Pickleball Paddle Reviews

There are many brands of pickleball paddles on the market today to suit everyone from the beginning player to the professional player. Some of the companies that are currently manufacturing paddles are Electrum, Engage, Gamma, Head, Manta, Margaritaville, Oneshot Pickleball, Onix, PaddleTek, and more. I have not used many of these brands of paddles, and I am only going to review paddles that I have actually used and have experience with. With that being said; hopefully, these reviews will give you some guidance.

The PaddleTek Element paddle is a nice lightweight paddle with a graphite face and a ProPoly honeycomb core. It offers a intermediate/advanced player the ability to have superior control of shot placement, and allows for the ability to impart a significant amount of spin to shots. For 2020 PaddleTek has redesigned the face design of the paddle, while still leaving the basic characteristics of the paddle unchanged. I don't recommend this paddle for a beginning player, but for intermediate to advances level players this paddle is a good choice, because there are options regarding the paddle weight and the grip size. All PaddleTek paddles are USAPA approved, therefore they can be used in USAPA sanctioned tournaments.

The PaddleTek Bantam EX-L paddle is a slightly higher price point than the PaddleTek Element, and is my #1 paddle of choice for my own style of play. The Bantam EX-L weighs in at 7.7 to 8.4 ounces. The 2020 version of the Bantam EX-L has a fiberglass face, a specialized polymer core, and a slightly smaller, padded grip for player comfort. The Bantam EX-L is available in Blue, Blue Riptide, Green Barium, Purple Aurora, Red Wildfire, and Yellow Horizon. The Bantam EX-L or the Bantam EX-L Pro are the choice for professional players Kyle Yates and Anna Leigh Waters. The Bantam EX-L and the Bantam EX-L Pro are both USAPA approved. If you have never tried a PaddleTek paddle, I highly recommend that you give the Bantam EX-L or the EX-L pro a try. If you are fortunate enough to live in the Lehigh Valley, PA contact me, and I can put you in touch with a local PaddleTek rep who can let you try a variety of paddles. If you live elsewhere, you Pickleball Central offers for you to try paddles and you can return them undamaged if you don't like them. If you order from Pickleball Central make sure to use our Team Code CREastonAreaPB at the checkout, and you will receive a 10% discount on most items. Also, please visit us our Facebook Page.

The PaddleTek Tempest Wave II is my second favorite pickleball paddle. It is USAPA approved, lightweight, has a rough enough face to impart spin to the ball, and has a polymer honeycomb core for better control of the ball. This paddle is in the high mid-price point category, and suitable for the intermediate, advanced, or professional level player. The 7.35 to 7.6 ounce weight range is light enough for great dinks, but heavy enough to have power when necessary. When one learns proper paddle positioning techniques for generating spin, a great deal of spin can be generated with this paddle.

The Onix Z-5 is a good paddle for beginner through intermediate players. This paddle features a graphite carbon fiber face, a nomex honeycomb core, and a tennis type grip handle. The graphite face is fairly rough (within the limits of USAPA regulatiions), so it is easy to impart a lot of spin on the ball; however, the nomex core is not as resilient as PolyPro cores, so the paddle doesn't have quite as much pop. This paddle is a good choice for a player who is transitioning from a wooden beginner paddle to something a bit more advanced at a reasonable price point. I don't recommend this paddle for advanced players.

The Amazing Aces graphite face pickleball paddle is my recommendation for the advanced beginner. This paddle is a mid-weight paddle coming in at around 8.2 ounces. It features a honeycomb polymer core, and has a large sweet spot which is advantageous for the advanced beginner player. Due to the relatively smooth surface of the paddle, it is not possible to generate a lot of spin on the ball; however, spin shots are not recommended for beginners or advanced beginners to attempt, because there is a large margin of error when attempting these types of shots. Amazing Aces graphite face paddles are available in sets, including two paddles, 4 balls, and a mesh carry bag, for the family that wants to learn and play together.

When it comes to the beginner pickleball player, who is uncertain about if they will like the sport or not, I recommend the Amazing Aces wooden beginner's paddle. These paddles are inexpensive, can be purchased in sets of 4 paddles with balls, and all for a very reasonable price (around 40 bucks). Wooden paddles are relatively heavy, and have a relatively smooth face, so I only recommend these paddles for beginner players. I keep 20 of these paddles on-hand for the beginner players that I teach in the evenings in the summertime.