SLK Halo Control XL Review
This year Selkirk really stepped up their paddle game. In January of this year, they only had paddles that hit like pillows and had very poor spin, even with the release of the Vanguard 2.0.
Over this year Selkirk has made massive leaps in their product lines with the 002, 003, and Power Air. The only type of paddle they have been missing is a raw carbon fiber paddle (t700 carbon fiber) and now it is finally here. While technically the Halo is a part of the budget SLK line, don’t let that fool you, because this paddle still hangs with top tier paddles.
Specs:
There are four different variations of this paddle that you can buy. a 13mm and 16mm as well as two different shapes, the XL and the Max. In this review, I will be focusing on the 16mm XL model.
Halo XL Control
Halo Max Control
Halo XL:
Price: $140
Thickness: 13mm or 16mm
Weight range:
7.5-8.0oz for 13mm
7.6-8.2oz for 16mm
Shape: 16.4" x 7.4" (Elongated)
Handle length: 5.70"
Grip circumference:
4.0" for 13mm
4.35" for 16mm
Face: t700 carbon fiber
Core: Polymer
Swing weight: 122
Halo Max:
Price: $140
Thickness: 13mm or 16mm
Weight range:
7.5-8.0oz for 13mm
7.6-8.2oz for 16mm
Shape: 16" x 7.85" (Standard)
Handle length: 4.85"
Grip circumference:
4.0" for 13mm
4.35" for 16mm
Face: t700 carbon fiber
Core: Polymer
Swing weight: 112
I specifically want to point out that there is no exposed polymer in the handle of these paddles. They are covered by a small piece of plastic. THANK GOODNESS. No company is getting a pass when they have exposed polymer from me anymore. If Head and Selkirk can cover the polymer in their cheaper paddles, there's no reason other companies can't do it as well. Handles feel so much more solid when it isn't exposed.
No exposed polymer on the SLK Halo. Covered by a small plastic sheet.
How many handles on the market look. This is the Franklin Carbon STK 17mm
On that same note, the handle is advertised as 5.70”, but because of how the neck tapers you can actually overgrip much higher on the throat, and you have closer to 6.0” of usable length which makes this amazing for two-handed backhands. I do want to make a note that the 16mm Controls grip circumference is quite thick and may not be suited for a lot of women.
Comparison of stock grip against overgrip higher on the throat.
Spin:
For spin the Halo got a result of 1448 RPM. By today's standards, that is not incredible, but it also isn't horrible. It's on the higher end of the mid-tier paddles for spin. When it came to drives during singles, I did notice I couldn't dip the ball as aggressively as a 003 or Power Air, but those paddles are putting out 400 more RPM, so that isn't surprising. I would say spin is adequate, but other raw carbon fiber paddles are putting out higher numbers.
Control & power
Reviewing a t700 carbon fiber is relatively easy because they all play similarly. The only thing that usually makes it feel slightly different is where the weight is placed, how heavy it is, and the shape. In the case of the 16mm Halo XL, it plays very similarly to the GRUVN 16H but with a thinner grip circumference. They are similar weight ranges, handle lengths and shapes. That means this paddle is more of a control paddle than anything else. Most of these t700 carbon fiber paddles play very soft, and the Halo is no exception.
If you're looking for a paddle that is fantastic for resets in transition, blocks at the kitchen, and dinking, then this is going to be an awesome paddle for you. But for counterpunching, drives, and put-aways, I just wanted a little more pop to help me finish the ball.
The soft game was very fun with this paddle. I found picking it up and using it to be very natural with minimal transition time to adjust. Controlling and placing the ball felt very easy, but once you got into hands battles I found that the slightly higher swing weight as well as the lack of power to be a mild issue. I’m more of a control player so it wasn’t a huge issue, but I know there are many people out there that would find this too soft at the net.
I was able to fix some of that and make the paddle hit harder and feel more solid by adding lead tape to the sides. I tried adding my default weight range of 0.3oz on each side of the paddle. The only issue with this is that it will increase the swing weight quite a bit, and for some women, I think that will feel heavier than they would prefer. Even for myself, I noticed hand speed was slower. With a handle this long, adding lead tape to the sides increases the swing weight really fast.
Sweet spot:
The sweet spot on the 16mm Halo is about average, but it was improved with lead tape. It started to feel slightly tinny and a little hollow when you hit off-center. Adding the lead tape helped make everything feel more solid and the sweet spot roll off feel smoother.
Rough estimate of the sweet spot.
Red = Bad performance
Orange = Playable, but less performance
Green = sweet spot
Durability:
As far as durability goes, I haven't noticed any immediate issues, but the bright side is Selkirk offers a 1-year warranty on their SLK products which is better than any other raw carbon fiber paddle in the game that I'm aware of, and I only hear fantastic things about their warranty process. So even if you have an issue, I'm confident it will be taken care of without much hassle.
What is it most similar to?
As mentioned earlier, this paddle is most similar to a GRUVN 16H in my opinion. They are nearly identical shapes with similar handle lengths and swing weight. If you compare it to a Joola Vision 16mm, I think the Vision feels easier to maneuver due to the lighter swing weight, and also feels slightly stiffer with a touch more pop. It feels a little bit easier to generate some power on the Vision than it does on the Halo. Vision feels closer to an all-court paddle while the Halo feels more like a control paddle.
Closing thoughts:
After playing with the Halo, it isn't anything unique or different from anyone else. However, what Selkirk did right is they have lowered the barrier to entry for a raw carbon fiber paddle to $140 with one of the better warranties in the game and built a solid handle that doesn't make me want to scream every time I pick it up.
I found two flaws during my playtest. The higher swing weight leads to slower hands. Especially once you start adding lead tape. If you’re used to playing with paddles that have a 5.7”+ handle length and don’t have any issues, you probably won’t mind this, but if you’re coming from 5.25” or shorter, the decrease in hand speed may be noticeable. The second issue was the spin being lower than other raw carbon paddles on the market. Again, I think it’s adequate, and it didn’t feel bad, I just noticed that compared to some of Selkirk’s high-end paddles as well as other top-tier raw carbon fiber paddles that I couldn’t be as aggressive with drives and rolls.
If I were choosing between paddles, I would still prefer to use something like the Hyperion CFS 16mm because of its incredible sweet spot, spin, and overall performance. But when you look at it, Joola has a much worse warranty process, and the paddle is $80 more. There are a lot of you out there that would be perfectly fine with the Halo, but I would opt to spend the extra cash for the Joola as I believe it has extra performance benefits.
So who is Halo for? I think it is for anyone who wants to step up from their <$100 paddle and get a paddle with great performance but doesn’t want to cross the $150 price barrier yet. It’s great for those that want a control paddle and can generate their own power. It’s especially great if you’re someone who uses a two-handed backhand regularly because of the extra long handle.
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