Pickleball Paddle Review: DOT Pickleball 'Crush"

Pickleball International has some paddles available from DOT Pickleball from Kelowna BC. These paddles have a nomex honeycomb core, with composite wood exterior. They come in 2 colour variations: wood look, or painted. The edge is trimmed with heavy duty tape for a thin rimless edge. The paddles are the widebody design along the same shapes as Pickleball Inc.'s Champion or larger paddles like PickleballNow's XL Lite. The honeycomb nomex is a core that allows for power and more power. The drawback is the weight of these paddles, unless you like a heavier paddle. These paddles weigh 8.8-9.3 oz. Some players appreciate the heavier weight.  There will probably be no females playing with  These paddles have been approved by the USAPA, but under the new guidelines for tournament play will need to have the company name and model decaled onto the paddle. These paddles are for sale through Pickleball International for $40 CDN.

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.