or stiff face. If you have issues with weaker wrists or forearms along with stiff paddles, I would not recommend checking the Elite.
It may also be difficult for most women to use because the grip circumference is very large, at 4.5". If grip size is important, you may want to look at some of the other thermoformed options that are smaller, like the Legacy Pro, which is 4.125".
I love this paddle, and I'm glad to see Electrum stepping it back up. They are the OG of raw carbon fiber paddles, and it's great to see them being competitive again.