Head Extreme Tour Max First Look
Key takeaways
Head has released their new line of paddles for 2023 for the Gravity and Tour line. With the excitement that the Head Radical Tour Co generated last year, I was excited to dive into the other lines and see how they performed since they are now sharing similar technology from the Radical Tour Co. Unfortunately, it didn’t come out how I hoped.
Specs:
• Price: $149.95
• Thickness: 11mm
• Weight range: 7.2-8.1oz (3 versions of the paddle Lite, Regular, Max (lightest to heaviest))
• Shape: Standard
• Handle length: 5.0” octagon
• Grip circumference: 4 1/8th” or 3 7/8th”
• Face: Graphite
• Core: Polymer with foam in the edges
• Swing weight: 97
Please fix your marketing, Head
Before we dive into the rest of the article, I need to talk about Head's marketing because it's really bad and needs to be revamped.
First, the Head Extreme Tour is marketed as having ultimate control and touch, but the paddle is 11mm thick, which is the complete opposite of every other company marketing in Pickleball. Similarly, if you look at the Head Radical Tour Co, it's a 15mm paddle marketed as a power paddle. I don't understand why Head is opting to do everything backwards.
Not only that, but the naming scheme year to year could be more helpful and clearer to the consumer. They use the same name every year and don't add a year marker to the paddle to denote which one you're buying. Several of you told me you bought the wrong Head Radical Tour Co last year because you weren't aware they had several models with the same name.
If you go to an online retailer like JustPaddles, you'll see a Head Extreme Tour for $89.95, and you can also find the latest one for $149.95, but there's nothing to tell you why one is more expensive, or that one is newer than the other one. You're just left to make an assumption based on price.
2023 Head Extreme Tour Max (left) 2022 Head Extreme Tour Max (right)
All naming schemes and marketing need to be completely reworked on these paddles because even as someone who follows the paddle market very closely daily, it gets confusing to look at their lineup and break it down.
Spin:
I wasn't sure I would talk about this paddle, but when I ran a spin test, the result came back as 2070 RPM. This was so high that I went back and redid it a second day and got 2018 RPM. Clearly not a fluke. This caught my attention, and I felt I needed to play with the paddle more to see if it was worth your money. The spin potential was most noticeable on serves and drives, and it seemed like it was dipping very aggressively.
Here's the catch: a few paddles recently were hitting some higher numbers than I'm used to seeing, so I retested a few old paddles to see how they would compare to today.
Head Radical Tour Co achieved 2104 RPM vs. 1568 when originally tested
Selkirk Labs Project 003 achieved 2126 vs. 1800
and the Selkirk Vanguard 2.0 was completely unchanged. 1146 vs. 1148 RPM.
So, something became much better in my mechanics about generating top spin recently. I may need to test a few old paddles to benchmark results across and compare. Regardless, all you need to know is that the Extreme Tour Max gets great spin, just like the Radical Tour Co.
Control:
Since this is marketed as a control paddle, let's discuss that first. As I said before, I'm already confused why this is marketed as a control paddle when it's 11mm thick. After playing with it for three sessions, I'm even more confused. When I think of a control paddle, I think of the Selkirk Vanguard 2.0, Electrum Model E, Ronbus R1.16, Joola Radius, etc. The Extreme Tour Max is nothing like those paddles. It has a relatively stiff face which isn't usually a characteristic of a control paddle.
I wouldn't say I had a hard time controlling the paddle, but it wasn't as easy as any of the paddles I mentioned. The main area I noticed downfalls were resets anywhere on the court. It has more pop than I expected, making it harder to get the ball down.
I had no issues with dinking, but the feel from the paddle wasn’t very satisfying. Control paddles usually feel more muted and less lively off the face, while the Extreme Tour Max feels more lively and responsive.
Power:
Despite not feeling like a control paddle, I wouldn't classify it as a power paddle either. It has some okay finishing power, but nothing stands out. With the paddle being so thin and having a slightly stiffer face, I expect there to be more power than there is.
It was most obvious in hand battles and singles when driving the ball for passing shots. It just didn't penetrate the way I wanted it to. Because of this, the paddle is put into a confusing place for me. It's thin and stiff but could have better power. It's marketed as a control paddle, but it really doesn't have exceptional control either. At best, this is an all-court paddle.
When I compared it against the Radical Tour Co, I first noticed that the swing weight was considerably lower. There's less mass in the head, making it harder to plow through the ball. I think Head is partially referring to this paddle as a control paddle because it is so headlight.
Having an 11mm thick paddle, a somewhat stiff face, and a low swing weight is a weird combo.
I suppose the one bright side is because the swing weight is so low, you do have a paddle that feels very fast in the hand at the net. I imagine if you opted for the Lite version at 7.2oz, the swing weight would be even lower.
Sweet spot:
The final nail in the coffin is the sweet spot. It's below average and only feels great if you nail it right in the center of the paddle. So, on top of not doing power or control particularly well, now you have a mediocre sweet spot that makes doing any of those shots even more difficult.
My rough estimate of the Head Extreme Tour Max sweet spot
Don't hit a drive in the sweet spot? Severe lack of power. Don't hit a reset in the center? The ball is dead. Don't get me wrong, if you hit way off-center on any paddle, it won't be a great shot, but there are so many paddles with better sweet spots that give you more leeway on your shots, and this just isn't one of them.
Closing thoughts:
I'm bummed to see the Extreme Tour Max play so mediocre.
The biggest phrase I kept returning to while trying the paddle was that it felt cheap. Not because of the construction of it, but every time I hit the ball, it reminded me of cheaper feeling paddles. There was no satisfying feel to it.
With how much I enjoyed the Radical Tour Co last year, I thought this might also be an exciting paddle, but it just isn't. Normally, when I review a paddle, even if I don't like it, I can explain who the paddle is for, but with the Extreme Tour Max, I don't know who I would tell to buy this paddle.
The only defining feature it has is solid spin and a low swing weight. After that, it doesn't have much going for it. For the same price, you could purchase a Head Radical Tour Co, a Vatic Pro, a Legacy Pro, even cheaper could be a Ronbus R1.16, and a slew of other raw carbon fiber paddles. So, unfortunately, I'm going to have to say the Head Extreme Tour Max is a pass.