Before we get into what’s coming, let’s do a quick round up of what’s already showed up in 2023. For up-to-date video reviews, subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Gearbox 14E Ultimate Power

Gearbox has a fervent following in the pickleball community, and the CX14 are there their latest and greatest for 2023. Check out our full written review of the paddle, but for a quick synopsis, it’s more stable, more powerful, and more spin-friendly than any other 14-millimetre paddle Gearbox has produced.

CRBN1X and 2X Power 14mm and 16mm

The latest and greatest technology for spring of 2023? Thermoforming. The CRBN Powers are the first thermoformed paddles to come into the store, and boy, are they something. Check out our full written review, or watch our review on our brand new Rackets & Runners Pickleball channel, but if other thermoformed paddles are this good, watch out, world!

 

What’s coming for Summer 2023

After trying the thermoformed CRBNs, we realized that tech was more than just legit; it was the future for power and spin. We placed our orders with Vatic Pro and SixZero, and we can’t wait for them to arrive by the end of the month.

Vatic Pro

Vatic Pro is a southern California-based producer of competition-grade pickleball paddles made from carbon fiber all at a competitive price. All three versions of the Vatic Pro paddles are thermoformed – meaning they will have high levels of power and spin and a very stable feel.

The Flashes take on a sort of hybrid design; neither extended nor standard length, but somewhere in the middle which should make for a best of both worlds type of response. The V7 will be Vatic’s extended paddle with a similar shape to the Selkirk Invikta.

Then you've got the Prisms, which can only be described as unbelievable value for money. They are not thermoformed, but feature raw Toray carbon fibre hitting surfaces which put them right up there in terms of performance with some of the best standardly molded paddles.

Vatic Pro V7 Carbon Fiber 16mm: 16.5 in, 8.3-8.5 ounces, 16 mm thick. Check out our full review of the V7 here.

 

 

Vatic Pro Carbon Fiber Flash 16mm: 16.2 in, 8.1-8.3 ounces, 16 mm thick

Vatic Pro Carbon Fiber Flash 14mm: 16.2 in, 8.1-8.3 ounces, 14 mm thick

Vatic Pro Prism V7 16mm: 16.5 in, 8.1-8.5 ounces, 16 mm thick

Vatic Pro Prism Flash 16mm: 16.2 in, 8.1-8.3 ounces, 16 mm thick

Vatic Pro Prism Flash 14mm: 16.2 in, 8.1-8.3 ounces, 14 mm thick

   

SixZero

SixZero is a Australian based pickleball equipment company specializing in quality and high performance pickleball paddles. The SixZero Double Black Diamonds have a very similar shape to the Vatic Pro Flashes so should directly compete with those in terms of playability. The Black Diamond, which uses a composite surface (instead of carbon) should be very interesting.

The industry has become a bit of carbon this, carbon that, carbon everything, but playing around with other materials could be just what we need to change things up a bit.

SixZero Double Black Diamond 16mm: 16.3 in, 8.1 ounces, 16 mm thick (carbon surface)

SixZero Double Black Diamond 14mm: 16.3 in, 8.1 ounces, 14 mm thick (carbon surface)

SixZero Black Diamond 16mm: 16.3 in, 8.1 ounces, 16 mm thick (composite surface)

SixZero Saphire 13mm: 16.5 in, 7.9-8.0 ounces, 13mm thick
 

 

 

But it’s not just Vatic and SixZero… Joola is also coming back with a splash.

We know little to nothing about them yet, but Ben John’s brand new Perseus CFS 16mm and 14mm are coming in the summer. Can you tell we’re excited?

Well, our excitement was justified. We took to the court with the brand new Perseus, and this is what we had to say.

 

 

 

But wait, there's even more....

We’ve also got the popular Vulcan V series and ProXR lineup.

Having just signed Zane Navratil and given him a signature paddle, ProXR could be on to big things going into the summer. From what we’ve seen, his signature paddle has one of the grittiest top sheets ever, and it’s already cleared the USAPA board. The rest of their paddles feature a very interesting buttcap design, which molds to the natural curvature of the hand especially when held with a more eastern hammer grip. It’s a design some of our staff have seen in baseball before but could be very enticing as it enters pickleball.

 

And to top it all off!

We've just welcomed in our brand new Wilson Baiardo Tune Pro diagnostic machine. Now this one is seriously exciting, especially for pickleballers, because Wilson has left absolutely no stone unturned in developing this state-of-the-art piece of machinery.

Our old Babolat RDC stayed with us through thick and thin, but it had come to the end of its life because of a few too many limitations – mainly its lack of pickleball features.

The Baiardo Tune Pro can test a pickleball's swing weight, weight and balance, paddle bed deflection, and paddle flex, which is nothing short of revolutionary, and will only improve our product testing and paddle analysis for the future. We're still very much familiarizing ourselves with the machine, but Bryan and I took it for a spin one morning and came up with some very cool hypotheses.

Check out this introductory video of the Baiardo Tune Pro for a little more information, but remember, this is just the tip of the iceberg as we develop a better understanding of what these numbers tell us about a paddle.

 

 

 

Remember that you can check out our coming soon page online and click notify me to be the first to know when the new paddles come in. Then take a couple out to your favourite court for a demo.