You don’t need to spend a small fortune to get a high performing paddle. These lightweight, yet forgiving paddles offer ample power and pop for all-court play. They are affordably priced at $119, or $108 with the code PBEFFECT, and come in three different shape options, a rarity at this price point. The main drawback is their stiffer feel, which may not suit all players.
I would like to thank Chorus for sending me these paddles; however, this article is not sponsored by them. The opinions expressed here are solely my own and are intended to help you find the best paddle for your game.
For this review I’ll speak to the paddle construction, the general performance of the series, and then give a breakdown of each shape option available. Let’s dive in.
Looking for the right paddle to fit your game? Take our paddle fitting quiz for three recommendations that will match your style of play.
These paddles are lightweight but still fall into the all-court category. Heavier paddles typically offer more power, so there are fewer lightweight options in the all-court category compared to the control category. These paddles are not only affordable, but these performance features help them stand out among the many paddles on the market.
B&B Invader ($189.99): The Invader competes with the Supercourt HX. The Invader boasts more baseline power than the Supercourt HX, but with slightly less pop. It also offers a plusher feel and greater control. While heavier and less maneuverable than the Supercourt HX, the Invader is more forgiving out of the box. For superior overall offense, the Supercourt HX prevails with its good pop and maneuverability combo; however, if you seek an all-court option that prioritizes a softer feel and enhanced ball control without sacrificing power, the Invader is a good option.
We’ve categorized paddles into three categories. Control, All-Court, and Power. Paddle categories are determined by Braydon after he hits or reviews the paddle.
A paddle’s weight represents the inherent mass of the paddle as measured on a scale. However, relying solely on this static weight measurement can be misleading when assessing the true perceived heaviness of the paddle. Even if two paddles both clock in at 8 oz, their actual heft in your hand can markedly differ due to variations in weight distribution within the paddle. This is why the static weight should be considered with the swingweight of the paddle. See the definition of swingweight below.
The weight value listed in the database corresponds to the paddle’s weight that I used to gather the swingweight and twistweight measurement. It’s possible that if your paddle has a different static weight than then the swingweight and twistweight may be slightly different.
Swingweight is a measure of the paddle’s resistance to swinging about the end of the handle. The higher the swingweight number the heavier it will feel in your hands. A higher swingweight has more power but is harder to swing, lower swingweight is easier to swing but has less power. Sometimes a faster swing with a lower swingweight can make up for power lost in swingweight. The price paid for that is greater impact shock. Stock swingweights will vary between 100 – 140.
Twistweight is the resistance to rotating around the long axis through the middle of the paddle from butt to tip. The higher the twistweight the more resistance the paddle has to rotating on off center hits. This measurement is closely related to the amount of forgiveness or the size of the sweet spot of the paddle. A higher twistweight indicates a bigger sweet spot. Twistweight numbers range from 5 – 8.
Measuring the revolutions per minute (RPMs) off of a serve you get a number that shows the spin potential of a paddle. Using these RPM measurements I’ve created five buckets that a paddle will fall into indicating its overall spin potential. The five buckets are:
1900 or Higher = Very High
1700 – 1900 = High
1500 – 1700 = Medium
1300 – 1500 = Low
1300 or less = Very Low
You can tell a big difference in the amount of spin a paddle generates when you compare a Very High paddle to a low paddle. But the gains from Medium to High to Very High are marginal. We’ve found that having at least a medium rating is often enough if you’re looking for a good spin paddle. However, if you’re a big hitter then you will benefit more from a high spin paddle to help you keep the ball in play more often.
The power level of a paddle is shown in miles per hour (MPH) after taking ten measurements with a speed gun of hitting a serve as hard as I can. This measurement gives you an idea of how hard you can hit the ball when given the chance to take a full swing. So shots like serves, drives and overheads. The higher the MPH reading the more power you can generate with the paddle.
I also show the percentile ranking of the measurement to give you an idea of how it stacks up against the rest of the paddles in my database.
The pop level of a paddle is shown in miles per hour (MPH) after taking the average of ten speed gun measurements of hitting a punch volley as hard as I can. This measurement gives you an idea of how hard you can hit the ball on shorter swings and gives you an idea of how quickly a ball comes off the face when you apply less force on the ball. So shots volleys, dinks, counters, and resets are all affected by the pop measurement. The higher the pop measurement the stronger your counters will be but it takes more skill to keep the ball from floating or popping up on you when resetting a hard hit ball or when dinking.
I also show the percentile ranking of the measurement to give you an idea of how it stacks up against the rest of the paddles in my database.
The term “forgiveness” pertains to both the size of the sweet spot and the stability of the paddle. A paddle that is more forgiving offers a larger sweet spot, greater stability, and yields more power when hitting off-center shots. On the other hand, a less forgiving paddle has a smaller sweet spot and does not provide as much power when hitting off-center shots.
While there seems to be only benefits of more forgiving paddles, less forgiving paddles are often more maneuverable and is easier to generate more paddle speed.
Looking for the right paddle to fit your game? Take our paddle fitting quiz for three recommendations that will match your style of play.
