It lastly occurred: Like half the world, I dove into the pickleball craze. If you happen to’d requested me a number of years in the past if I’d ever play, I’d most likely have rolled my eyes, however now—a 12 months into studying the game—I think about myself a full convert.

Essentially the most essential ingredient to leveling up your pickleball sport (after buying some cute outfits for the court docket, after all) is a good paddle. In response to Worldwide Pickleball Educating Skilled Affiliation (IPTPA) licensed pickleball teacher Jennifer Azevedo, “you’ll be able to personalize a paddle to your particular wants as a participant. Missing in mobility? Get a paddle that’s a little bit greater and longer to assist attain the ball. There are alternatives to assist virtually each side of the sport that may be missing,” she says.

Regardless that I perceive the worth of an excellent paddle, I balked when the teacher of my intro class really helpful a selected set that value over $100. As a beginner who wasn’t certain if I used to be going to stay with the game or not, I wasn’t able to shell out that a lot—so I went looking by myself, utilizing suggestions from buddies who already performed and on-line opinions to information me.

After weeks of looking, I lastly landed on the Niupipo Pickleball Paddle Set from Amazon. These paddles had been extremely rated by 1000’s of individuals, comparatively inexpensive, and claimed to have options I used to be searching for. Certain, they weren’t essentially the most aesthetically pleasing, however I imagine in prioritizing operate over type with regards to sports activities tools.

The set comes with two paddles, a carry bag, and each indoor and out of doors pickleball balls (sure, there’s a distinction). Right here’s what occurred after I put it to the take a look at.

The specs

The paddles are USA Pickleball Affiliation–authorized, which Azevedo says is “one thing you’ll want as you start to look into event play,” as officers will really verify your paddles for the stamp of approval.

The paddle faces are manufactured from fiberglass and include a honeycomb polymer core, which the model’s web site says helps scale back noise. The complete paddle head can be wrapped in an edge guard to assist stop injury and chipping if the paddle scrapes the bottom, which I’ve to say is fairly efficient—there’s barely a scratch on mine after a 12 months’s price of use.

The way it feels

The very first thing I seen after I unboxed the set was how light-weight the fiberglass paddles had been. Weighing solely 7.8 ounces every, they’re a lot lighter than those from one other model I purchased for some relations, pondering I’d get them a cute set. I’ve additionally performed with a buddy’s wood paddles, which really feel like cement in my hand in comparison with my Niupipo ones.