Performance Summary

Durability

I want to highlight the enhanced durability of these paddles, as it is particularly appealing given the recent discussions about durability issues with the new technology used in Gen 3 paddles that incorporate foam in the cores for increased power.

In the past year or so, paddle technology has seen advancements such as thermoforming and foam integration in the cores. While Gen 2 and Gen 3 paddles utilizing these technologies perform well in terms of power and responsiveness, they are prone to durability flaws such as core crush and face disbonding, which can cause them to fail and fall out of specifications. Despite improvements in thermoformed paddle durability, these issues are resurfacing with the emergence of Gen 3 style paddles. These paddles can break down within a month to eight months of use, leading to frequent warranty claims and concerns.

In contrast, the simplicity of the technology in these Paddletek paddles inherently makes them more durable and significantly reduces the risk of core crush and face disbonding because they don’t use heat in the manufacturing process like thermoforming methods. Moreover, since these paddles achieve a similar level of power as the Gen 3 paddles, they become even more attractive options for players seeking power but don’t want to deal with durability issues.

Power and Pop

The power and pop level of both thicknesses are big and just below the measurements I’m getting from Gen 3 type paddles that use foam in the core like JOOLA and Gearbox paddles. While some paddles have high pop and low power or vice versa, these paddles measure high in both areas. 

As pickleball play styles continue to involve more drives and attacks, having power in your paddle can help you fight fire with fire. For me, this means it’s easier to hit bigger serve returns and counter punch drives more effectively by getting the ball back on them quickly and deeper into the court which slows down your opponents and reduces their effectiveness in using the power game. 

When the ball is coming faster at you, you have less time to react and respond which means you have less time to move your paddle to generate power. But when your paddle can generate the power and pop for you, you don’t need a bigger swing to get the speed you need to do damage to your opponents. 

The pop level on the 12.7mm is particularly impressive. The ball really jumps off on counters and when you have a chance to put the ball away. The pop level on the 14.3 is also good, but you could notice the difference between the two when playing. The 12.7 had more. The paddles both have lighter static weights and lower swingweights for elongated paddles and move well at the net. This gave them a nice combo of maneuverability and pop which was great for counters and hand battles.

I noticed that the bounce off the face of these paddles was more consistent compared to the Gen 3 style paddles from JOOLA and Gearbox. This consistency made the paddles more predictable, allowing me to swing bigger and with greater confidence because I knew what to expect. In contrast, with foam-style paddles, there were instances where a few balls throughout each game would unpredictably gain extra speed and float long, high, or wide when attacking.

The power was impressive right out of the box, and I didn’t really notice a break-in period, which is typically when players experience an increase in power as the paddle gets used. The power was strong from the beginning and appeared to remain consistent with continued use. Additionally, I had previously used the term “exponential power” to describe how the JOOLA paddles delivered three times the power with only double the effort, but this was not the case here. Instead, the effort and resulting power were proportional.

Feel and Control

There are a couple of pros and cons in this area for the paddle. Pros are that the paddle has a more consistent bounce off the face than the big powered Gearbox and JOOLA paddles which makes it easier to reset the ball and control the pace of play. The JOOLA paddles in particular can be less predictable due to the trampoline effect they have which can cause pop ups here and there when you’re trying to slow the ball down. This was a big plus for me, I definitely was more consistent with my soft game across the board with these over the JOOLAs. 

For cons, they have a less intuitive feel to them. The 12.7 has a firmer and stiffer feel to it that’s similar to a 14mm thermoformed paddle but a little denser or heavier feel to it. It offers good feedback and if you like the feel of firmer or stiffer 14mm paddles from other brands then you’ll like the feel of the 12.7mm over the 14.3mm option. The 14.3mm has its own feel that’s tough to pin down because it doesn’t compare well to other paddles out there but the best way I can describe it is that it has that stiffer, crisp feel of a 16mm thermoformed paddle but more hollow. The 14.3 certainly feels softer in comparison to the 12.7 and overtime it started to feel plush to me though the 12.7 always kept the same firmer feel. 

The 14.3 paddle proved to be easier to control and resulted in fewer errors overall due to its increased forgiveness compared to the 12.7 paddle. However, it’s important to note that both of these paddles fall under the category of high-power paddles, requiring more skill and effort to control effectively.

Sweet Spot and Forgiveness

The sweet spots on these paddles out performed what you would expect by just looking at how thick they are. The 14.3 was more forgiving and stable compared to other 14mm paddles though not quite as good as the average forgiveness level of a thicker, 16mm paddle. While the 12.7mm had the forgiveness level of a good 14mm paddle. This surprised me for a couple of reasons. 1) The paddles have light static weights which usually correlate with less stability, and 2) the paddles don’t have any edge foam or anything so there’s no specific tech that’s making them more stable. It must have something to do with the different core material they are using and the way the weight is distributed across the paddle. Whatever is doing it, it’s working and I liked this part about the paddles. 

Spin

Paddletek finally gave in and rolled out raw carbon fiber surfaces across their paddle lines. For whatever reason they haven’t done this until now and their paddles produce much more spin as a result. My spin tests were averaging in the lower 1900s for RPMs which is a good result and will give you everything you need though they don’t top the charts for spin. 

Paddletek offers these paddles with an extra elongated handle at 5.75” with their  The TKO-CX 12.7mm is the version that Christian Alshon plays with. I have the CX models and played briefly with them. They obviously have the longer handle and then they do feel a little heavier and more sluggish in comparison to the 5.3” handles. The CX 12.7 has a swingweight around 118 while the CX 14.3 has a swingweight around 122. The higher swingweights did add even more power to the paddle though I couldn’t tell a different stability wise between the CX and C models.

I dink and counter with two hands on my paddle regularly and didn’t find the 5.3” handle length to be too short for me so I personally preferred the 5.3” handle version since it was lighter and still felt comfortable for my two handed stuff. However, if you prefer extra long handles or prefer heavier paddles then the CX models would be the way to go.

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