Friday, June 1, 2012

Pickleball Paddle Review: PickleballNow XL Lite

The other day I played with 1 of the paddles I've had a bunch that I have had on hand, but haven't played with. The paddle is from PickleballNow  and is not their largest paddle, but darn close. The dimensions are 15" in length, and 8 3/4" in width, and weighs in at 8.5 oz. The paddle is made of fiberglass, with a honeycomb core. This paddle is wide, and was hard to get use at first. The handle is long measuring 4 3/4", and average size thickness with a thin overgrip. It would be easy to add thicker grip, and would be advisable considering how thin the grips are. Once I got playing with the paddle I found it to be quite powerful for net play, but unless you are use to a wide body paddle it will feel awkward in your hand for those hard shots. Now I know a few friends that play with this paddle, and they are guys who are over 6', and have doubled up the thickness of the grip, and love the feeling of the paddle for the slam shots, and the faster net shots. The IFP (2012) has found that some of these paddles to be to large for tournament play. The newer paddles have an integrated plastic edge, or some of my friends have peeled off the larger edge guard and thrown a few layers of tape. Overall, for those looking for one of the largest paddles in the pickleball market, or one looking for a fiberglass paddle this is for you. If you have been using a regular shaped pro-lite or s-type paddle this might seem awkward. New paddles on their website sell for $89.95 or buy a new factory second through us for $60 CDN.

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