The Foam Era Has Changed Pickleball—Here Are the Top 2 Pickleball Paddles Right Now

This is a versatile control paddle, and while it has a lot of power, it’s best for someone looking to improve the consistency of their game.

A cheaper option: The SLK Valkerie ($80) is about half the price of the Dauntless and has no new technology, but it’s a very solid option for someone looking to buy a paddle to play once a month or on vacation. You get a fiberglass face and a polymer core, so you don’t have a lot of grit to create a lot of topspin, and it won’t last long, but Selkirk makes great paddles with a comfortable grip and well-distributed weight. This paddle is very similar to the SLK Evo, which was the first serious paddle I bought with my own money and always loved (you get a carbon fiber face for more on the current Evo lineup).

More power: A beginner player looking for more power should check out the Jojolemon Shark 002 ($100). (This is also classified as a control paddle, but I’m not a paddler and I don’t usually like paddles made for that style of play.) It has a face that uses carbon fiber and Kevlar for a very good throw. Although this is a traditional third generation thermoformed paddle and does not have a full foam core, it does have a foam injection in its perimeter that helps dampen vibration and balance the sting area while still providing what I would consider a lot of power.

Best Paddle Expert Right Now: Paddletek Honeyfoam TKO-X

The new Paddletek Honeyfoam TKO-X ($250) is my favorite paddle after checking out this year’s offering of a dozen new products. Paddletek paddles are known to be poppy, and past generations have been among my choices for power players. The Honeyfoam series, which is the perfect version of the Reserve release that I tested last year, is a Goldilocks paddle precisely because it strikes a balance between what Paddletek has always done well and the advantages of foam cores. This is a paddle that lets you turn with complete confidence—power and precision in equal measure. I haven’t tested another paddle that has as much pop as this one without sacrificing any control.

Photo: Martin Cizmar

TKO-X uses three different types of foam. The center has a small amount of foam. The bottom part of the paddle has dense EVA closed cell foam that helps with energy return and shock absorption. Around the outside of the paddle is a third type of foam that helps create a comfortable surface. The face is carbon green, which gives a good spin.

A cheaper option: The Onix Hype X ($90) doesn’t have as big and forgiving a sweet spot as I would have liked for starters, but its thermoformed honeycomb core has plenty of pop while playing consistently. This is a popular budget choice for advanced players for a reason, as it’s under $100 but has a carbon fiber face and weight distribution to appeal to hard hitters.

Some interesting new Paddles

Here are some new paddles I tested this year.

Photo: Martin Cizmar

Reload: If you’re serious about spin, you know that the number one thing that goes wrong on any pickleball paddle is the carbon fiber face. The gritty texture of spinning the ball at wonky angles wears off in as few as 50 games with one paddle, at which point you’re at a disadvantage until you pick up your paddle again. Reloading solves that problem. For $200, you get three paddles and the option to buy new ones for $22 to $25. The paddle reloads easily, and I had no problem adding new paper or a sticky sheet without stopping.

Photo: Martin Cizmar

SXY PKL data: Another way to make paddles green is to make them out of natural materials (if you played pickleball in the days before its popularity exploded, you probably played with a wooden paddle). The SXY PKL nods to that trend with its bamboo face (the core is carbon). This paddle looks like nothing else on the field and gets the attention of onlookers. The bamboo face is surprisingly thick and feels like fine sandpaper to me. It’s a solid paddle, but for $200 you can get better performance, if not the best looks.

Scorpion Pioneer Plus LED: Want to avoid the summer sun by playing in the evening, or just focus on the field? The Scorpion LED paddle ($100 for two packs) has a USB-C port under the handle and lights up in twelve colors. It costs $50 per paddle and plays a lot like a $30 paddle, but I used it a lot worse. It has a honeycomb core and a fiberglass face, so don’t expect a lot of spin. There are balls included, or match Franklin’s glow-in-the-dark ball.