Pickleball Magazine 4-5 | Page 60

IN THE KNOW s w e i v e R t n e m p Equi BY JACK BANDEL SELKIRK TOUR BACKPACK ONIX EVOKE PREMIER LOOK/COSMETICS LOOK/COSMETICS Selkirk “S” logo and two- toned red and black make for a very modern-looking and striking bag. Simple, sharp, clean graphics. Familiar large Onix logo in the middle with a white, almost transparent, surface behind it. Flash of color in the corner. Only comes in two colors (red and blue). Handle has angled edges (not round) and feels very much like a tennis racquet handle. Fiberglass face feels textured, but super smooth. Slightly thicker core and newly designed edge guard completes the package. Show up at the tournament with this bag and folks will know you mean business! Looks very high quality and well put together. SPECS/ACCESSORIES The Selkirk Tour bag has got you covered! Plenty of room for all of your tournament-related items and then some. Thermal food and drink pockets, ventilated shoe area— even a sleeve for your laptop or tablet so you can check your ratings between matches. Room for two paddles in the dedicated paddle pocket, but you could easily fit a few more in the middle compartment. COMFORT/QUALITY The large padded shoulder straps are very comfortable while walking around with your bag. They don’t pinch or dig into your skin. The materials that make up the bag are the highest quality and should last you well into your pickleball-playing senior years. The zippers are also high quality and should hold up through many years of use. VALUE The Selkirk Tour bag is a bit pricier than some of the competition’s offerings but is still a great value at this price point. Selkirk obviously put a lot of research and time into producing this tour bag and it’s well worth the price. If you’ve priced similar tennis bags, you know the better-quality bags with many extra features aren’t cheap. SUMMARY Great bag that should satisfy even the pickiest of tournament players. This could take the place of your carry-on bag and your pickleball bag. You will wonder how you ever got along without it. Nearly a perfect product from Selkirk Sports. Highly recommended. 58 TO SUBSCRIBE CALL 888.308.3720 OR GO TO THEPICKLEBALLMAG.COM SERVES/RETURNS/GROUNDSTROKES The Evoke Premier is a soft-feeling paddle with a good amount of power. Shots from the baseline are effortless to get back deep, but care must be taken not to overshoot your target. Lots of spin off the hot composite face and “spinny” groundstrokes are a blast (literally) to hit with this paddle. TOUCH/FEEL Like many new paddles on the market today, this paddle possesses dual qualities of touch and power. Reliable dinking in the kitchen, without the hard, board-like feel that some power paddles have. The new super-thin and ultra-smooth surface allows you to feel connected to your shots and allows consistent target shooting from all over the court. SOUND/SWEET SPOT Sound is a nice, deep, satisfying pop, without being too loud. The newly designed edge guard (Atomic Edge Technology) allows a more solid feel toward the outer edges of the paddle and seems to widen the sweet spot. Blocking is really where the solid feel is more noticeable. SUMMARY This is Onix’s best offering and is now the paddle of choice for pickleball superstars Matt Wright and Lucy Kovalova—and it’s easy to see why. This is one of the best, most solid-playing paddles out there, and if you’re in the market for something new—with a good amount of power—make sure you check this one out.