What Paddle to you use?

ChaelAZ

G.O.A.T.
I am playing enough to a) have graduated from my A-zon China special, because b) I his with a PB friends paddle and it definitely made a difference. So what is your weapon of choice and why?

A few I am looking at are:
Sword and Shield J2K
Neonic Flow or Flame Prime X

Or some other variation of all-court paddle.

What do you use?
 

FedLIKEnot

Professional
As someone who is doing this exact same thing my journey has been the following; I got a "Franklin Signature" paddle from my local Target, it was on sale. And to be honest that has become my frame of reference for future paddles.

So in that i learned I like a longer handle than most pickleball paddles come, something north of 5.5 inches handle. So I am demo'ing. I will tell you I really like the Gamma Obsidian 16, and the Gamma Airbender 16. 16mm feels like the right width, coming from tennis we don't need much help with pop, and the size allows for a more comfortable feel and bigger sweet spot to me then 13mm or smaller paddles. Of course I have liked the Selkirk Air series of paddles but it seems every tennis player playing pickle uses those in my area.

But I will end up with either of the two Gamma options I mentioned most likely. Not sure they will make it to my signature though, haha.
 

ChaelAZ

G.O.A.T.
So in that i learned I like a longer handle than most pickleball paddles come, something north of 5.5 inches handle.

I still play with 1 hand on the BH, so haven't found a use for the longer handle personally, but makes sense.

My son has the Franklin Target special too, and that thing weighs a ton compared the the azon ones I had bought.

Hit with a friend's Vatic Pro the other night, and that felt amazing really. My buddy at his tennis shop wants me to demo some, so I might start down that long road. Need to see what the different feels are with each type, but probably like tennis I'll end up in some kind of all-court, Wilson Blade equivalent type paddle.

Edit to add: Someone mentioned a purple ape paddle, so going to search that one too. But every time someone mentions a paddle they are over $100 and I am not THAT into PB...yet.
 

sureshs

Bionic Poster
Quieter would be nice. HATE that sound.

Bobby Riggs club here is making changes due to complaints from neighbors. Big city meeting soon. The owner has proposed to let the club remain open at full capacity while he mandates quiet paddles on certain courts as he starts soundproofing work. He is also making and giving quiet paddles for free and will later sell them.
 

ChaelAZ

G.O.A.T.
Bobby Riggs club here is making changes due to complaints from neighbors. Big city meeting soon. The owner has proposed to let the club remain open at full capacity while he mandates quiet paddles on certain courts as he starts soundproofing work. He is also making and giving quiet paddles for free and will later sell them.


Two local retirement communities who built PB courts post establishment are facing some of those noise challenges.

I live about a mile away from the Surprise PB courts, but when they have tourneys and such there I can hear it still.
 

sureshs

Bionic Poster
Two local retirement communities who built PB courts post establishment are facing some of those noise challenges.

I live about a mile away from the Surprise PB courts, but when they have tourneys and such there I can hear it still.
AI will solve the problem by catching the sound waves replacing the sounds in real time with pleasant sounds like birds chirping.
 

bobleenov1963

Hall of Fame
Oooooofff! $$$ But nice slab!
The mod TA-15 will be banned on July 1st, 2025, due to excessive power and excellent control. The old PB geysers are very upset that tennis players turned Pballers are killing them on the PB courts. When my son and I play against them, we drive the ball really at them with offensive dinks.

I guess that’s why they ban the mod ta-15 in a few months for that reason, in the name of safety, which I call BS.
 

ByeByePoly

G.O.A.T.
I still play with 1 hand on the BH, so haven't found a use for the longer handle personally, but makes sense.

My son has the Franklin Target special too, and that thing weighs a ton compared the the azon ones I had bought.

Hit with a friend's Vatic Pro the other night, and that felt amazing really. My buddy at his tennis shop wants me to demo some, so I might start down that long road. Need to see what the different feels are with each type, but probably like tennis I'll end up in some kind of all-court, Wilson Blade equivalent type paddle.

Edit to add: Someone mentioned a purple ape paddle, so going to search that one too. But every time someone mentions a paddle they are over $100 and I am not THAT into PB...yet.

After a lot of paddles in two years (including most of the Vatics and use a Vatic bag 8-B ) … now using that purple pickleball apes paddle (Pulse S), and love it. Wife has Pulse S also.

Here is my input after 2 years of play (as a tennis player to a tennis player), just talking doubles. Power matters more in singles, not so much in doubles, I don’t play singles.

- Unlike racquets, many paddle tradeoffs … the best at baseline and overheads won’t necessarily be the best for you at the kitchen. From good intermediate on, kitchen and transition skills will matter more than your baseline drives. Sucks … pickleball is more fun for tennis players at lower level pickleball because you can hit tennis shots through/past opponents.

So … that part was important. If you want to play tennis on a pickleball court (I did for first 6 months), you will want the longer, heavier swingweight paddle and not care about hand speed at kitchen.

Paddle shapes:
1) extended (16.5 x 7.5)
2) hybrid (16.2-3 x 7.7-8)
3) standard/wide (15.8-16.0 x 8ish)

Paddle power:
1) control
2) all court
3) power

Standard shaped paddles fast at kitchen, big sweet spots, … I liked my Apollo on everything except overheads, and reach which is weird talking about 1/2”. But it’s more than that, standard shaped paddles tend to have sweet spots toward center, hybrids and extended more toward tip.

Extended … played early 6 months with Vatic Pro V7 … probably never hit my drives and overheads better. Started playing better players, they would invite me to the kitchen where I found out head heavy, and sluggish (for me) was a slow death. I said “for me”, because some players hands are still fast at kitchen with extended paddles (most of the pros, but I have noticed many choke up on grip at the kitchen.

I settled on hybrids, good at baseline, transition, kitchen if not best at all.

Power … interesting thing happened. After months with V7 (good power when it came out, now would be considered all court), I bought a Vatic Prism Flash (control hybrid). I started beating players I had been losing to. Lesson … defense and control (blocks, transition resets, dinks, etc) matter much more in this stupid game than a tennis player would think. The Vatic Prism Flash 16mm is a no-brainer $100 paddle … it’s now my backup.

Is the $200 Pulse S better for me now than the Prism Flash? Yes, because I’m getting the same control with more power. Also … feel is subjective, and it’s a wiffle so even saying “feel” is lol … but Pulse S is best feel so far (I’ve hit a lot of paddles.

Power … what I have found out in doubles is any paddle that makes me shorten my swing is not for me. It means less control, and precision counts more than a few extra mph. You come with your own power from tennis, where others might want power help with short poppy swings. This shows up most on return of serve, and 3rd shot drives for me. I am starting to go for returns to tight spots (backhands hard to find), ironically more opportunity to affect outcomes on returns than serving. When I demoed JOOLA Mod 15, Magnus 3S … not for me ... had to back off baseline strokes.

What else … 16mm for me, no more 14mm, no more standard shape paddles.

Difference between power (baseline drives, overheads) and pop (kitchen flicks, rolls, counters, speedups).

I haven’t hit J2K, but it’s highly ranked by most top paddle reviewers. Hybrid, 16mm, forgiving, stable, not that expensive … checks of a lot of boxes. There is also a J2TI (poly, fake titanium :p ) that is supposed to be a softer feeling J2K. Also power versons of both just now coming out.

Oh … 5.5” is all you need for 2hbh. What you gain in grip length, you lose in paddle surface a balance. I have found although weird at first, it works out better to put off hand index finger behind paddle face. It’s not a 27” lever, and the finger behind paddle helps more than hurts (2hbh dinks, 2hbh topspin 3rd shot drops).

Ask away … I have killed as much time on paddle reviewer channels as watching Fed’s forehand in a previous life.
 

ByeByePoly

G.O.A.T.
@ByeByePoly What do you think of the Owl Quiet paddles?

I have never hit it, but the paddle review channels all have it rated at top in power. Silent and power beyond reaction speed might make neighbors happy, but not your opponent’s eye.

I had 3 wiffle marks on my body in last 6 weeks … all JOOLA paddles. One to chest (Mod 15), one to thigh (Mod 15), and one made my knee bleed (Perseus 3S).
 

ChaelAZ

G.O.A.T.
After a lot of paddles in two years (including most of the Vatics and use a Vatic bag 8-B ) … now using that purple pickleball apes paddle (Pulse S), and love it. Wife has Pulse S also.

Here is my input after 2 years of play (as a tennis player to a tennis player), just talking doubles. Power matters more in singles, not so much in doubles, I don’t play singles.

- Unlike racquets, many paddle tradeoffs … the best at baseline and overheads won’t necessarily be the best for you at the kitchen. From good intermediate on, kitchen and transition skills will matter more than your baseline drives. Sucks … pickleball is more fun for tennis players at lower level pickleball because you can hit tennis shots through/past opponents.

So … that part was important. If you want to play tennis on a pickleball court (I did for first 6 months), you will want the longer, heavier swingweight paddle and not care about hand speed at kitchen.

Paddle shapes:
1) extended (16.5 x 7.5)
2) hybrid (16.2-3 x 7.7-8)
3) standard/wide (15.8-16.0 x 8ish)

Paddle power:
1) control
2) all court
3) power

Standard shaped paddles fast at kitchen, big sweet spots, … I liked my Apollo on everything except overheads, and reach which is weird talking about 1/2”. But it’s more than that, standard shaped paddles tend to have sweet spots toward center, hybrids and extended more toward tip.

Extended … played early 6 months with Vatic Pro V7 … probably never hit my drives and overheads better. Started playing better players, they would invite me to the kitchen where I found out head heavy, and sluggish (for me) was a slow death. I said “for me”, because some players hands are still fast at kitchen with extended paddles (most of the pros, but I have noticed many choke up on grip at the kitchen.

I settled on hybrids, good at baseline, transition, kitchen if not best at all.

Power … interesting thing happened. After months with V7 (good power when it came out, now would be considered all court), I bought a Vatic Prism Flash (control hybrid). I started beating players I had been losing to. Lesson … defense and control (blocks, transition resets, dinks, etc) matter much more in this stupid game than a tennis player would think. The Vatic Prism Flash 16mm is a no-brainer $100 paddle … it’s now my backup.

Is the $200 Pulse S better for me now than the Prism Flash? Yes, because I’m getting the same control with more power. Also … feel is subjective, and it’s a wiffle so even saying “feel” is lol … but Pulse S is best feel so far (I’ve hit a lot of paddles.

Power … what I have found out in doubles is any paddle that makes me shorten my swing is not for me. It means less control, and precision counts more than a few extra mph. You come with your own power from tennis, where others might want power help with short poppy swings. This shows up most on return of serve, and 3rd shot drives for me. I am starting to go for returns to tight spots (backhands hard to find), ironically more opportunity to affect outcomes on returns than serving. When I demoed JOOLA Mod 15, Magnus 3S … not for me ... had to back off baseline strokes.

What else … 16mm for me, no more 14mm, no more standard shape paddles.

Difference between power (baseline drives, overheads) and pop (kitchen flicks, rolls, counters, speedups).

I haven’t hit J2K, but it’s highly ranked by most top paddle reviewers. Hybrid, 16mm, forgiving, stable, not that expensive … checks of a lot of boxes. There is also a J2TI (poly, fake titanium :p ) that is supposed to be a softer feeling J2K. Also power versons of both just now coming out.

Oh … 5.5” is all you need for 2hbh. What you gain in grip length, you lose in paddle surface a balance. I have found although weird at first, it works out better to put off hand index finger behind paddle face. It’s not a 27” lever, and the finger behind paddle helps more than hurts (2hbh dinks, 2hbh topspin 3rd shot drops).

Ask away … I have killed as much time on paddle reviewer channels as watching Fed’s forehand in a previous life.


lol. Thanks for the info amigo. And this kind of detail I have also done in tennis is exactly what I am trying to avoid in PB, which I am truly just playing for social reasons with my wife and other couples. The Ape Pulse S is exactly that "purple ape" paddle I was wondering about above that was recommended highly, but again that is a bit of $$$ for me...kind of I guess. I would love the play-ability I am sure, but my wife would just love the color. :laughing:

Between the Vatic Prism and the J2k/J2Ti, those hit around that $100 mark and might fit the bill. Remember, coming from a azon $30 composite graphite xmas deal, it will be like DC to light waves in terms of improvement. Trying to get out to hit this weekend, so will see how it goes! And trying elongated over stanard as well, since I have only hit standard for far.

Thanks again.

Interestingly, my I switch my table tennis paddle from the Yasaka Ma Link wood to a the soft Carbon version/blend years ago, and actually think that feel and experience translate to PB paddle testing for me. I see Titanium and Carbon versions so will be interesting to see where I go there. TI versions always have to much 'pop' for me, where Carbon blends tend to be that control feel I like. And I am not a small dude, so I can always generate my own power.
 

sureshs

Bionic Poster
I have never hit it, but the paddle review channels all have it rated at top in power. Silent and power beyond reaction speed might make neighbors happy, but not your opponent’s eye.

I had 3 wiffle marks on my body in last 6 weeks … all JOOLA paddles. One to chest (Mod 15), one to thigh (Mod 15), and one made my knee bleed (Perseus 3S).
Those are illegal man
 

bobleenov1963

Hall of Fame
After a lot of paddles in two years (including most of the Vatics and use a Vatic bag 8-B ) … now using that purple pickleball apes paddle (Pulse S), and love it. Wife has Pulse S also.

Here is my input after 2 years of play (as a tennis player to a tennis player), just talking doubles. Power matters more in singles, not so much in doubles, I don’t play singles.
This is not accurate. Power has mattered more in doubles now. What how Quang Duong play doubles.
 

ByeByePoly

G.O.A.T.
lol. Thanks for the info amigo. And this kind of detail I have also done in tennis is exactly what I am trying to avoid in PB, which I am truly just playing for social reasons with my wife and other couples. The Ape Pulse S is exactly that "purple ape" paddle I was wondering about above that was recommended highly, but again that is a bit of $$$ for me...kind of I guess. I would love the play-ability I am sure, but my wife would just love the color. :laughing:

Between the Vatic Prism and the J2k/J2Ti, those hit around that $100 mark and might fit the bill. Remember, coming from a azon $30 composite graphite xmas deal, it will be like DC to light waves in terms of improvement. Trying to get out to hit this weekend, so will see how it goes! And trying elongated over stanard as well, since I have only hit standard for far.

Thanks again.

Interestingly, my I switch my table tennis paddle from the Yasaka Ma Link wood to a the soft Carbon version/blend years ago, and actually think that feel and experience translate to PB paddle testing for me. I see Titanium and Carbon versions so will be interesting to see where I go there. TI versions always have to much 'pop' for me, where Carbon blends tend to be that control feel I like. And I am not a small dude, so I can always generate my own power.

Very hard to find a bad paddle these days … $100 in 2025 buys you a better paddle than $250 a couple of years ago.

Other consideration is tech has changed fast over last couple of years:

Gen 1 - sandwich, edge guard glues two sides together

Gen 2 - thermoformed edges, paddle still has structure even if you pulled edge guard off

Gen 3 - foam enhanced, foam edges around plastic core (JOOLA Mod 15, 3S, some stuck foam in plastic honeycomb cells (Spartus Olympus))

Gen 4 - hopefully 2025 will be the year of getting rid of polypropylene plastic cores

The practical implications of all that for you just having fun is:

Gen 1 will feel more plush (Vatic Prism gen 1.5 because added perimeter foam weighting in edge guard channel)

Gen 2 - generally stiffer but we gained bigger sweet spots (also reason to go 16mm instead of 14mm … bigger sweet spots)

Gen 3 - plastic core should become legacy tech … in the meantime paddle companies trying to to put lipstick on that pig. JOOLA created plastic core diving board propulsion by replacing top edges with foam. I’m for propulsion/trampoline … but plastic core crushes constantly if you hit some power. JOOLA Mod 15 constantly breaking.

Pickleball Apes Pulse series did Gen 3 a little different … floated plastic core with edge foam, but prevented most of the trampoline breaking the Mods.

Good paddle reviews out there on categories like best $100ish paddle. Let me know if you want links.

New companies mentioned most lately in affordable and great:

- 11six24
- Neonic (purple choices)
- Honolulu Pickleball (J2K)

- Vatic (not new, but still great value, new paddle out called Saga)
 
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sureshs

Bionic Poster
I am giving brother @ChaelAZ advice for his rec pickleball. You being wrong about pro doubles has no effect on his paddle choice. 8-B
Polymer, I am still using the Onyx Z5 with lead tape all around. Now, this move in a local club to mandate quiet paddles has me thinking if I should get one of those. An Owl, or the one which the owner of the club is supposedly going to sell.

Do quiet paddles have any cons because they are quiet? I can't believe that there are no tradeoffs.
 

ByeByePoly

G.O.A.T.
Polymer, I am still using the Onyx Z5 with lead tape all around. Now, this move in a local club to mandate quiet paddles has me thinking if I should get one of those. An Owl, or the one which the owner of the club is supposedly going to sell.

Do quiet paddles have any cons because they are quiet? I can't believe that there are no tradeoffs.

I haven’t played against a quiet paddle yet. Oh … you said Owl. I was thinking Diadem Hush which is rated so high for power. The reviewers say playing against the Hush is weird because it turns out you rely on sound off your opponents paddle more than you think.

I continue to think changing the ball is a better/cheaper solution … everyone gets to keep their overpriced paddles.

I only play indoors, and you can’t hear the score called unless you say it very loudly. I’m used to it now … might be like casinos removing slot machine noise.
 

bobleenov1963

Hall of Fame
I am giving brother @ChaelAZ advice for his rec pickleball. You being wrong about pro doubles has no effect on his paddle choice. 8-B
I was in Orlando Florida during Christmas for three weeks to play golf and Pickleball training with my 22 years old and 13 years old nephew. My 22 years old got trained everyday with a group of 5.x PB players who are former tennis players. Their games, in both singles and doubles, were heavily relied on powers. Those dinks at the NVZ are mostly offensive dinks. The game has changed so much in the past twelve months that the "conventional" dink is just a small part of the game. The game is much more powerful and faster now.


There’s a decision to be made in 2025 and beyond: Remain emotionally attached to the past or embrace, accept, and adapt to the future.

Like it or not, your soft game will not be the foundation of championship PB. It’ll be a piece of the puzzle, but no longer the fundamental principle of how to construct winning points.

Yes, it also happens in rec pickleball.
 

ByeByePoly

G.O.A.T.
I was in Orlando Florida during Christmas for three weeks to play golf and Pickleball training with my 22 years old and 13 years old nephew. My 22 years old got trained everyday with a group of 5.x PB players who are former tennis players. Their games, in both singles and doubles, were heavily relied on powers. Those dinks at the NVZ are mostly offensive dinks. The game has changed so much in the past twelve months that the "conventional" dink is just a small part of the game. The game is much more powerful and faster now.


There’s a decision to be made in 2025 and beyond: Remain emotionally attached to the past or embrace, accept, and adapt to the future.

Like it or not, your soft game will not be the foundation of championship PB. It’ll be a piece of the puzzle, but no longer the fundamental principle of how to construct winning points.

Yes, it also happens in rec pickleball.

Well we can agree on one thing for sure … my soft game will not be the foundation of championship PB. 8-B

I will leave predicting the future to you and Gingrich … I will just predict what happened two weeks ago at the PPA tournament (The Masters) in California. Brother Ben and Collin won doubles gold yet again dinking all opponents to death. Same as it was two years ago. I hope your future prediction happens fast because dinkarama is booooring.
 

bobleenov1963

Hall of Fame
Well we can agree on one thing for sure … my soft game will not be the foundation of championship PB. 8-B

I will leave predicting the future to you and Gingrich … I will just predict what happened two weeks ago at the PPA tournament (The Masters) in California. Brother Ben and Collin won doubles gold yet again dinking all opponents to death. Same as it was two years ago. I hope your future prediction happens fast because dinkarama is booooring.
The Johns brothers won the 2025 Masters gold medal, why aren't they staying together? Ben decided to partner with a younger player in ****io after that tournament. Things are not the same as it was even twelve months ago.
 

ChaelAZ

G.O.A.T.
I was in Orlando Florida during Christmas for three weeks to play golf and Pickleball training with my 22 years old and 13 years old nephew. My 22 years old got trained everyday with a group of 5.x PB players who are former tennis players. Their games, in both singles and doubles, were heavily relied on powers. Those dinks at the NVZ are mostly offensive dinks. The game has changed so much in the past twelve months that the "conventional" dink is just a small part of the game. The game is much more powerful and faster now.


There’s a decision to be made in 2025 and beyond: Remain emotionally attached to the past or embrace, accept, and adapt to the future.

Like it or not, your soft game will not be the foundation of championship PB. It’ll be a piece of the puzzle, but no longer the fundamental principle of how to construct winning points.

Yes, it also happens in rec pickleball.


Posted a video around here the other day about some of the changes, but also like tennis where associations are also changing equipment to moderate play more. Paddle restrictions this year were a start, but again like tennis you may see changes balls and such. And I think just like a resurgence of all-court players like Alcaraz in tennis, you will still see dinks and such develop in the game.

For Pro level, younger players are always who dominates anyway, so that isn't anything new and really doesn't effect rec side play.
 

iLuveKetchup

New User
I go back and forth between the Paddletek Bantam ESQ-C and TKO-C, both 12.7mm. These are considered a 'power' paddle. I play (or prefer) singles mostly. Not much of a team / social player so doubles in both PB and tennis are no fun for me.

Paddletek Pros:
- Made in USA.
- No thermoforming. So core-crushing is less likely to happen.
- Great power.

Paddletek Cons:
- Price.
- Soft game will take some adjustments.

I ordered the CRBN Genesis TruFoam to try out. It's made with all foam core. It's said to feel differently than existing paddles with more dwell time and no core to crush. We'll see.

Also, the 11six24 Power paddle (coming out this week) seems to have good reviews, an all-rounder, and available at a good price. https://11six24.com/collections/pegasus/products/pegasus-power
 
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RSJfan

Hall of Fame
I go back and forth between the Paddletek Bantam ESQ-C and TKO-C, both 12.7mm. These are considered a 'power' paddle. I play (or prefer) singles mostly. Not much of a team / social player so doubles in both PB and tennis are no fun for me.

Paddletek Pros:
- Made in USA.
- No thermoforming. So core-crushing is less likely to happen.
- Great power.

Paddletek Cons:
- Price.
- Soft game will take some adjustments.

I ordered the CRBN Genesis TruFoam to try out. It's made with all foam core. It's said to feel differently than existing paddles with more dwell time and no core to crush. We'll see.

Also, the 11six24 Power paddle (coming out this week) seems to have good reviews, an all-rounder, and available at a good price. https://11six24.com/collections/pegasus/products/pegasus-power
 

ekucheraw

Rookie
I've been rocking the Six.Zero Triple Black Diamond for when I want to swing like I'm on a tennis court and been having a blast with it. It's the right kind of dead that makes a short angle super satisfying to drive while still having enough mass for put away power. I also flirt on and off with the Owl CX and may try out a CXE one of these days, really feels like you have a paddle-sized sweet spot. Most recent pickup with a Technifibre Blitz which if I'm being real just feels like a more comfortable and gritty Double Black Diamond, one of my main paddles from the past.
 
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