Thoughts on Upcoming Paddles

What’s up, guys? Hope you’re doing well. Sorry I missed last week, with the Kansas PPA it was tough to keep up!

Franklin Trainer Paddle

• Watch the video here

While this wasn’t a review, I decided to try something a little different and make more of an entertainment style video about these paddles. I’d love to know what you thought of the video, so shoot me a reply if you got to check it out!

We genuinely had a blast playing doubles with these. It’s harder than it looks. 😂 If you’re looking to have a lot of fun with some close friends, you should definitely give these a shot. I know they are intended for actual training to help you hit the sweet spot better, but games were way more fun haha.

I think these would make for a good Christmas gift for a Pickleball player.

You can pick one up at JustPaddles using this link

Our 4.5 gold medal match from the Kansas PPA

• Watch the video here

Will and I played our second tournament together last week. It was a crazy day. We had rain delays (we were at the venue for 16 hours!), high heat, and good competition.

We managed to go undefeated on our way to the gold medal match and then played a team of siblings, Jamon and AJ.

Will and I actually played them at the last golden qualifier and they were the ones to knock us out of the back draw. Keep an eye out for them, because they are going to be really good.

Will and I ended up walking away with silver. While we didn’t play perfect, I’m really happy with our outcome. We had to play games 1/15 in the main draw, we sat around during ridiculous delays, and had to deal with the heat.

With everything we went through, I think we played very well. Even if we were slightly more fresh I’m not sure that we could have beaten Jamon and AJ. So, congrats to them on the gold.

I honestly love that feeling. I hate losing when I feel like I played poorly. Will and I both left everything on the table, which feels good.

Excited to learn from this match and carry it over to nationals with Will!

Also, if you plan in ridiculous heat or areas with high UV, I HIGHLY recommend these sun sleeves from Storyi. They were a lifesaver at the PPA and I can’t imagine playing in the hot son without them anymore.

Originally I thought my arms would get too hot, but when the breeze hits the sleeve, it feels sooooo good. To keep myself even cooler, I would dump water on the sleeve and it felt even better. With the high heat, the sleeve would dry quickly while keeping me cool. If you try them out, let me know!

You can use code PBSTUDIO to save 10%. Purchase here

If you watched our match and wouldn’t mind leaving some thoughts on this poll, I’d appreciate it!

Recently I’ve gotten a lot more requests for full match game play on the channel. This is something I’m considering with some small twists to make it more entertaining, but I don’t want to mess with it if people aren’t interested.

I’ve never been a huge fan of watching random games online, but it seems like other people might be. Let me know below! I’d love if you’d leave a comment in the poll as well about why you like watching.

Quick thoughts on some paddles

With the travel to Kansas, I got a little behind on some reviews. I thought I would give you some quick thoughts on paddles I’ve tried recently.

PaddleTek Wave v3

I had very low expectations for the new PaddleTeks, but the new Wave v3 caught my attention. It has a low swing weight (110) and the pop off the face is really satisfying. Spin has also been upgraded and is now in the 1800 range (up from roughly 1000).

I think players that liked PaddleTek will enjoy the upgrade. It doesn’t seem to play drastically different from the old ones outside of the better spin, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. The paddles played well, it was just the lack of spin keeping them from being top tier.

I should have a 20% off code for PaddleTek soon.

Engage Pro

Again, I had very low expectations for the new Engage Pro after the massive flop with the Ultra.

While the price is still expensive, the new Engage Pro was feeling really nice in the 10 minutes that I got to try it in Kansas. Spin seemed solid (though, I didn’t get to run a test), and the pop was really nice. My two-handed backhand felt like a rocket and that was playing with the 16mm version. I can only imagine what the 13mm variant plays like.

I think there’s a good chance Engage will have redeemed themselves with the Pro.

If you plan to pick one up, code PBSTUDIO should save you 20%

GRUVN MUVN13S

This one caught me by surprise. Will told me a bit ago that he really enjoyed the new MUVN13S, but I really didn’t have high expectations going in.

When I ran the stats on the paddle, I was intrigued right away.

It has a swing weight of 99.

Yes, you read that right, 99. This is the lowest raw carbon fiber/thermoformed paddle that I’ve ever tested. It feels REALLY fast in the hand.

The twist weight is also 6.4 which is a solid number. I would probably still opt to add some lead tape to the paddle since it’s so light, which would help bump that number up even higher.

If you’re someone who needs a light paddle with a really low swing weight, this is worth checking out. So far everyone I’ve showed it to has been impressed.

Including a high level 5.0+ player who is EXTREMELY picky about the weight of his paddles and refuses to use anything but a Babolat that weighs like 7.2oz with a shaved off handle haha.

You can use code PBSTUDIO to save 10%.
Purchase here

🎙️ Latest podcast

If you missed it, If you want to hear all about our full Kansas experience and the drama going on in Pickleball, check out the latest pod!