What is the Best Core Material for Pickleball?
The core of your Pickleball paddle is really important, but thankfully it's also one of the most straightforward components to choose correctly.
Here are the primary core types you will hear about:
Aluminum
Nomex
Polypropylene
Carbon Fiber
Polymer
99% of Pickleball paddles made today use polypropylene (also called Polymer or PP). The industry used to use Nomex cores primarily, but PP is now what the vast majority of Pickleball players prefer today. Generally, you will only see a full Nomex or aluminum core in lower-end paddles. There are exceptions to this rule, but that is generally the case. Polymer has proved to be the superior core for Pickleball.
Most other cores outside of polymer are used in budget paddles and don't play very well. However, a few exceptions have created some unique high-end paddles. If you take anything away from this article, it should be that almost every single paddle on the market uses a polymer core, and that's what you want to use.
Before we move on, you'll also frequently hear people say "honeycomb core" this doesn't refer to a specific type of core, but rather the shape that the material is laid out inside the paddle.
This is what the raw material of a polymer honeycomb core looks like before it is cut to paddle shape.
Aluminum
Aluminum cores were used quite some time ago. Since aluminum is so light, it was great for cutting weight. But they lacked power, were quite loud, and the core would get dented. You really can’t find many paddles that use aluminum today. This is a core I would avoid.
Nomex
Nomex was probably the most popular material before PP, and I’m almost positive you’ve played against someone using a paddle with a Nomex core. While the core material is not very popular anymore, one of the most popular paddles on the market still uses it, and that’s the Onix Z5. Nomex provides extreme amounts of power. The issue is that it severely lacks in feel and touch. It’s also very loud, which can be an issue in some neighborhoods.
The only big exception is the Diadem Warrior, but this has a unique construction. Instead of a single Nomex core, it uses a triple-layer core.
Think of it like a sandwich. The two outer layers are PP, while the very center is Nomex. That’s the reason this paddle is 19mm thick. It has to cram in layers of different cores. The advantage of this idea is that when you are dinking you get the touch and feel of the polymer core, but when you finish a ball, it sinks into the face more and hits the Nomex, giving you more power. So while the Warrior is not using a full Nomex core, it is worth mentioning because it’s a very good paddle with a unique take on the core. Aside from the Warrior, I would not recommend choosing a paddle that uses Nomex. Despite the Z5 being very popular still, I think there are paddles that play much better for the same price. You can frequently find the Franklin Signature paddle on sale for $80-90, and the Niupipo Explorer plays much better than the Z5 for the same price.
Carbon fiber
The final core we will talk about is carbon fiber, which is only used by one company, Gearbox. This might be one of the most unique and innovative designs on the market. Basically, all the paddles on the market use a PP core and then a separate face material glued to the core like carbon fiber, fiberglass, etc. Gearbox has created paddles that are entirely carbon fiber, and they are VERY durable.
If you were ever going to try and find an essentially unbreakable paddle, Gearbox is what you want. I won’t go entirely into everything that makes Gearbox special, but if you’d like to know more, you can watch this playlist from Gearbox that goes more in-depth with the creator of Gearbox. These play pretty differently than polymer paddles, so people often hate or love how Gearbox paddles feel. You can also watch my review of the Gearbox CX14 paddles.
Conclusion
You might find a few random paddles on the market that have various blends of materials with PP, like EVA foam or a few other things, but primarily the ones mentioned in this article are going to be the ones you hear about most. Just remember, polymer makes up probably 90% or more of the market right now, and that’s what you want to use. If you are choosing a performance paddle, I wouldn’t look at anything other than polymer, with the exception of a few paddles like the Diadem Warrior or Gearbox paddles.