Bread & Butter has been on my radar for sometime but this is the first review I’ve done of one of their paddles. The Loco was released early 2024 but I was slow to try it out because the specs look so similar to many other paddles out there. It’s thermoformed, edge foam injection, raw carbon fiber, and is using the popular hybrid shape.
It turns out the Loco plays differently than similar paddles from brands like Vatic Pro and Six Zero that I thought it would play like. It’s more control oriented, lighter, but still packs a punch on counters and volleys while the others are more all-court type paddles.
After drilling and playing with the Bread & Butter Loco for two weeks, here are my thoughts on its performance.
Table of Contents
Paddle Stats
Bread & Butter Loco
- Weight: 7.7-7.9
- Swingweight: 114-115 (moderate)
- Twistweight: 6.2 (moderate)
- Spin RPMs: 1949 (high)
- Length x Width: 16.25″ x 7.7″ (hybrid)
- Face: Carbon Fiber
- Grip Circumference: 4.25″
- Handle Length: 5.3″
- Core: 16mm Polypropylene Honeycomb, Foam Walls
- Special Features: Thermoformed
- Paddle Type: Control
- Price: $165 ($141 with code 15EFFECT)
- Warranty: Six months
(Get 15% off with the discount code 15EFFECT directly on Bread & Butter’s website)
Performance Summary
The crux of this paddle is that it’s light and maneuverable, feels soft and offers good control while giving you a little more power on punch volleys and counters at the net than a pure control paddle.
My power and pop tests of the paddle put the power in the 25th percentile and the pop in the 43rd percentile and this lined up with how it played. It certainly plays like a control paddle but with a little different profile. While a pure control paddle like the Vatic Pro Prism series or the Selkirk Luxx series have power and pop percentiles both under 20%, the Loco has a similar power profile as them but with a little boost of pop to help you finish points at the net. Although the paddle gives you a touch extra on counters and volleys, it’s not so much that it inhibits my ability to reset the ball or to keep the ball down when dinking. It seemed like just the right amount of pop to add some offensive abilities to it without giving up the level of control you get from a pure control paddle.
True to what you’d expect from a good control paddle the paddle does some of the work of absorbing pace off the ball for you which makes it easier to place your shots and improves your consistency in a variety of scenarios. But this also means you have to put more effort into your serves and returns to get the ball deep into your opponents side of the court.
On the spin side of things, I was getting an average RPM measurement of 1949 which is a solid result and will give you everything you need there.
Let’s talk about the forgiveness level of the paddle. Lighter static weight paddles are prone to twisting in your hands a little more and when you compare the stability and forgiveness level of the Loco to similar paddles like the Six Zero Double Black Diamond or the Vatic Pro Flash this was true for it as well. The Loco isn’t quite as stable as those though it’s subtle and wasn’t a turn off for me. However, considering the static weight on this is lower, the twistweight measurement and forgiveness level is good and I don’t think it will cause issues for people though I wouldn’t describe it as an oversized sweet spot.
I personally liked the Loco with some added weight to it. I put 3 grams of tungsten tape on each side of the paddle and that improved its stability and gave me a little more power from the baseline without it feeling much heavier. If you’re a more advanced player like me then I imagine you’d like to add some weight to it too though if you prefer lighter paddles then it still plays well stock.
Paddle Comparisons
Now let’s do some comparisons of the Loco to other popular hybrid shaped paddles and I threw in the Bread and Butter Filth so you can see how the Loco compares to it too. The number one represents it has the most in that category and the four represents it has the least.
The Loco essentially falls in between the Vatic Pro Prism Flash and the Six Zero Double Black Diamond in terms of performance. The Prism Flash is known for being a workhorse on the control side of things and the Loco feels more similar to the Prism Flash at impact than the Six Zero. The Prism Flash has a denser, plush feel while the Loco has a lighter, plush feel to it and the Double Black Diamond and The Filth both have that stiffer, crisp feel that is typically associated with thermoformed paddles. The Double Black Diamond is an all-court type paddle while the Filth is also an all-court type paddle that leans towards the power side of things.
My Recommendation
The Loco unexpectedly played and felt like a control paddle despite the majority of thermoformed paddles falling into the all-court category. But it does give you a little different profile compared to other control paddles with its little extra pop on short strokes.
I think this is an excellent paddle for lower level players who need help with their soft game and want to improve their consistency while still getting some help offensively at the net. And if you’re a beginner and don’t know what the best paddle shape is for you, the hybrid shape of the Loco is a good middle ground that does a little bit of everything for you.
It’s also a good option for players looking for a lighter paddle for easy maneuverability while still maintaining good forgiveness.
If you’re a higher level player and like the feel and playability of control paddles but still like to play aggressively at the net then this is a good option as well.
However, if you’re looking for a control paddle with the biggest sweet spot possible without having to modify the paddle then you should look at the Volair Mach 2 Forza 16mm or the Vatic Pro Prism Flash 16mm. While the sweet spot isn’t bad on the Loco it does need some added weight to max it out.
And if you were hoping this played similar to the Six Zero Double Black Diamond 16mm but with a Bread and Butter skin then that’s not what this is. It doesn’t give you the usual power and pop of a thermoformed paddle so if that’s what you’re looking for then this doesn’t fit that description.
(Get 15% off with the discount code 15EFFECT directly on Bread & Butter’s website)
Braydon competes at the 5.0 level and plays in 5-10 tournaments a year. He plays/drills 3 to 4 times a week and would play more if time allowed it.
