Hi friends!

This week's issue took more prep than anything we've put in front of you in a long time. And it wasn't the paddle stuff.

It was a segment Eddie and I cooked up where we paired the top 20 pros on tour with the musical artist they most remind us of. I thought it was going to be quick. It turned into hours of research, back and forth texts, and me digging through genres I hadn't touched in years. Eddie called it the most difficult thing he's ever prepared for. I think he's right 😅

But before all that, we had real work to do. The Honolulu Blue Grit is shipping to the first customers this week, so we put it head-to-head against the 11Six24 Vapor Power 2, the Spartus P1, and the Chorus Coda Harmony Grit. We put all four on the table…let's see who wins.

Let's dive in!

In this week's email:

Read time: 8 mins

GEAR GOSSIP

Let me start with this: I get it. JOOLA has every right to protect their IP. I'm for following the rules. Nothing here is me taking a side against JOOLA on principle.

The issue is how these patents get read. And I think most people are missing what this lawsuit is even about.

Everyone assumes it's about Gen 3 paddles or diving board shapes. My read? It's not that restrictive.

The main patent describes a very specific build:

From what I saw in the breakdown, a paddle needs all three layers to match the patent. Paddles with one foam layer running straight to the edge aren't in the lawsuit. Paddles with the core-foam-frame sandwich are. Whether the core floats has nothing to do with it.

I could be wrong on the finer points. I'm not a patent attorney. But that framing makes a lot more sense than "JOOLA is suing everyone with a Gen 3 paddle."

Now the bigger picture.

JOOLA filed this with the U.S. International Trade Commission, not a normal court. Two reasons that matters:

JOOLA spent a lot of pages proving each brand builds in China. They want to block these paddles from entering the country.

The 11 brands named so far: Franklin C45, Proton Flamingo, RPM Friction Pro, Engage Pursuit Alpha Pro, Diadem Edge Blue Core, Friday Fever 102, Facolos Elite X, Paddletek Reserve, Pro XR Jolt, Adidas Adi Power Pro, Volair Shift.

What surprised me: this isn't only Gen 3. The Paddletek Reserve and Volair Shift are full foam Gen 4 paddles. That tells you how broadly JOOLA is reading their own patents.

Eddie made a great point on timing. These paddles have been out for two and a half years. Why sue now?

My guess:

That's not cynical. That's just how companies behave.

One more thing worth flagging. Even if the patents hold up on paper, the defendants can still fight back by proving the tech already existed before JOOLA filed. That's called prior art. It could decide the whole case. And I think there are some pretty compelling cases for prior art out there.

Not much happening on the news front this week, but one drop worth flagging. The CRBN Barrage just released both the classic elongated and the short-handle elongated shapes. If you were holding out for something other than the widebody, they're live now.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Shoutout to Matthew Schwartz at Pickleball Magazine for pitching this segment. He wanted to see all four durable grit paddles compared apples to apples. Eddie and I got the hybrid shape of each and went to work.

The lineup:

First, the Blue Grit was compared to the original J2CR. The spin is undeniable. Up there with the top tier, very high friction that translates straight to the ball.

The grit looks like somebody sprinkled sugar across the face. It's a little uneven with vertical striations, but that didn't bother either of us. And this paddle actually starts grittier than raw carbon fiber, not just lasting longer. With the radar gun I was pulling 2,400 to 2,500 RPM versus 2,200 to 2,300 on the raw carbon version. The cannon backed that up.

One thing that's real: once you've felt this surface between points, it's hard to go back to anything else. The feedback is that good.

All four paddles live in the stiff-hollow quadrant, but they're spread across it.

On spin, the Honolulu, 11Six24, and Spartus are basically a three-way tie at the top. The Chorus Coda trails noticeably because it's peel ply, not actual durable grit. It still gets good spin for peel ply (around 2,300 RPM on radar), but it's still the lowest of the bunch.

My rankings (hybrid shapes only):

Eddie's rankings:

If I could pick the shape I actually want to play, I'd take the Honolulu J6 elongated first, then the 11Six24 Hurache-X elongated, then the Chorus Coda elongated, then the Spartus P1.

All four are going to sell. These are some of the first real durable grit paddles to hit the market, and more are coming. If nobody files a patent, expect copycats by summer.

You can get 10% off using code “JOHNKEW” for these paddles:

Honolulu J2CR Blue Endurance Grit
Honolulu J6CR Blue Endurance Grit
11Six24 Vapor Power 2
Spartus P1
Chorus Coda Harmony Grit

PADDLES OF THE WEEK

NOX sent me two of their new X-Foam paddles. The JC6 is Judit Castillo's signature paddle, a hybrid-length elongated shape at $250. The Tempest is the widebody version at $240. Both are 16mm and dual-certified.

I don't have X-rays yet, but based on NOX's marketing, it's a classic EPP center with an EVA band. Standard modern full foam architecture.

Eddie and I split on feel. I put them in the stiff-hollow quadrant, similar to the Selkirk Boomstick but less powerful. Eddie got a woodish Z5 vibe.

Eddie's take: Very stiff, not his preferred profile. But the performance is there. Drives were sharp, drops were landing.

My take: Power is solid. Sweet spot is big. Spin is fair but not elite. The dimensions are odd. Both paddles are leaving a little room on the USAP max.

One thing I love about NOX coming into pickleball: they didn't just copy the edgeless padel look with throat holes. They built real paddles. Solid first offering.

Engage is going full foam now too. The X2 is $260, dual-certified, with a lifetime warranty (reads like a one-and-done replacement, so clarify with Engage before buying).

I got an X-ray on this one. Classic EPP center, EVA band, then a third layer of edge foam extending around the perimeter. Engage added a bidirectional fiberglass weave on the edges. Three-layer system overall.

Both Eric Oncins and Jessie Irvine switched to this from their older Engage paddles.

Here's the catch: Engage calls this their most powerful paddle with "explosive controllable power." That's not what we played.

My take: One of the softer full foam paddles I've tested. All-court, lower end of that category. It's a full-swing-on-third-shot-drops paddle. You can't really overpower anyone with drives or serves.

Eddie's take: Buttery feel. Muted feedback. Large sweet spot. Great for touch players, but without the power it's not his paddle.

Some Friday Aura vibes in feedback, but the power curve is totally different. Just call it an all-court paddle. The "explosive power" thing is marketing.

Shop the NOX X-Foam (code JOHNKEW)

Shop the Engage X2 (code JOHNKEW)

Eddie hit me with this: if a club called and said we're bringing a group of players, any skill level, any age, any style, and you can only bring three paddles, what are you bringing?

Spin and sweet spot are givens for both of us. Every paddle we picked had to check those boxes. What actually varies across players is feel profile, power versus control, and weight and balance. So that's where we focused.

Forgiving all-court: Six Zero Coral. Soft and balanced, close to the power boundary but still controllable, big sweet spot, spin is there. I've handed this to a lot of people. The only pushback ever is "I want more power," which is fine. Budget swap: Friday Aura.

Softer power paddle: JOOLA Pro V. Power without the hard, stiff, in-your-face feel. People either love the softness or bounce back to the Pro IV, but the ones who stick with it really stick. Obviously $300. Budget swap: Spartus P1 (adds durable grit too).

Team power forward: Selkirk Boomstick. Maybe the biggest sweet spot on the market at its power level. People who don't like it are usually people who don't like stiff-hollow paddles. $333. Budget swaps: 11Six24 Power 2, or the Enhance MPP Turbo at $100.

Quick note on Boomstick warranty: I've warrantied three of mine in five months. Two edge guards, one face crack. If that would bother you, don't buy one right now. Selkirk's customer service is genuinely excellent and I've had zero friction, but you need to know the issues exist.

All-around: Honolulu J2CR. J6 has been his daily for a long time. The J2 might spread wider across player types. The Thrive Ignite might bump this out in two weeks, but for now, Honolulu.

Small handle, big face, low swing weight: Franklin ALW 16mm. Easy to control, not intimidating, handle small enough to wrap your hand around. For the slight-of-build player or the kid who can't carry 122 swing weight.

Team power forward: RPM Q2. For people who love the Boomstick but find it a little out of control, this is everything the Boomstick is with more predictability on launch angle. Eddie's words, not mine.

Between our six picks, we'd probably cover 90% of the room.

Shop the Six Zero Coral (10% off with code JOHNKEW)

Shop the JOOLA Pro V (10% off with code JOHNKEW)

Shop the Selkirk Boomstick (use code INF-JOHNKEW)

PROS AS MUSICIANS

This segment ate our week. It reads better on video because we flashed every pro and artist on screen, but here are the highlights. Some lined up. Most didn't.

After reading these, let us know if you have different picks!

Honorable mentions: Jaume Martinez Vic as Prince. Travis Rettenmeier as Chris Cornell. Will Howells as a Slash-meets-Claudio-Sanchez wolfman. And no, Elton John didn't come up once. I was just as surprised as you.

KEW & A

I know a little about this one but can't get into specifics. In general, yes. If you've done the R&D, you have the right to patent and protect your IP. The devil's in the details of how it's enforced. Good patent protection can reward real innovation. Bad patent enforcement can stall innovation and hurt consumers.

Not really in my database. Early on I thought maybe, because USAP's PBCOR testing was failing more widebodies than elongated versions within the same model. But that's partly the Franklin hole-less ball. It's harder and stiffer than a real pickleball and penetrates the core deeper at 60 mph.

There's also a clamp variable. At about six inches from the clamp, the ball starts seeing it. More clamp mass means faster rebound. With a shorter paddle, the test zone overlaps more with the clamp, which punishes widebodies in ways that don't show up in real play.

With my KewCOR, I'm seeing pretty even results across shapes. The real power advantage of an elongated paddle isn't the core. It's leverage. Longer paddle, more head speed at the top, more output when you hit near the tip. Pros hit right next to the top edge guard for a reason.

I'm not seeing a clear lighter-is-better trend with juniors at the PPAs. A lot of them are swinging Perseus shapes and elongated JOOLAs and playing great. If a kid wants less swing weight, just choke up an inch on the handle. That's 20 points of swing weight off. Most pros already do it.

Hope you enjoyed this week’s email!

—John

All paddle data, rankings, and deals: johnkewpickleball.com