The current GRÜVN Raw Carbon Fiber lineup comes in Elongated (16E), Standard (16S), Hybrid (16H), and Round (16R). I am reviewing the 16E and the 16S.
Each of GRUVN’s paddles are built with a raw carbon fiber face and a 16mm core. This combination gives their paddles a very soft and consistent feel across the board. They do offer several different unique shapes that give you different things. I would categorize both of the models I played with as control paddles. I had no trouble dialing in my dinks, thirds, and resets with these.
The RAW-16R is a shorter, more forgiving option that has a unique long handle that you don’t see on widebody shaped paddles often. This gave the paddle a lot of maneuverability and options for more comfortable two-handed shots. But it was weaker on the offensive side of things.
The RAW-16H is an elongated paddle with a very long handle. The extra long handle changes up the timing of your swing and is trickier to adjust to but it enables you when attacking at the net by enabling flicks and rolls like I haven’t experienced with another paddle.
RAW-16R: The RAW-16R is a fairly standard wide-body-shaped paddle. It’s just over 15.5 inches long and 5.5 of those inches come from the handle. 5.5 inches is a long handle for a short, widebody shaped paddle. The other thing that makes this paddle a little bit different from other widebody paddles is its circular shape. It helps make the paddle aerodynamic and honestly just looks cool.
RAW-16H: The RAW-16H is a one of a kind paddle because it has an extremely long handle. The paddle is 16.5 inches long in total and 5.875 of those inches come from the handle. A typical long handle is considered something between 5.25-5.5 inches. It has the longest handle that I have personally ever seen on a paddle and it gives the 16H an interesting feel
Control – 5/5 Raw-16S
The GRÜVN Raw-16S and Raw-16E have a 16mm thick polypropylene honeycomb core as the names suggest. Going in I was expecting decent control from both and that is what I ended up finding.
The 16S had maximum control at the NVZ this paddle as placing my drives, my dinks, my third shot drops, lobs, and volleys were easy. The control I had with my dinks combined with the spin made me very happy. Resets seem to be a strong point of this paddle as I was blocking and resetting amazingly. Blocking fast drives with this paddle was not an issue. If you can handle putting extra weight on the paddle the GRÜVN 16S just gets better. The stock grip helped keep me under control on blocking drives and speed-ups.
Power - 4/5 Raw 16-S
For 16mm paddles, these are lacking a little bit of power, but that can be attributed to the midweight of both paddles. The slight power reduction might be a good thing for me as I was not hitting serves long and was keeping them deep with the freedom to swing at full speed.
If you don’t like to hold back and create enough of your own power, then this paddle is a perfect fit for you. No rocket ships will be launched with this paddle, but your game will be under control. The sweet spot gave a lot of room for error as I felt the power was consistent until you got to the edges.
I think the 16S gets the power edge due to the longer handle being able to generate more speed. Usually, you would expect the elongated version of the paddle to have a longer handle than the standard version but that is reversed in this situation. I would love to see an elongated GRÜVN with a longer handle and less paddle length.
Spin - 5/5
The amount of spin that the T700 raw carbon fiber surface produces is in the same tier as the CRBN and Joola Hyperion CFS. I don’t think I was getting as much spin as the Joola Hyperion CFS. The surface doesn’t feel as gritty as a CRBN, but I was ripping big top spin shows with this paddle. I was able to generate the great spin I have ever had on my serves and drives. My backhand slices were spinning just as well. My forehand and backhand rolls were diving off my paddle and causing a lot of problems for my opponents. If you love spinning, then this paddle will let you do what you love.
Aesthetic - 4/5 Raw-16S
The design may be simple, but it is a bold color that I like. The GRÜVN Raw-16S is an all-black paddle with the GRÜVN logo in white letters (except for the Ü in purple) with an all-purple edge guard. The purple edge guard makes this paddle stand out and I got a lot of compliments when I was playing with it from people saying “Wow, what is that beauty?”
If you haven’t played with a carbon surface before don’t be alarmed by the remains of the ball being left in your paddle. After every hitting session, you will add little pieces of pickleball into the grooves of the carbon that can be cleaned with a wet cloth.
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