Review5/10Reviews
Six Zero Black Opal Review
This is Six Zero’s new flagship paddle the Black Opal, and while it is definitely a performance paddle, I think it’s going to be very polarizing.
Chris Olson
Loading...
Loading...
Review5/10This is Six Zero’s new flagship paddle the Black Opal, and while it is definitely a performance paddle, I think it’s going to be very polarizing.
Review8/10The Spartus P1 introduces a major innovation that they are calling Permagrit. This is their attempt at a designing a texture that will give players longer lasting spin. Grit longevity has been one of the biggest issues in the Pickleball market, and Spartus thinks they have the solution.
Review9/10Bread & Butter has always made solid paddles with even better marketing, but the paddles themselves never really stood out from the pack. That changes with the new foam Loco lineup.
Review7/10All right, what’s up, guys. The Ronbus Quanta is probably one of the best power paddles you can buy right now. The best part is it comes in at a price that’s way more reasonable than what just about everyone else is doing right now.
Review3/10As someone who used the CRBN TruFoam Genesis for more than half of this year, the Waves was a letdown. This was the least enjoyable paddle I’ve reviewed in well over a year, and I haven’t been more frustrated or agitated while testing a paddle in a long time.
ReviewIt’s taken a while, but Gearbox has finally made a paddle that can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with today’s top power paddles.
Review7/10It took three years, but Selkirk has finally released a paddle that feels like it belongs among the top power paddles in the game.
ReviewSeven months after CRBN launched the original TruFoam Genesis line, they’ve finally released the CRBN4 hybrid shape. Which means quicker hands and a more maneuverability. On paper, it fixes a lot of the complaints people had with the original line being too heavy. But with strong competitors like Honolulu Pickleball stepping in, the big question is:
ReviewThe new Honolulu foam core paddles are In my opinion, some of the most well-rounded paddles money can buy right now. Find out why.
Review4/10The Ripple V2 is finally here. It’s fully certified, available to purchase, and it doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere. While it still carries the Ripple name, there are some key differences between this new version the V2 and the original V1 that players will want to know.
ReviewYet again, Franklin gets close but no cigar.
ReviewHas JOOLA fixed my trust issues?
ReviewPremium paddles without the premium price.
Review6/10The future is now, but it’ll cost you.
ReviewThe latest Gearbox Pro is as expected: Silent But Deadly.
ReviewThe sequel to Vatic Pro’s Prism does not flop in the slightest.
ReviewIs this the PaddleTek dupe we’ve been waiting for?
ReviewWe’ve already reviewed the budget-friendly Jelly Bean, so it’s only fitting to follow up with its slightly improved brother. When comparing the two, the Monarch All Court’s differences are straightforward.
ReviewYou can’t make a wrong choice with one of 2024’s more talked about paddles.
ReviewEarlier this year, PaddleTek rose from the ashes with their latest lineup helmed by Anna Leigh Waters, Christian Alshon, and now Andrea Koop. It wasn’t long ago when they were rare, but now, the P-branded paddles are everywhere.
ReviewThey say, “Heavy is the head that wears the crown,” but 11SIX24 confidently embraces that responsibility. The Vatic Pro Prism has held this title for over a year, and now, it’s time to pass the mantle. The Monarch Jelly Bean is the best value, wide-body paddle you can buy today.
ReviewIt’s been a year of flashy releases that keep moving the goalposts of what’s considered a power paddle. The Olympus draws its line in the sand by giving the people what they need, not necessarily what they think they want.
ReviewForget the hype beast releases of foam cores and as-designed crushing. Meet the most boring release that I’m most excited about.
ReviewAs many of you may already know, the Luxx Control Air is the official release version of the 003 that will fall under the Selkirk line. Similar to what the Power Air was to the 002.
ReviewI don’t even have words for what Gearbox has managed to create with this new Pro series. If you guys ever have watched my channel, you know that I have been a big critic of Gearbox and the performance of their paddles. They’ve always had the most durable paddles in Pickleball, but the performance was subpar and most polymer paddles were preferred by the market.
ReviewEarlier this year Engage released this Pursuit Ultra, and in my opinion it was one of the biggest flopped releases I’ve ever seen. In fact, it flopped so hard that Engage had to discontinue it and release the Pursuit Pro in less than 6 months after the Ultra.
ReviewWhen PaddleTek announced the new Tempest line of paddles, it was immediately met with skepticism, memes, and low expectations. They haven’t updated their Tempest line in 3-4 years. So, when PaddleTek announced the paddles with identical graphics and hardly anything different on the spec sheet, people were rightly skeptical. After play testing them, I think there’s more to enjoy than we may have thought. Read below to find out why.
ReviewWhen Vatic came to market, their claim to fame was producing high performance paddles at a much cheaper price than the market was used to. With the new Vatic Pro Prism, they have continued this tradition by creating a $100 paddle that competes with paddles well over $200.
ReviewThe highly anticipated Joola Perseus is finally here. Ben Johns and the Joola team have been teasing this paddle for half of 2023. It is the successor to the very popular Joola Hyperion CFS that launched last year. Can it possibly live up to the hype in a sea of amazing paddles?
ReviewThere are several notable things I'd like to mention right away. The first is the handle on the new Ultras. The old Engage Pursuits had exposed polymer. If you've followed me for any time, you know that I think this is an absolute cop-out cheap thing to do on a paddle. Unfortunately, the Pursuit Ultras STILL have exposed polymer in the handle. In 2023 where $100 paddles have no exposed polymer, there is zero excuses to have such a poor handle design on a $260 product. Everyone loves to quote USA-made paddles as being "better built," but there is nothing about the Ultra handles that feel more premium than even a generic $100 Chinese paddle.
ReviewVatic Pro is one of the new companies on the block. Having only launched toward the end of 2022, they have sure made a lot of noise in the Pickleball industry. One of their standout selling points has been their very reasonable price of $140 for their paddles which is exceptional given their performance. They currently offer two paddle lines with a third on the way. Today we will be focusing on the Vatic Pro Flash.
ReviewThe SixZero Double Black Diamond is undoubtedly one of the best paddles on the market, both in price and performance, and it has been my go-to paddle for the last month in all my drill sessions and high-level games.
ReviewLow swing weight for an elongated paddle which provides faster hands
ReviewJulian Arnold is one of the top pros in Pickleball with his very fast and aggressive play style. Near the end of last year, he announced the launch of his own brand Volair.
ReviewOne of the biggest changes to the CX14 Ultimate is the new swing weights. If you watched my CX11 review, you might remember that I said the reason Gearbox paddles lack power is that their swing weights were VERY low. Well, Gearbox must have agreed because the new models have gone up quite a bit.
ReviewI suppose this is why they say, "Don't judge a book by its cover." because I was wrong. The Legacy is anything but a regular raw carbon fiber paddle.
ReviewWow, after nearly a year and a half, CRBN has finally released a new line of paddles. After the fiasco over the summer, I was curious to know how or if CRBN would survive. Even after releasing new compliant paddles, it seemed like the interest decreased significantly after Joola came into the picture. CRBN just dropped the new Power series paddles (denoted with an X at the end of the name), and they are really good.
ReviewPro Kennex announced two paddles this year that were teased off and on. The ProSpin+ and the Black Ace Pro. When the ProSpin+ was finally released, they made a huge deal about the "strings" underneath the surface. They claimed it was the highest spinning paddle on the market, and their marketing material made the raised strings look much larger than they were.
ReviewThe Selkirk Labs Project 003 has been my favorite paddle since I started using it in July 2022. This paddle has a lot of great things going for it and one potential flaw that can be fixed. So let's talk about it.
ReviewWhen Joola first announced their Pickleball paddle lineup, I was shocked that they didn't announce thinner versions of Ben John's signature Hyperion CFS. They had thick/thin versions of almost every other paddle except the Hyperion. Well, after many months, the 14mm is finally here, and it is really good.
ReviewAfter a long wait, the Franklin Carbon STK is finally here. All summer, we've been seeing this paddle teased by pro player JW Johnson, and there's been a lot of buzz around this paddle, wondering if it would start to take down the endless stream of raw carbon fiber paddles. There are two different models of the Franklin Carbon STK, but the only difference between them is the core thickness.
ReviewThis 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.
ReviewThe Electrum Model E is probably Electrum's most popular paddle they make. Personally, it's one of my all-time favorite paddles, so I'm excited that they finally made a thinner version of it because my primary issue with the 16mm was that it was just too soft sometimes.