Vatic Pro Saga Review
The sequel to Vatic Pro’s Prism does not flop in the slightest.
Regarding the Saga, there aren’t any drastic changes or crazy new designs. Instead, Vatic Pro has iterated on its extremely popular Prism paddle, and I believe they’ve successfully turbocharged it.
The Saga is the Prism but more well-rounded, balanced, and suited for today’s game.
Specs
Price: $149.99 (Code: PBSTUDIO to bring it down to $139)
Shape: Flash (Hybrid, 16.25”/16.37” x 7.7”), V7 (Elongated, 16.5” x 7.5”)
Thickness: 16mm
Core: Polymer
Face: Carbon Fiber + Proprietary Layer + Carbon Fiber
Handle: 5.5” (LH), 5.3” (SH)
Grip: 4.125” (Shaped with polyurethane inserts that feel good)
Static Weight: 8.0 - 8.3oz (Flash), 8.2 - 8.5oz (V7)
Swing Weight: 113 (Flash SH), 120 (Flash LH), 119 (V7 SH), 124 (V7 LH)
Twist Weight: 6.48 (Flash SH), 6.1 (Flash LH), 6.58 (V7 SH), 6.39 (V7 LH)
RPM: 2022 (Flash SH), 2001 (Flash LH), 1991 (V7 SH), 1962 (V7 LH)
Warranty: 1-Year (core-related issues), 180-Day (all other issues)
Design: 10mm cell honeycomb core, Gen 1.5 (edge foam & not fully thermoformed), New proprietary composite face layer
Variants
At the time of my review, there are four variants of the Saga.
Flash SH - Hybrid, short handle
Flash LH - Hybrid, long handle
V7 SH - Elongated, short handle
V7 LH - Elongated, long handle
Dimensionally, the main differences are found in the LH versions. The Flash LH is slightly longer than its short-handled variant. Both LH versions feature a 5.5” handle, whereas the SH versions have a 5.3”.
As for other specs, the swing weights of the LH versions are on the higher end of the spectrum. You’ll want to avoid these variants if you don’t prefer slower swings, specifically the V7 LH.
The main takeaway is picking the variants that suit your playstyle, shape, and handle length preferences. I mainly playtested the Flash LH, which isn’t my first choice, but I thought it was a great paddle regardless.
From Prism to Saga
As the saying goes, “Don’t reinvent the wheel.” Vatic Pro had a hit with their budget-friendly Prism, so to take it to the next level, they didn’t need a transformative leap. Instead, they tweaked what was most important to turn it into the Saga.
First, Vatic Pro upgraded the core by increasing its cell size. This has become a hot topic in the industry of late. Paddles that are currently popular (Engages & PaddleTeks) are using larger cells. So other companies are trying to emulate it in hopes of capturing the same success.
The Saga is using a core with 10mm cells vs the traditional 8mm or rare 6mm cells. If you’d like to learn more about cell size and its impact on performance, then you can through Pickleball Pursuit or John Kew.
Vatic Pro claims their new cores are imported and privately sourced. This sounds like they’re using the USA-made cores that companies like Engage and PaddleTek have been using.
To differentiate the Saga further, Vatic boasts some proprietary features without going into much detail. They say they are using two layers of carbon fiber: one against the core and one as the top layer. Then there’s a middle composite material layer between the two. They claim that no one else is using this in other paddles, but since I don’t know what it is, I can’t say this is 100% fact.
So that’s every upgrade that takes the Prism to the next level with the Saga. On paper, this list of new features doesn’t seem very flashy. But in my opinion, they have set the Saga to be a turbocharged Prism.
Performance
I did a majority of my testing using the Flash SH and LH variants instead of the V7. This is mainly due to my preference for the hybrid shape over the elongated one, so keep that in mind when going through my takeaways. Outside of swing weight, you’re not going to find a drastic difference in playability between the various models. It’ll likely come down to your preferences as most paddle choices do.
From the baseline, the Saga has a lot of power during full swings, but it isn’t effortless like a Gearbox, Joola Mod, or Ronbus Ripple. If you are someone who lacks power yourself, you likely won’t think this hits all that hard.
Once you pass a certain threshold on personal swing capability, then that’s when the power is noticeable. So know that this isn’t a banger’s paddle used to effortlessly overpower your opponents, but it does pack a good punch.
That said, I loved that I could swing freely during groundstrokes. My confidence was so high with it that I even used it recently at Worlds. The combination of available power, spin, and ball shapeability was perfect for singles. I finished Silver in 4.5 singles if that tells you anything.
What makes this even more interesting is that at the net, the Saga retains the soft feeling found with the Prism. This makes the paddle easy to control even in the transition zone. Essentially, this paddle has good power during groundstrokes, manageable pop, and control where you need it.
This places the Saga at the higher end of the All-Court category. It's not up to snuff with the current power paddles on the market, but it stands out among All-Courts.
This aspect of the Saga was perfect for me. I have more fun using high-pop/power paddles, but I play my best with more balance. Compared to my main paddle nowadays, the Saga has slightly more power than the Honolulu J2k and is in the realm of a PaddleTek Bantam 14.3mm.
Feel
The Saga’s feel is best described as dense, plush, and on the muted side. This is what makes it excel so well at the net since these are traits you’d typically find in good control paddles.
The Saga really shined in the transition zone. I had so much confidence in that area that it almost felt like I was using a control paddle instead of a powerful all-court one.
Compared to its predecessor the Prism, the paddles feel very similar. If I had to pick out a difference, I’d say the Saga feels slightly tighter and stiffer. It’s certainly not a stiff paddle. It’s just stiffer than the Prism is all. This is likely the reason why it has slightly more pop.
As for the sweet spot, the Saga’s is about average and what you’d expect for this type of paddle and shape. It’s not oversized compared to standard shapes nor is it small like power paddles. By today’s standards, average is the best way to describe it, and thankfully, average is pretty good.
Setup
In addition to my usual Hesacore plus overgrip, I added about 5” of 0.5g/in tungsten tape near the bottom corners. Honestly, I only did this to try increasing the stability and to see how it would feel with extra weight.
Out of all the reviews recently, this is one where I’m not sure it needs any added weight. Of course, this is a personal preference, but even after adding tape to mine, I didn’t notice a large difference or improvement.
So out of the box, this paddle is very good. It doesn’t need weight like many out there.
Teardown
Vatic Pro claims they’ve updated their machinery and tooling to make the build process better for this new line. They’re even putting their money where their mouth is by upping the warranty on only the Saga from 6 months to 1 year.
To put this to the test, I had 5 of my Saga paddles x-rayed to see how healthy the cores were. From all the images I got back, they look good as a whole.
In this x-ray, you can see small squiggly lines between cells near the paddle head. These small areas are typically signs of core compression, but in my opinion, it’s nowhere near paddles that are actually messed up. In comparison, the Vatic Pro Saga looks flawless.
This is proven more true when compared to known healthy paddles. The X-rays look nearly identical.
However, I ended up cutting open two Sagas and found a tiny bit of core crushing. This is quite a bit better than most on the market and not something to worry about. Even my heavily playtested one came back from the x-ray as having a healthy core.
So this is more of something you should know rather than a big takeaway. I can’t claim that these paddles will never break, but in the time I spent with them, there has been zero evidence of heat-ups or core crunching. They have been healthier looking than Gen 2’s that I’ve seen.
Closing Thoughts
The Vatic Pro Saga is not groundbreaking nor will it turn heads. BUT, I think it’s a top performer in the All-Court category. It has very appealing play characteristics and could even benefit from more variants in different thicknesses or shapes.
You should consider the Vatic Pro Saga if:
You can generate your own power but want a slight boost.
Want an All-Court paddle with more power/pop.
Need more confidence in the transition zone or net.
Prefer a muted or plush paddle face.
You should avoid the Vatic Pro Saga if:
You seek a lot of pop.
Want something fast in the hand.
Prefer a stiff and responsive paddle face.
Overall, the Saga surprised me. Its on-court performance blew away its on-paper specs.
As intended, it’s the perfect upgrade to the Prism. It takes everything that made it so beloved and added elements to fill in the gaps. I thoroughly enjoyed this paddle and will add it to my tournament rotation.
Vatic Pro found a way to make a sequel that was actually better than the original.
Interested in buying one?
If you plan to pick one of these up, you can use code PBSTUDIO for $10 off with the affiliate link below.