PADDLE REVIEWS
ENGAGE PURSUIT PRO1 INNOVATION
Look / Cosmetics: 4 / 5 All-black( Toray T700) carbon paddle face. Nice, cushioned octagonal-shaped grip feels great in your hands. This elongated shape measures 7.4 " x 16.6 " with a choice of either 12.7 or 15.2mm thickness. This review is focused more on the thinner model, but both paddles offer similar performance, with the thicker model offering more control and the 12.7 offering more power and slightly stiffer feel. My playtest paddle weighed in at 8 oz.
Serves / Returns / Groundstrokes: 4.5 / 5 Engage’ s new“ SpinCore Technology” is amazing. This paddle whips through the air and delivers incredible topspin and speed on your baseline returns and serves. It’ s almost like you don’ t want to come into the kitchen because hitting dipping topspin drives are so much fun. This paddle seems designed for aggressive play and the power level is high, but the spin keeps the ball inside the lines. Paddle feels slightly head-heavy but that gives you that“ whip” through contact.
Touch / Feel / Spin: 4.5 / 5 This paddle seems tailor-made for the modern speed-up game. Nice cushioned ball impact with some noticeable dwell time allows you to feel the ball off the face a fraction of a second longer. This really comes in handy and allows you to shape your shots. The access to spin is among the tops I’ ve seen, and when you combine that with the effortless power, it can be very addicting to play with. Soft dinking can be done, but you really want to use this paddle to speed things up. Flick put-aways and overhead slams are aided by the whippy, head-heavy feel.
Sweet Spot / Playability: 4.5 / 5 This is a serious paddle for players of the modern faster style of pickleball. Strong intermediates to pro level players are going to benefit most here. The sweet spot feels sufficient for any skilled player, and offcenter hits didn’ t cause any twisting or harsh vibes. Engage did some voodoo with the way this paddle is weighted and swings, because it feels just right on almost any type of shot. Loads of new tech in this paddle and you can read all about it here: engagepickleball. com / products / pro1-innovation-127.
Summary: 4.4 / 5 It’ s no secret I’ m a big fan of Engage paddles and they never fail to amaze me when something comes out that’ s flat-out better than anything before it. This is one of those cases and this new Pursuit Pro1 Innovation is going to find its way into a lot of high-level players’ hands. It’ s that good. Can’ t recommend this one enough. If you play a modern, fast-paced game that relies on power and spin, you need to try this one.
Current Price: $ 259.99
by JACK BANDEL
SELKIRK SLK ERA POWER ELONGATED
Look / Cosmetics: 3.5 / 5 Simple, classy all-black paddle face with bright-teal edge guard and accent coloring. Three-layered hybrid face combining T700 carbon fiber and fiberglass. This elongated shape measures 7.5 " x 16.5 " with a 16mm thickness. Grip size is 4.25 " with a handle measuring 5.8 ". This paddle is from Selkirk’ s SLK series and comes in a more standard“ widebody” shape. My demo weighed in at 8.2 oz.
Serves / Returns / Groundstrokes: 4 / 5 The“ dynamic fusion core” provides a nice, comfortable and smooth contact on groundstrokes. Easy power with a controlled swing made it a snap to get serves and returns deep. Aggressive players will benefit from this paddle. Returns gave me the same easy power with decent spin to shape the ball. Hard returns had enough topspin to dip into the court inbounds, but players must learn to control all this power.
Touch / Feel / Spin: 3 / 5 This paddle is meant mostly for aggressive, hard hitters so I was not expecting much in terms of touch and feel, but was pleasantly surprised. Not buttery soft like some control paddles, but also not too harsh and hot. Spin was about average and will not be a liability. Ball contact feels nice and smooth, due to the low-density EVA foam that surrounds the core. Mishits were not harsh and were rare. Dinking took a little adjustment period due to the easy pop, but that also made it easier to quick-flick and put away opponents’ high dinks.
Sweet Spot / Playability: 4 / 5 Selkirk says this is for intermediate to advanced level players and I would tend to agree with that statement. Beginners would be better off with the widebody shape over this elongated one. This paddle was relatively easy to pick up and play with, and felt balanced through the air. The sweet spot is very impressive in size and seems to be well-centered on the paddle face. Even though this is a longer handle and elongated shape, there was no head-heavy feeling here.
Summary: 3.6 / 5 This surprising new release in Selkirk’ s SLK line offers a nice choice for aggressive players who want the latest technology and high quality but at a lower price point than some of the top-of-the-line paddles. The hybrid carbon / fiberglass face offers lots of power, with a comfortable, smooth feel. Control-oriented players should probably look elsewhere, but the SLK ERA Power offers a lot of paddle for the money for hard hitters. Also, don’ t forget about Selkirk’ s 30-day hassle-free return policy!
Current Price: $ 200.00
For more info, go to the Pickleball Paddle Reviews group page on Facebook. Paddle Manufacturers: Contact Jack Bandel at jackbandel @ gmail. com if you’ d like your products to be reviewed.
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