PRODUCT REVIEW

ENGAGE ENCORE

ENGAGE ENCORE BLADE‘ LITE’

ENGAGE ENCORE X-SERIES

BY WAYNE DOLLARD | PICKLEBALL MAGAZINE WITH ASSISTANCE FROM ROBERT ELLIOTT( ENGAGE PICKLEBALL) AND JIMMY BLUE( PICKLE-BALL INC.)

2015 marked the 50th anniversary of our beloved sport founded on Bainbridge Island, WA, back in 1965. Pickleball experienced very mild growth until a few years back when everything really took hold. According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association( SFIA), pickleball now has close to 3 million players... and it’ s still rapidly growing. Just six years ago, that number was 100,000 players.

There are now close to 50“ Approved” manufacturers for the sport; however, the 13 paddle makers featured here control 99.9 % of the tournament paddle market. Of these 13, seven control 90 % of all tournament paddle sales. They are: Pickle‐ball, Inc., Paddletek, Pro‐lite, Selkirk, Engage, Gamma and Escalade Sports( Onix). At the same time, there are over a dozen other paddle producers that are rapidly growing due to high quality and technological improvements. These include: Franklin, Riverstyks, PBZ, Wolfe, PAC, and Manta. So what characteristics make a paddle unique? The short answer is three things: the core, surface( also called the skin or face), and weight. Depending on the materials and layering used, every paddle will play differently by manufacturers tinkering with these three things.

Weight: 7.2- 7.7 oz. Dimensions: 15.38 " x 8 " Core:

Polypropylene / Polymer Honeycomb

Surface: Specialized Fiberglass Price: $ 75

ENGAGE ENCORE PRO

Weight: 7.7 oz- 8.3 oz. Dimensions: 15.5 " x 8.13 " Core: Polymer Surface: Proprietary Fiberglass Price: $ 89

Weight: 7.3- 7.6 oz. Dimensions: 17 " x 6.5 " Core: Polymer Surface: Proprietary Fiberglass Price: $ 89

ENGAGE ULTRA

Weight: 6.7- 6.9 oz. Dimensions: 15 " x 8 " Core:

Aerospace Aluminum Honeycomb

Surface: Specialized Fiberglass Price: $ 75

Weight: 7.3- 8.0 oz. Dimensions: 15.5 " x 8.13 " Core: Polymer Surface: Proprietary Chemical Bond Price: $ 89

GAMMA PICKLEBALL

ATOMIC 2.0

Weight: 8.0 oz. Dimensions: 15.6 " x 8.25 " Core: Aramid Honeycomb Surface: Textured Composite Price: $ 90

CORES

The main types of paddle cores are aluminum, nomex / aramid, polypropylene and polymers. Though less expensive, maple wood is another option for the traditionalist, but is rapidly being phased

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GAMMA PICKLEBALL FUSION 2.0

Weight: 8.0 oz. Dimensions: 15.7 " x 8.2 " Core: Aluminum Honeycomb Surface: Textured Composite Price: $ 70

GAMMA PICKLEBALL PHASER 2.0 GRAPHITE

Weight: 7.9 oz. Dimensions: 15.7 " x 8.2 " Core: Aramid Honeycomb Surface: Textured Graphite Price: $ 80

GAMMA PICKLEBALL NEUTRON 2.0 GRAPHITE

Weight: 7.0 oz. Dimensions: 15.6 " x 8.25 " Core: Aluminum Honeycomb Surface: Textured Graphite Price: $ 100