Power & Pop

The Ruby plays similar to the Double Black Diamond (DBD) 16mm in this area but with just a touch more power and more variable pop levels. I’d still consider it an all-court type paddle. The pop of the paddle was interesting. It felt poppier than the DBD in certain scenarios when the ball was moving fast, so like when defending drives or resetting attacks from the midcourt but it didn’t feel poppier than the DBD with things like dinks, drops, speed ups and just generally when the ball was travelling slower before impact and you used a softer swing. Essentially, the paddle responded a little better than the DBD with bigger swings by giving you a little more power there. The Black Diamond (BD), is still the most powerful hybrid paddle option from Six Zero.

Control & Feel

When comparing the Ruby to carbon fiber thermoformed paddles, it is certainly different in terms of impact feel. The Ruby has a lighter and more muted feel, while carbon fiber thermoformed paddles have a little stiffer and denser feel. My ability to control carbon fiber thermoformed paddles did not directly translate to controlling the Ruby. Its little extra pop in certain scenarios and slightly different feel takes a few sessions to get used to. After you adjust to it, its control rating isn’t too far off the Double Black Diamond though don’t expect to be able to control it immediately if you’re coming from a carbon fiber thermoformed paddle.

At the end of the day I was still able to control the DBD better than the Ruby. Partly due to my familiarity with the DBD but also because it didn’t have the same level of pop variability. However, in general, I thought the Ruby still performed well here, albeit, not quite as good as the DBD.

Forgiveness & Sweet Spot

The Ruby is stable and has a generous sweet spot that is comparable to the DBD. Both the Ruby and the DBD excel here and are more forgiving than the BD. If I had to give the edge to the Ruby or the DBD here I would give it to the DBD though it’s only marginally better and wouldn’t impact my decision of picking between the two paddles.

Spin

The spin on the Ruby is fantastic. My spin tests were averaging just over 2100 RPMs. This ranks among the highest measurements I’ve recorded and is better than the DBD. The grit of the paddle is very rough to the touch and is similar to the BD whereas the texture of the DBD is a bit smoother. The paddle felt grippy on drives, dinks, and rolls. Some paddles only feel grippy on drives but the Ruby felt grippy on fast swings used to drive the ball and with slower swings used when dinking. The spin potential of this paddle was a highlight for me and is what stood out the most when comparing it to the DBD.

Six Zero advertises the paddle as having longer lasting grit, but I’m skeptical of that. Pickleball Apes thought the same thing for their kevlar paddles though that didn’t prove true for them. The grit on the paddle isn’t actually kevlar. It’s an epoxy that’s applied on top of the kevlar and is susceptible to wear like the raw carbon fiber texture used on most other paddles.

Weight

There is a small weight increase with the Ruby compared to the DBD and BD. You can feel the extra weight if you’re paying close attention but otherwise it didn’t really feel any slower to me. It wasn’t an issue for me and I don’t think it should hold anyone back from getting the paddle if they like the other attributes of the paddle.