We just finished ranking all the paddles we carry in our third Pickleball Paddle Tier List a couple of weeks ago, but things may already be drastically changing.

This summer saw loads of quality paddles make their way into the hands of avid pickleballers, and if you want to watch that comprehensive paddle ranking, you can visit our YouTube channel. Be sure to subscribe to never miss a video. Here’s a little recap of what came in:

Honolulu Pickleball 

A lot of you asked for these, and when they came in, we understood why; the Kevlar J2K, J3K, and J7K are some of the most well-rounded paddles I’ve ever tested.

Bread & Butter Shogun

After Kevlar, it was only a matter of time until a company experimented with another material, and Bread & Butter knocked it out of the park with the titanium-blended Shogun.

Bread & Butter Fatboy

If the Shogun was a revolutionary power paddle with good control, the Fatboy was the company’s first foray into true control paddles thanks to the blended Kevlar and carbon top sheet.

Chorus Shapeshifter

To make their thermoformed paddles more well-rounded, most brands looked at incorporating different materials into the top sheet (Kevlar, titanium, etc.), but Chorus stuck with carbon and re-worked it to make it more adaptive. The unique weave is visually obvious, and it works; the Shapeshifter is another paddle that performs highly in almost every metric.

As good as most of the new releases were this summer, there was also some serious controversy.

Foam-cored paddles made a huge splash, in large part because of their ridiculous power potential, but many of them were de-listed because they were so powerful. The problem is, the genie had already been let out of the bottle — those of us who played with foam paddles really couldn’t go back. Foam has playability benefits that go beyond just power and pop, and it was pretty obvious this would become a crucial material in paddle construction going forward.

Brands started looking to match those crazy powerful foam paddles, and a lot of what’s coming in will be similar. Let’s get into it!

 

 

Honolulu Pickleball J2Ti

I haven’t played with it yet, but the way I’m imagining the Honolulu Pickleball J2Ti is like if the Shogun and the J2K had a baby, which is a very good thing. I’d like to test it on more paddles before I make a definitive statement, but in my experience, titanium has a touch more spring to it than Kevlar when you’re swinging big. Combine that with the rapid hybrid J2 shape, and you have a paddle that may be one of the best up at the net.

Of course, foam paddles will always maintain that extra edge for pop, but the difference between titanium and foam is that titanium doesn’t have such a steep learning curve. Its playability, while adaptive, is much more linear than foam, so if you want a hybrid paddle that’s still quite user-friendly, the J2Ti could be just what the doctor ordered. I can’t wait to try this alongside my current favourite paddle, the J2K.

We also have the 14-millimetre J2K coming soon. If you enjoy the 16-millimetre version but want a slightly more responsive and powerful feel, it will be perfect for you. Sign up for notifications to be the first to know when it hits our shelves.

 

Joola 3S

In our recent review of the Joola Mod TA-15, it was tough to mince words; that paddle is identical to the Gen 3 Perseus. That’s certainly not a bad thing, but if you were hoping for something new, it’s not.

 

 

Rumour has it, it’s a very similar situation with the Joola 3S. They have the same Propulsion Core and Carbon Friction Surface that the Gen 3s had, but unlike the Mod TAs, these come in every Joola shape. Even the colours are similar to the Gen 3s; the only difference is that these ones are approved by UPA-A.

What is UPA-A? We’re still a little fuzzy on the details, but it’s a pickleball governing body that is approving paddles based on performance characteristics rather than materials used. One of the major issues with foam was its “spring effect,” which went against one of the original restrictions in USAP’s rulebook. That rulebook has since adapted its verbiage, but the 3S paddles are still not sanctioned for USAP tournaments. This won’t be a problem for the average player, but it does affect professionals. Go for the Mod TA-15 if you are hoping to enter those higher-level national tournaments; otherwise, you can go for one of the 3S. Of course, with the 3S, you can go for any shape, not just the Perseus.

We’ll have a full review of these paddles when we receive them, but we are confident that they will be very similar to the Gen 3s and the Mod TAs.

   

Paddletek Power Paddles

Speaking of very powerful paddles, Paddletek released their overpowered lineup around the same time Joola did. The difference is that those stayed legal. Unfortunately, we weren’t carrying Paddletek at the time, and it took us a while to bring them in, but they’ll be here soon. From what we’ve heard, they are some of the best paddles on the market right now.

Unlike the Joola 3S, these don’t use foam to increase power but rather a proprietary Quick Response Technology engineered into the honeycomb core. As much as I love the unique properties of foam, I can’t wait to get onto the court to test these out and see if they can rival the best foam paddles.

   

Selkirk Vanguard Pro Paddles

Like the Chorus Shapeshifter, the Selkirk Vanguard Pro paddles have a visually remarkable top sheet. Instead of the usual two pieces of woven carbon, Selkirk is using four and claiming that this makes the Vanguard Pros stiffer in certain situations, while also maintaining flexibility when it’s needed.

That’s great marketing, although it does sound a lot like what we hear from almost every other company nowadays. But considering how well the Shapeshifter performs, I’m certain Selkirk will have it figured out as well. These should become elite hybrid paddles, maybe even better than their competition because of the X5+ Honeycomb Core, which leads the industry in terms of stability and sweet spot size.

The Vanguard Pros come in an Invikta and an Epic shape; go for the Invikta if you want the power and spin of an elongated paddle, and the Epic if you want a quicker, more forgiving paddle.

 

Ronbus Ripple

Finally, we have the Ronbus Ripple R1 and R2. I can’t lie, these are the ones I’m most excited to test because Ronbus makes my favourite paddles, and adding a layer of foam to their already amazing formula could be revolutionary.

Ronbus’ Nova and Pulsar FX paddles have the company’s patent-pending Grid Pattern Technology, which uses a unique carbon weave under the top sheet to eliminate core crushing and allow for more flexibility on contact. That technology is what makes those paddles so well-rounded — they’re already very powerful — but foam may push them to the top of the power scales.

These have also developed some serious hype since Ronbus revealed their design a few weeks back; they’ve just come into the store, so a review will be coming soon. Stay tuned…

 

If you would like to try any of these paddles before you buy, we have a fantastic demo program or you can check them out online!