PADDLE MANUFACTURING
Paddles are either molded ( hot press ) or comprised of laminate layers cut out and glued together ( cold press ). Molded paddles are often referred to as " heat-pressed ," and are becoming all the rage . Selkirk ’ s smiley-faced " Power Air " paddles hit the market in 2022 and are the easiest models to identify when viewing across the courts . The molded paddles generally have honeycomb cores with the same materials as traditional paddles . The difference in technology comes from the carbon surface materials being " baked " into the paddle and formed in smooth rim-less shapes . These paddles are usually coated with textured paints to add spin . Companies such as Selkirk , Veloz and soon-to-be-launched Trnity are putting a lot of research and development into molded paddles and this new technology is likely to continue to expand .
Still , traditional cold-press paddles dominate the market . They are less expensive to produce and come in a wider variety of surface ( paddle face ) materials . The cold-press paddles today are made of one or more outer laminate layers glued together and then glued onto a center core . The most common core , by far , is polypropylene due to consistency and cost . Other cores
include aluminum , Nomex / aramid , and even EVA foam . Each core provides a different amount of feel and power .
The paddle cores come in a variety of thicknesses — 99 percent of the better-quality paddles on the market range from 10mm to 19mm thick . The thinner paddles generally offer more power and responsiveness while the thicker paddles offer more control . The standard for most pro players generally ranges from 14- 16mm cores .
The surface material is extremely important to the play of the paddle . While a fiberglass or polymer face will give plenty of power , most manufacturers have switched over to the softer carbon fiber and its variants ( T700 , Torray , etc .). The carbon surfaces offer excellent control and spin . Fiberglass paddles are traditionally smooth to the