CRBN TruFoam Genesis Review

Author

Chris Olson
January 30, 2025

What’s up, guys?! I am finally back from my break and I am pumped to be back. We are starting off with a review of the brand new CRBN TruFoam Genesis.

CRBN TruFoam Genesis Review

The CRBN TruFoam Genesis is one of the most hyped paddles I have seen in a long time. Honestly, I think a big part of that is because CRBN hasn’t released a new line in 2 years, and CRBN leaked information too early before production was ready, which lead to people knowing about the paddle probably a year before it came out.

But the question is, can it live up to the hype that everyone is expecting?

In my opinion, it’s complicated and I think there will be a good chunk of people who are disappointed. It’s a very good paddle and the new core has aspects that are highly appealing when compared to gen 3 paddles, but the price and the style of paddle that they chose to make, probably aren’t what people were expecting.

It’s a paddle I would heavily consider using as my main, but if I’m being honest, if I had to go and buy this with my own money, I would really have to think about if it was worth it. At $280 I think you just expect a little bit more for that price. The cores potential durability is very appealing, but it just doesn’t quite give you that “wow” factor that you get from other paddles we saw previously this year.

If you are going to buy one, I highly recommend demoing it first.

You can watch the full review for all the details though!

Thoughts from my break

As many of you know, I took time off in January to take a break from content and come back stronger for 2025. Below I just want to summarize some stories about how that went.

First two weeks

It was a good break, and I’m really glad I did it. The first half of the month was spent at home where I got to focus on some fitness, rest, and physical therapy to get my body ready for the court time in 2025.

I’ll be honest, the first week was rough. I felt very anxious sitting around and not working. My default mode is to work. When I’m not working I feel like I am wasting time.

Eventually I started to get over this, but it felt very odd not doing much.

The third week

The third week of break I went to Hawaii with my wife and a group of Pickleball friends. We played in a tournament on the Big Island and then spent the rest of the trip exploring and hanging out. This was a great trip. The people in Hawaii are super friendly and know how to host an awesome tournament.

One of the friends in our group played pro women’s and ended up coming in 2nd with a first time partner, so that was awesome!

Hawaii is one of my favorite places to go and it is even better with a group of great friends. It was a great reminder of the things that truly make Pickleball what it is, and I’m really glad to be reminded of it. We all get into this sport because it’s addicting and more often than not we find a group of people we connect with really well. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in drama or other small things the longer you are in Pickleball, but it’s important to remember what got you into the sport in the first place.

The fourth week

I’m finishing my fourth week in Florida. I came down to visit Doug from Bread & Butter and basically just play a bunch of Pickleball. One of the things that is at the top of my list to do is visit other states and play with new people.

Again, it’s just a great reminder of why this sport is awesome. Showing up at a rec park with people you’ve never met and just having a good time. Most of it was very casual Pickleball which is different from the games I am used to these days, but it was fantastic. Lots of laughs, a few people who recognized me from YouTube, and just some good casual games.

Plus, it never hurts soaking up more sun when it’s -7 back in my home state of Minnesota. 😂

I also got to get some games in with the owner of Pickleball Apes and he’s a great player and very fun guy. Most people probably don’t realize it, but many of the owners of these companies are very down to earth and it’s fun to see their skill level on the court as well.

One of the rec parks I went to I ran Ivan Lendl. I had no idea who he was, but I guess he is/was regarded as one of the best Tennis players in the world back in the day.

Never ceases to amaze me the people you run into on the Pickleball court haha.

Summary

I’m really glad I took this break. As someone who has been an entrepreneur my entire working career, taking a break is not something that comes easy. In fact, the first week of this break I really didn’t know how to relax and I kept wanting to go back to work.

While most of you reading this probably can’t relate, there are probably a few of you who understand the feeling very well. When you work for yourself, no one is coming to save you. It’s up to you to figure out how to make it work. Not working feels like everything you’ve built will just slip away overnight.

But, now I feel very recharged and have my plans ready for 2025 and how I want to tackle the year. I missed you guys and I can’t wait to spin the podcast back up.

There was so much news that happened in the month of January, so there is going to be a LOT to unpack.

As always, you guys rock.