Engage is a very well-known brand within the pickleball community and has a history of creating great paddles. I was really excited when I got my hands on the paddles to review them. There are three models in the Engage Encore Thicker Core pickleball paddle series. The Encore 6.0, EX 6.0, and the MX 6.0. Each paddle is constructed with the same thick polymer core and FiberTEK skin, but have different head sizes and handle lengths.
- The Encore 6.0 is the wide body paddle. It measures at 15.5” x 8.125” and a traditional handle length of 5“.
- The Encore EX 6.0 has a conventional head size. It measures at 16” x 8” with a traditional handle length of 5”.
- The Encore MX 6.0 is its elongated head size. It measures at 16.5” x 7.5” with a longer handle length of 6”.
These are thicker core paddles which usually mean a softer feel at the sacrifice of power and a larger sweet spot. Engage touts that they solved the puzzle of thicker core paddles and were able to maintain a large sweet spot and power with the soft feel that thicker core paddles offer. But, that’s not exactly what I found when I was playing with them.
Here’s what each paddle in the series looks like.
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Shop NowAfter drilling and playing lots of games with these paddles for over a week, here are my quick stats for the paddles.
I couldn’t tell a difference between the three paddles as far as playability goes, they all felt and played the same to me. When it comes to picking the paddle that fits you, it’s up to you to decide which paddle dimensions serve you the best. I preferred the MX because I play a two handed backhand and liked the longer handle.
Here is my in-depth analysis of why I gave the score I did for each area.
Spin
The highlight of this paddle was the spin I could produce with it. You can feel the textured skin, and it really grabs the ball well. I was able to generate more topspin with these paddles than others. It was really nice. I felt I could be a little more aggressive than I usually am with my ground strokes and rolls. However, as you’ll read in the power section, you have to swing a little harder to generate power from your groundstrokes with these paddles.
I was able to put a little more spin on the ball without over emphasizing my swing on my return of serves. Allowing me to give more attention to placement and power.
Power
The power from this paddle was a little disappointing. There was a significant decrease in the power I could generate from groundstrokes, volleys, and overheads. I had to overswing to generate the power I wanted and that caused me to make mistakes in accuracy. Even when you hit the sweet spot, it’s missing the pop I wanted and need to unbalance my opponents. Then, when you missed the small sweet spot, the power dips even more.
Keep in mind this is in comparison to other performance paddles with a similar price tag. The power generated with this paddle is on par with recreational paddles that are much cheaper.
Control
When you take your first hits with the paddle, you immediately notice how soft the ball is off the face. It feels really good, especially when you hit it in the middle of the paddle. Although the paddle feels really soft, I rated it a little lower than you’d might expect for a couple of reasons.
First, the sweet spot felt really small to me. The paddle lost a lot of power when you missed the very center of the paddle. You notice it when you’re dinking and especially when you’re trading fast volleys. I hit a few dinks into the net because the ball would die more than you’d expect with off center shots. When it came to fast volley exchanges, several of attacks lacked pop that weren’t struck perfectly and several of my block shots fell short because I missed the center of the paddle. It can be hard to hit the center of your paddle every time during fast volley exchanges when the ball is coming so fast at you, so it’s nice to have a little more forgiveness in those scenarios.
Second, the soft touch didn’t translate directly to distance control. I’ve played other really soft paddles that translated much better to distance control. I let several other players use the paddle and they all had the same conclusion I had, so I know it wasn’t just me.
Related Post: Doubles Pickleball Dinking Strategy and Drills to Win More Points at the Net
All things considered, it still had better control and a softer feel than recreational paddles.
Design and Other Considerations
The paddle graphics look good and comes in several different colors. They have a very professional and cool vibe about them. The sound of the paddle is also very nice. It sounds softer and not so clunky.
The grip tape was nice and comfortable as well, but the handle itself feels a little cheap. The sides of the handle have gaps that are only enclosed by the grip tape. You can easily feel the gaps with your fingers when you press down on the sides of the handle. You can even feel the edge of the handle with your regular grip, I didn’t like that.
These are thicker core paddles, so the paddle itself is very thick. The extra thickness doesn’t add any additional weight to the paddle, though.
Summary and Recommendations
The highlights of this paddle were definitely its softness and the spin you can generate with it. The thicker core served it well in those areas. It’s also nice to have three different size options so you can get a paddle size the fits your needs.
The control benefits of the thicker core came at the cost of power and a small sweet spot. It was not the most forgiving paddle with off center dinks and drives, and even when you did hit the sweet spot with drives or volleys, the power just wasn’t there.
I wouldn’t prescribe this paddle to advanced or beginner players only. It depends more on your abilities. If you have a hard time generating your own power, then you may find yourself overswinging to generate the power you want, which will cause errors. I wouldn’t recommend this paddle for you.
If you are player who can easily generate their own power then you’ll benefit from the additional control and touch these paddles offer. If that’s you, then this may be a paddle you want to consider.
This paddle performs better in doubles pickleball where control and placement are valued more than power. This is not the best paddle for singles where depth and strong groundstrokes are needed more often.
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