Table of Contents
Brand Overview
Brand Overview & History: Selkirk started as and still operates as a family-owned business in northern Idaho, now with over 100 employees. They began making paddles back in 2014 before pickleball was cool and well before I started playing in 2019. While they weren’t the only paddle brand to launch early in the sport’s history, they are the ones that kept their early momentum and evolved and grew with the sport. Selkirk is now widely regarded as the leading and most respected pickleball brand. They’ve made several contributions to the sport and paddles, the most notable one being the first brand to introduce 16mm paddles to the market.
Market Presence & Perception: Selkirk built their brand very intelligently and intentionally. It’s been impressive to follow and watch. When you think about pickleball, Selkirk is the first brand that comes to mind when considering brands associated with the sport. They are known for their excellent customer service and dedication to the sport. They contribute to and sponsor both large and small events throughout the US and the world. For many years they were the innovative leaders in the space, though that has changed as they have grown and evolved. I see them more now as the people’s brand as they have evolved to serve the everyday player, which is the vast majority of the pickleball community. They are easy to shop with and have everything you need all in one place. Their designs are top-notch, their catalog is big, and they have much more than just paddles. They can outfit you with what you wear, hit, and play on.
Signed Players: Their most notable signed players include big names like Jack Sock and Catherine Parenteau, but they also sponsor a slew of other professional players and have a large pool of signed amateur players.
Products: Selkirk has one of the largest selections of paddles, but they have expanded well beyond just paddles and now have several clothing lines, nets, balls, bags, and other accessories. They can outfit you from top to bottom if you want to, which many people do. Selkirk has some of the best-looking paddles and gear available; they put a lot of time into the looks and design of their products.
Paddle Pricing: $70-$250. Selkirk is a premium brand and is priced as such. They offer entry level, mid range, and performance level paddles. When you buy with Selkirk you are paying for the goods, brand, convenience, and customer service.
Discounts: Use code INF-BRAYDONU to get a gift card added to your purchase on Selkirk’s website. Shop Selkirk >>
Warranty: Selkirk offers different warranties for different lines of paddles. Here’s the general outline of all their warranties.
- Premium paddles (LUXX, Power Air, AMPED, VANGUARD): Limited lifetime warranty
- Budget and mid range paddles (All SLK lines): Limited 1-year warranty
Return Policy: Selkirk’s return policy is as good as it gets and adds to the ease of shopping with them. Here are their policies:
- US Return Policy
30-day hassle-free return/exchange policy plus Selkirk covers shipping both ways. Simply buy the paddle you’re interested in, play with it for 30 days. If it doesn’t work for your game, return it for a full refund or exchange it for a different one. - International Return Policy
International (outside the US) customers get the same 30-day hassle-free return/exchange policy with the exception of the free shipping.
Who is this Brand for?: Selkirk’s power is convenience and reputation. They have a wide selection of good paddles and have all the other pickleball gear you need to play, which makes them easy to shop with. However, you can often find similar-performing and sometimes better-performing paddles for less money if you’re willing to look around and do your research. But if you don’t want to spend the time to do that, then Selkirk will have a paddle that fits your needs, and you know you’re working with a reliable brand.
(Use code INF-BRAYDONU at Selkirk’s website to get a gift card added to your order.
Selkirk Paddle Guide and Reviews
Selkirk offers the most comprehensive catalog of paddles out there. It’s nice to have options, but it also makes it confusing. I’m here to break it down for you. They offer premium paddles and budget friendly paddles. Each premium series consists of multiple paddle shape options, but their shapes are consistent across each series. Then their budget series paddles have a different set of shapes that are consistent across each budget series.
When you’re buying a Selkirk paddle, you will need to make two key decisions. First, decide the paddle series that best meets your needs. Second, choose the shape you prefer.
I’ll first describe the difference between each paddle series and then I’ll talk about the different shapes available.
Premium Paddle Series
Selkirk offers four series of premium paddles. Between the four lines they cover everything from control to power paddles. I’ll start by going through their two control lines, the VANGUARD and LUXX, then talk about their all-court AMPED line and finish with their power series Power Air paddles.
VANGUARD ($200-$230): Their Vanguard series is one of their control lines, along with their LUXX paddles. Within their Vanguard series they have two types of paddles, the Vanguard Control and the Vanguard Pro.
- VANGUARD Control ($200): These are control style paddles with good spin potential. This line is cold pressed and uses a raw carbon fiber face. This is technology that was popularized in 2022 and is known for absorbing more pace off the ball for you and has a very plush and pleasant feel to them. Great for control style paddles. Because this is older technology you can find paddles using this same technology for less money like these from Volair, but the brands that offer them, like Volair, don’t offer as many shapes and weight options as Selkirk does. If you want to hunt one down in the shape and weight you want with this technology then you’ll find it, but you have to dig around a bit.
- The Invikta, Epic, and S2 Selkirk paddle shapes are available in this line. Each shape is available in either a lightweight or midweight option.
- VANGUARD Pro ($230): These are aggressive style control paddles with good spin potential. These paddles are thermoformed, have the foam injected side walls, and use four layers of carbon fiber on each side of the paddle. This technology combined with the extra layers of carbon fiber on each side gives these paddles more power on drives and serves a similar amount of pop as the Vanguard Control paddles. This means the paddles give you more power on big swings but when you’re using smaller swings like when you’re dinking and resetting the ball doesn’t jump off the face very quickly so it’s still easier to control like the Vanguard Control series. Essentially, they give you a little more access to some offensive ability without giving up much control.
- The Invikta and Epic Selkirk paddle shapes are available in this line. No weight options.
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LUXX ($250): This series is a pure control series and is even more control oriented than their Vanguard Control paddles. They absorb pace well, are lightweight, and are maneuverable. Their added maneuverability are what make this different from the VANGUARD Control series. This combination makes it easy to slow the ball down and control the pace of play. If you need help keeping the ball in play, reducing pop ups, and like softer feeling paddles then you’ll like these. Because these are so control focused you do have to put in extra work to generate power to put the ball away and hit your serves and returns deep. Some cons are that the spin wears out quickly and the edges chip every time they touch the ground because they are edgeless. You can add edge guard tape to protect the edges but you can’t do anything to help the spin. If spin is important to you then I’d opt for the Vanguard Controls over these.
- The Invikta, Epic, and S2 Selkirk paddle shapes are available in this line. No weight options.
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AMPED ($160-180): This is Selkirk’s All-Court series that is designed to give you a blend of power and control. Like the Vanguard paddles, there are two lines to choose from. I’m not a fan of this series and think Selkirk’s SLK Halo Pros, which are in Selkirk’s budget line, are better performing all-court paddles compared to the options here.
- AMPED Control ($160): This line is cold pressed which is known for not giving you much power but Selkirk offsets that by using fiberglass facing layers instead of carbon fiber which is known for giving you more power. However, it’s not enough power to make them much of an all-court paddle and the spin is weaker on these. There are better all-court style paddles out there like the SLK Halo Pros or if you want to look at other brands then the CRBN Power series is a good option.
- The Invikta, Epic, and S2 Selkirk paddle shapes are available in this line. Each shape is available in either a lightweight or midweight option.
- AMPED Pro Air ($180): This paddle is more of an all-court paddle than the AMPED Control line and gives you more power and pop but again, I’m not a big fan of this line either and think the SLK Halo Pros are better and think all-court options from other brand perform better as well. The series is edgeless, uses fiberglass facing layers, and has a painted grit. All this combines to give it all-court playability and good maneuverability but at the sacrifice of a below average sweet spot, lower spin potential, and a stiffer, board like feel. The only time I ever recommend the AMPED Pro Air line is if someone was playing with and liked Selkirk’s Power Air series, because I think these are an upgrade to the Power Air series.
- The Invikta and Epic Selkirk paddle shapes are available in this line. No weight options.
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Power Air ($250): These were popular power paddles when they were first released in 2022. They have a good combination of speed and pop at the net that improves your counters and speed ups. While they are still around and used by some, paddle technology for power paddles has advanced since then and I think there are better power paddle options out there. The most similar paddles would be the Paddtletek Bantam 12.7mm options. These give you a better sweet spot, more power to go with the big pop, and better spin potential.
- The Invikta, Epic, and S2 Selkirk paddle shapes are available in this line. No weight options.
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What’s my favorite premium paddle from Selkirk?
I like the VANGUARD Pro series. They offer more offense than the LUXX and Vanguard Control series without giving up much control. It still has a pleasant feel to it and is on the easier side to control but there is more power available when you swing bigger. I think most control paddles in the future will all have this level of offense and it will become the new standard for control paddles.
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Premium Series Paddle Shapes
A paddle shape consists of the paddle’s length, width, and handle length. There are paddle regulations that restrict what the paddle’s total length and width can be and these are the shapes Selkirk has developed within those rules.
Invikta: This is their elongated shape that is 16.45” x 7.44”. Their newer premium lines like the Vanguard Control series have the Invikta with a 5.5” handle while their older premium lines like the Power Air series has a 5.25” handle length. Elongated shapes give you some extra reach at the sacrifice of a smaller sweet spot. Typically elongated paddles have higher swingweights and are more head heavy. However, Selkirk is conscious of this and makes their Invikta shapes much lighter compared to the rest of the market’s elongated shape options. I appreciate this because you can always add weight but you can’t take it off.
Epic: This is a standard shape that is 16” x 7.8” and is paired with a semi long handle at 5.3”. This shape is less head heavy and more maneuverable and offers a more stable and forgiving face with a larger sweet spot. You give up some reach and a little power compared to the Invikta but gain paddle forgiveness and speed. This is a good universal shape and handle length. If you’re not sure what shape is best for you then this is the one to get.
S2: The S2 is a widebody shape that is 15.8” x 8.2” and is paired with a shorter 4.7” handle. Widebody shapes like this are extremely maneuverable and have oversized sweet spots but come with the sacrifice of less reach and power. The handle is very short so if you play any two handed shots but like the idea of this shape then get the Epic shape. Selkirk doesn’t offer this shape with every single premium line and is only included in their Vanguard Control, Power Air, AMPED Control and LUXX lines.
Budget and Midrange Paddle Series
Selkirk has a sub brand called SLK that they’ve built all their budget and midrange paddles under. They gave their budget and midrange paddles a nice upgrade late 2024 that makes them more competitive in this space. In some cases, I think these paddles are as good or better than their premium lines. You just don’t get as many shape and weight options. In particular, I like their mid range HALO series and recommend them regularly. Their other $100 and under options have improved, though still not quite as good as some $100 paddles you’ll find from mid sized brands. $100 paddles from bigger brands like Selkirk aren’t typically as good as $100 paddles you can get from mid size and smaller companies. Mid size and smaller companies offer some of their best paddles at this price range whereas Selkirk can’t make their budget paddles too good or it will eat sales away from their mid range and premium lines. With that said, here are my descriptions and thoughts on each series.
SLK HALO ($130-$150): I really like this series from Selkirk. Selkirk likes to use their HALO series to create paddles that follow the market trends while they do their own thing for their premium lines. But because this is their budget brand, they are less expensive and cheaper than many mainstream paddles that use the same or similar technology. Within the Halo series you’ll see three types of paddles explained below.
- HALO Pro ($150): These are Selkirk’s best all-court style paddles in my opinion. They have a little extra power from the baseline and some pop to finish points and be a threat at the net. But the power and pop isn’t overwhelming and is a good step up from a control style paddle if you’re looking for more offense all around the court. They feature a raw carbon/kevlar face and utilize thermoforming and foam edges. The paddles are only offered in 14mm options but they play more forgiving than most 14mm paddles.
- The Max & XL Selkirk paddle shapes are available in this line. No weight options.
- HALO Control ($130): These paddles are actually built very similar to how Selkirk makes their Vanguard Control series that cost $200. They are cold pressed and have a raw carbon texture. They have a very plush feel and absorb pace off the ball well so that you can keep the ball down and improve your accuracy without a perfect swing. The main difference between these and the Vanguard Control is that you get less shape and weight options to choose from and a shorter warranty period. Other than that, performance is very similar and it’s worth saving $70 if you like one of the shapes they offer.
- The Max & XL Selkirk paddle shapes are available in this line. No weight options.
- HALO Power ($130): These paddles are thermoformed and have the perimeter foam like the Halo Pros but have a carbon fiber face and 13mm core instead. These also fall into the all-court category and give you good pop at the net and medium power from the baseline. While not quite as forgiving as the HALO Pro models and not quite as much power from the baseline, they are close competitors to the Pro models. In most cases I would recommend the HALO Pros if you’re looking for that all-court performance but if the lower price point is persuasive to you then these are close in performance to them.
- The Max & XL Selkirk paddle shapes are available in this line. No weight options.
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SLK OMEGA ($120): These are their budget friendly power models that are supposed to be the cheaper versions of their AMPED Pro Air series. The difference being these feature carbon fiber facing layers while their Pro Air series features a mix of fiberglass and carbon fiber for more power. I’m not a fan of these, I think you can get better power type paddles around this price range like the Versix Vector XL that give you good power but more spin and forgiveness.
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SLK EVO ($100): Selkirk improved this series with their 2024 release and they actually don’t play too badly plus they have multiple shapes and widths which other brands don’t have at this price level. They feature some of the modern paddle technologies you see out there like thermoforming and they use quality carbon fiber on the surface layers. The main thing holding these back compared to some $100 paddles you can get from other brands is their grit. They just don’t spin the ball as well and don’t have a raw textured surface like you can find from other good mid sized brands that offer paddles in this price range. I think it’s worth paying the extra $30 for their HALO line because they have the better raw textured grit surface plus some other tech like edge foam. Or, for the best paddles at this price point you can check out my list here.
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SLK Latitude, Atlas, and Nexus (under $100): These paddles were also part of the big update Selkirk made at the end of 2024 but I haven’t played these so I can’t speak to them as well and don’t want to give you bad information. Typically in this price range I recommend Friday paddles because I’ve tested those and was impressed for how good they were for the price. You can get one for $70 or a set of two for $50.
What’s my favorite budget paddle from Selkirk?
I like the HALO Pro XL. I would be comfortable playing in a tournament tomorrow with it. It has the all-court playablity and I like the way Selkirk weighted the paddle. They added more weight to the head than most 14mm paddles and that improved the feel and sweet spot while also giving you the plowthrough you need that not all 14mm paddles have. I would take this paddle over Selkirk’s more expensive AMPED series which is supposed to be their premium line of all-court paddles.
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Budget Series Paddle Shapes
A paddle shape consists of the paddle’s length, width, and handle length. There are paddle regulations that restrict what the paddle’s total length and width can be and these are the shapes Selkirk has developed within those rules.
XL: This is an elongated shape at 16.4” x 7.4” paired with an extended 5.75” handle length. This is a very long handle and I wish it was just 5.5” but they gave us 5.75” that can cleanly fit two hands on. You get a little extra reach and power with this shape at the sacrifice of some maneuverability and sweet spot. This shape is better suited for intermediate to advanced players who can find the sweet spot often and can manage the natural more head heavy nature of longer paddles.
Max: This is a standard shape that is shorter and wider than the XL at 16” x 7.85” and is paired with a shorter 4.85” handle. This is a very short handle that’s fine if you don’t use any two handed shots but if you do then it’s uncomfortable to put two hands on it. I wish it was 5” or even 5.25” because I feel like that would be more universal but they gave us a shorter handle. This shape is more maneuverable and forgiving than the XL version but comes at the sacrifice of less power and reach. The shape is versatile and is suited for a wide variety and level of players who want maximum forgiveness and or a less head heavy paddle.
What is Selkirk Labs?
This is Selkirk’s branded R&D arm. They create prototype paddles that they sell for a premium through their Selkirk Labs program. You can become a member of the program and purchase their “project” paddles and provide feedback on how the paddle plays to help shape the future of Selkirk paddles. Many of the paddles that first appeared as Selkirk Labs’ projects turned into paddles they now sell in their main lines. For example, Project 002 turned into the Power Air series and Project 006 turned into their Vanguard Pro series. It’s kind of cool to be part of an exclusive club and get early access to their R&D projects but at the same time it’s very expensive to purchase a project paddle and then knowing the main purpose of the program is to give Selkirk feedback so that they benefit and make more money. Seems a bit one sided in favor of Selkirk to me.
Check out Selkirk Labs >>
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Get A Gift Card Added to Your Selkirk Order with Code INF-BRADYONU
If you think Selkirk has the right paddle for you, pick one up from Selkirk's website and get a gift card added to your purchase using the code INF-BRAYDONU. Pickleball Effect does receive a small commission if you use the code, however this article was not sponsored or paid for in any way. All opinions are my own.
Shop SelkirkBraydon 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.
