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Gherkin Draco First Impressions
Pros
- Similar to an Inferno in a hybrid shape, and cheaper
- Light out of the box, fast in the hand
- Great pop and power
Cons
- Not easy to control
- No long lasting texture like the Spartus P1, or 11six24 Power2
- It isn't necessarily doing anything drastically better than the compeition
At first glance, I really wasn't all that interested in the Gherkin Draco. But after playing with it and looking at their website, there are a couple interesting value propositions that not a lot of companies are offering right now.
The Draco only comes in a hybrid shape. So if you aren't a big fan of the hybrid, this paddle isn't going to be for you. However, if you are a fan of the Luzz Inferno but wish it came in something other than an elongated, keep reading.
The Value Proposition
Two things stood out after going on Gherkin's website.
First, this paddle has a limited lifetime warranty. I think this might be one of the cheapest paddles I've ever seen on the market that also comes with a limited lifetime warranty. That's pretty interesting.
Second, they actually have a 30-day test drive policy, which not a lot of companies offer. There are a handful, but there aren't that many. I frequently hear from viewers on the channel that they wish smaller brands would offer this. Since most smaller brands aren't available in retail shops, it's very hard to demo. So if you want to test drive a Gherkin Draco without committing, you have 30 days to do that. Even if you play with the paddle, the only thing you have to do is pay for return shipping. That's really nice to see.
How the Gherkin Draco Plays: Luzz Inferno Comparison
The first comparison I'm going to draw is that I think the Gherkin Draco is kind of similar to the Luzz Inferno.
Now, one thing I do want to preface this comparison with: my Luzz Inferno is not broken in yet. My blue one, brand new as it is, does feel in the realm of the Draco. But I have heard a lot of people say that the Inferno tends to break in and the sound gets a lot deeper. So if you're someone who has a really broken-in Luzz Inferno, the comparison may not be as applicable. But as they are new, I do feel like they're relatively comparable.
That makes the Draco appealing for a couple reasons. One, it's a hybrid shape, and you can only buy the Inferno in an elongated. For someone like me who's not a huge elongated fan, that's really appealing — especially because this one starts really light. The second thing is the Draco is about $40 cheaper than the Inferno.
I want to be very clear: I haven't done my usual extensive review process on the Inferno yet, so more time with it might pull out a couple more nuances. I think a lot of it is going to come down to slight differences in feel — whether one sits more hollow or dense, stiff or soft. But overall, I think the power levels are pretty comparable between the two. When bouncing a ball around on both of them, they feel similar.
Feel and Paddle Characteristics
If you haven't hit a Luzz Inferno, the Draco basically means you're looking at a paddle that's more on the hollow and stiff side. I do think it's less stiff than something like the Bread and Butter Loco or the Selkirk Boomstick, though. So if you wanted something toned down in stiffness, the Draco does that pretty well.
Power and Pop
I chose to add some Slice Slider weights the 7.5 gram verson, so it's basically weighted just like a Boomstick would be. The reason I did this is because in stock form, the paddle actually hits surprisingly hard. I'd probably place it in the mid-tier power range, just about to edge into the full-blown power paddle category. It felt like adding some weight would really turn up the juice — and that's exactly what happened.
With this much weight, it did bump the swing weight from 111 to 120. That's definitely on the heavier side for a hybrid, which probably isn't going to be what most of you do to this paddle. But know that if you add some weight up top, it's definitely going to make this hit really hard.
After adding the weight, the area that stood out most to me were drives. I'm not someone who feels like I have the most offensive drive in the world, but with this weight setup, I was able to hit some pretty big drives. The other standout area — with or without weight — is the pop. With how light it is, this paddle is very poppy. If you're someone that favors having quite a bit of pop, the Draco gives you that.
Now, with all of that being said, I want to make it very clear that for a lot of people, the Draco is not going to be an easy paddle to control. If you're someone looking to buy this, you're probably someone that likes a lot of power and pop. If you've been more in the all-court paddle world or you like lower-tier power paddles, this is not going to be easy to just pick up and use.
Sweet Spot and Stability
I'd place the sweet spot probably about average, maybe slightly above average. With weight, I absolutely did not have a complaint at all. But in stock form, I did feel like I was getting a little bit of twisting. That kind of makes sense — the swing weight is low and the twist weight is okay for a hybrid. It definitely wasn't bad, not like a PaddleTek or a Six Zero Black Opal, but it also wasn't blowing my mind.
Honestly though, that's a good spot to be in with how many of these paddles are doing floating foam core designs. Everything is just kind of starting to be more of the same. Finding a paddle that has a bad sweet spot just isn't all that common anymore.
Of course, it also depends on the shape you're used to. If you frequently hit with elongated paddles, a hybrid might feel like it has a smaller sweet spot because you're used to hitting higher on the face. But if you already play with a hybrid or even a widebody, I don't think you're going to have any issues.
Core Construction
As far as the core goes, it is slightly different than other companies, but it's kind of just variations of what we've already seen. They are using what's called an NCP foam (Nanocellular Polymer) in the center — apparently no other company is using it, but I don't really have a way to verify that. They also have a framed outer foam ring around the paddle and then another ring inside that of a different type of foam.
Honestly, I'm kind of at the point with a lot of these core designs where yes, it's interesting on paper, but it all just depends on how it actually plays. It doesn't really matter if the core has the most unique construction in the world if it doesn't play that different or all that much better. I think core design was more interesting in the Gen 2, Gen 3, and the start of the Gen 4 era, but now with everyone doing very similar things and performance kind of leveling off, it's just not nearly as much of an important talking point as it used to be.
Dinking and raw carbon fiber
The area I had a slightly harder time adjusting was probably dinks. And I think that's really just because I've been spoiled by other paddles I've been testing recently. Paddles like the Spartus P1 are just so good for soft-shot dinks — their new Permagrit is excellent. Going back to raw carbon fiber is almost a little bit difficult. It just feels like the ball slips off the face a little bit more.
If you play with a raw carbon fiber paddle, this is going to feel just like all the others. It's not quite as rough as some on the market, but that also just means they're actually using legal grit, which is great to see because a lot of companies are skirting the rules around grit right now. If you're already used to raw carbon fiber and haven't experienced some of those longer-lasting textures, I don't think you'll have any issues.
Grip Size
One small note: the grip is a little bit thicker. It feels like it's 4¼ inches, maybe even 4.3. Coming from other paddles recently where they're 4⅛ inches, it just felt a little chunkier in my hand. For some of the women out there, that may be a point of concern. But if you don't mind slightly thicker handles, this really isn't going to be an issue. I did find myself missing the skinnier handles on some of the other paddles, though.
Final Thoughts on the Gherkin Draco
The Gherkin Draco isn't doing something so drastically different and better than the rest of the market that everyone should just go out and buy one. It's good — but it's good like everything else has been. There's so many good paddles on the market right now that it's hard to stand out when everything else is really good already.
That said, here's where the Draco makes a strong case for itself:
The price is reasonable — and if you're comparing it to the Luzz Inferno, it's about $40 cheaper. The limited lifetime warranty and the 30-day test drive make it easy to try without a lot of risk. And the paddle comes light and is easy to customize, so if you like hybrid shapes and want the ability to tinker, the Draco gives you that flexibility.
If you haven't picked up some of the more elite paddles that have come out recently and you're specifically looking for a hybrid that is light and packs a good punch, the Gherkin Draco is a solid option to consider. Especially if you're looking for that high-tier pop and power without spending over $200.
The main thing working against it is that other companies are starting to introduce longer-lasting textures, and you can pick some of those up for only about $40 more. But if raw carbon fiber is your preference and the power profile fits what you're looking for, there's really not a lot that's wrong with the Gherkin Draco.
