What Pickleball Paddle Should I get?

This is one of the most common questions when starting playing Pickleball. If you are a beginner, check out the beginner’s Pickleball paddle guide.

 

Joola Paddles

Joola is a well know paddle sports company. I personally use several different Joola paddles, and I am a Joola rep. If you are interested in one of the paddles listed below and you are one of my current or past students, I can get you the paddles at a discount, as they almost never discount them on retail sites. Just contact me instead of purchasing directly from the Joola site.

In general these are the choices, more details below:

  • intermediate/advance intermediate: Joola Radius has a rounder shape, better sweet spot, or Joola Vision if you want a longer handle

  • intermediate/advance intermediate: Joola Ben Johns Hyperion CAS 13.5 (there are at least six different “Ben Johns” models) is a slightly cheaper, slightly more poppy paddle as an alternative to the Radius/Vision version

  • intermediate all the way to pro:

    • Ben Johns Hyperion CFS / Simone Jardim Hyperion CFS - there are seven versions of these, depending on power/control balance and hand grip size.

    • Scorpeus and Perseus: There are four versions depends on thickness and shape. These are their latest paddles and they are very good

    • Hyperion C2: These are basically the Scorpeus and Perseus in the Hyperion shapes. Same prices as the others. If you like the aero-curve shape, get these.

 

Joola Essentials

This is a great starter paddle. I have played with 3.0 players that are still using this paddle. If you think you are going to play at least one season of Pickleball, this is the one to start. More info on the Joola site here. MSRP is around $59



Joola Radius

The Radius is the paddle that I started playing with myself once I realized I need a better paddle. This is a mid-high range paddle that has much of the advanced features, and a forgiving paddle shape. The paddle is on the light-to-average side with a 7.6 oz weight. For a beginner or intermediate player, the lighter weight helps. You can add weight to a paddle but not take weight away.

More info on the Radius on the Joola site. The paddle retail for $180.

 

Joola Vision

The Vision is the “longer” version of the Raduis with a grip (handle) length of 5.5 inches. There is a 16mm and a 14mm version. Comparatively the thinner version has more power and the thicker one has more control. The Vision retails for around $170. More information on the Joola site here.

 

Joola Solaire

The Solaire is a top heavy paddle that is great for people who wants more power in exchange for a bit less hand speed. I played with this one for awhile once I am confident in my general skill. This paddle just gave me the extra “pow” that I needed. The Solaire CFS 14 has a regular and a “swift” version. The “swift” version is lighter, 7.7 vs 8.4 oz average weight. The Solaire retails for $190. More information on the Solaire paddles on the Joola site.



Joola Ben Johns Hyperion CAS 13.5

This CAS 13.5 version in the Ben Johns Hyperion line is a (relatively) more affordable Hyperion. What you are loosing compare to the top of the line model is the surface is technically less spinny. I think for the price difference this is a good deal, retail at $160. More info on the Joola site.

 

Joola Hyperion

The Hyperion line of paddle is Joola’s current top of the line model. Retail at $220. There are several variations of this paddle:

The “Ben Johns” line are the original. The “Simone Jardim” line are the same as the Ben Johns except they have a smaller grip size, by 0.125 of an inch. Both lines have a “swift” model that is slightly lighter than the regular model. Finally they come in 14mm or 16mm, the 14mm is more balanced towards power, and the 16mm is more balanced towards control. Confused? Reach out to me and I can let you try them out to decide which one is best for you. More information on the Joola site.

Joola Perseus and Scorpeus

The latest top of the line paddle from Joola are the Perseus and the Scorpeus. The Perseus has the longer paddle face and longer handle format. The Scorpeus has the more retangular shape format. Both paddles comes in the 16 mm balanced version and the 13 mm power version.

I currently am using the 13mm Scorpeus (the Anna Bright) version.

 

Portable Pickleball Net

If you need to bring your own net to play, this one is quite nice. Affordable and so far it is holding up well.

 

Joola Essentials Pickleball Net

The Joola net is slightly more expensive, retail at $150 (before discount by me) but it is better quality.