Yes, they have holes in them! The new Aero Powershot and Aero Proshot from Oneshot Pickleball are the first of their kind. The holes, or air vents, are meant to reduce drag to make the paddles easier to maneuver. No other brand has attempted anything like this, but I bet they won’t be the last.
I waited over a month to get these paddles because they went out of stock so fast after they were released in Oct. 2021. I was excited to finally get my hands on them to test and review. They are getting a lot of attention and seem to be very popular.
After drilling and playing with each paddle for over two weeks, here’s my review of their performance.
Go straight to the Aero Powershot Review
Go straight to the Aero Proshot Review
Before I dive into the performance of each paddle, I want to talk about the airflow technology. Oneshot had toyed around with adding air vents to their paddles for two years before they developed what we have today. They ultimately ended up working with a European company that does a lot of work for Red Bull and the auto industry to run tests and optimize the design. Here’s an interesting video showing some of the tests run on the paddles in a wind tunnel.
The research ultimately showed the vents reduced drag by up to 2%. At first, Oneshot didn’t think that was significant, but the company they were working with were stoked about the results. They said if they could reduce drag by 0.15% for any of their other clients’ projects they would be jumping up and down with excitement.
When you think about it, pickleball can be a very high speed game, especially with fast exchanges at the net. So that 2% can help. In my play tests, I thought the air vents worked. Here’s my conclusion. Did they make a huge difference with every swing, no. Did they make a difference, yes!
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Price: $185
| Technical Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Weight | 8.0-8.5oz |
| Length x Width | 16.3″ x 7.4″ |
| Thickness | 14.5mm |
| Handle Length | 5.3″ |
| Handle Circumference | 4.25″ |
| Facing Layer | Graphite |
The Aero Powershot falls into what I call the all-court category. It does everything well, but doesn’t excel in one particular area.
The paddle has a comfortable feel to it and was very controllable. The ball does come off slightly springy, though, so it took a couple hours of drilling and a few games to really hone it in, but once I got it, I was very consistent with it and never lost my touch.
It’s a heavier paddle that’s head heavy (the one I have is 8.5oz). Because of this, it glided through the ball well and it didn’t take much to get the ball where you wanted it to go. Although it’s heavier, the paddle cut through the air nicely thanks to the vents and its thinner core.
The elongated shape, heavier weight, and thinner core all helped give the paddle power. I thought it had enough power to be dangerous from the midcourt, counter effectively, and put pressure from the baseline with drives and serves. I wouldn’t consider it a true power paddle per se, but it wasn’t far off.
The gritty surface grabbed the ball super well at first, but it wore out pretty quickly. The sweet spot was smooth after two weeks of play. More on this later. Additionally, it wasn’t very forgiving from side to side, you could even feel a little extra vibration with contact around the vents. I was able to reduce that issue with some lead tape. More on that later too.
The bottom line: The Aero Powershot is an excellent all-court paddle. It has a great feel that includes the benefits of a heavier paddle but still moves easy because of the vents. Its gritty surface does wear off quickly, though, and it’s not super forgiving from side to side but is manageable for intermediate to higher level players.
The Aero Powershot features a 14.5mm polymer core and a graphite face. This combination is what gives it its all-court playability. You have the option to select a weight of 8-8.5oz when you buy it. You can actually select the exact weight you want, which is cool. The paddle is head heavy which helps give it a little extra power and adds a nice feel to the paddle. The face is highly textured out of the box, but it wears out quickly. More on that below.
It has an elongated shape combined with a longer handle that is 5.3in. This shape gives some extra reach and moves the sweet spot up a little. It also adds a little extra power to the paddle too.
The elongated shape, heavier weight, and thinner core all helped give the paddle power. I thought it had enough power to be dangerous from the midcourt, counter effectively, and put pressure from the baseline with drives and serves. I wouldn’t consider it a true power paddle per se, but it wasn’t far off.
The gritty surface grabbed the ball well at first, but it wore out pretty quickly. The sweet spot was smooth after two weeks of play. Honestly, the grit wears off on every paddle eventually. Textured surfaces aren’t the only thing that contributes to spin. The thinner core and air vents enabled me to accelerate through the ball quicker than other paddles which made it easier to add spin to my drives, serves and attacks at the net.
The access to power and the elongated shape enabled me be aggressive at the net with push dinks, speed-ups, and rollovers. I thought it performed well in this area. Though the surface smoothed out, I was still generating good topspin with my attacks.
The paddle has a comfortable feel to it and was very controllable. The ball does come off slightly springy, though, so it took a couple hours of drilling and a few games to really hone it in, but once I got it, I was very consistent with it and never lost my touch. The more I played with it, the more I liked the feel.
It’s a heavier paddle that’s head heavy (the one I have is 8.5oz). Because of this, it glided through the ball well and didn’t take much to get the ball where you wanted it to go. This allowed me to keep my strokes compact and simple around the net and with drops from the midcourt and baseline.
Although it’s heavier, the paddle cut through the air nicely thanks to the vents and its thinner core. Heavier paddles (especially head heavy ones like this one) tend to feel slower in your hands, but this paddle is an exception. I scrambled well with it and never felt like I missed a ball because the paddle was slow.
The paddle wasn’t as forgiving from side to side compared to other elongated paddles I’ve played and it seemed to twist a little easier on off-center shots. You could even feel some extra vibration when you made contact close to the vents. Because of this, I added some lead tape to the bottom corners of the paddle. This helped stabilize it and reduce the vibration I was feeling with those off-center hits. I highly recommend doing the same if you get this paddle.
The Aero Powershot is a great all-court paddle. Its heavier weight gives it a nice firm feel with good power, and its 14.5mm core and graphite face doesn’t leave it without a good touch. Plus, the airflow technology does make the paddle more maneuverable and easier to wield, which is an excellent benefit.
If you’re a person who wants a little extra power but doesn’t want to sacrifice your connection to the paddle, then this is a great option. I can see this paddle fitting the needs of a lot of experienced players.
However, it isn’t as forgiving or stable as other elongated paddles. It required a higher skill level to take advantage of its benefits. Adding lead tape to the bottom corners did help combat that, though. If you have played elongated shaped paddles in the past then this won’t bother you as much. If you’re new to elongated shapes then you’ll notice it more.
Price: $185
| Technical Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Weight | 7.6-8oz |
| Length x Width | 15.8″ x 8.2″ |
| Thickness | 14.5mm |
| Handle Length | 5.3″ |
| Handle Circumference | 4.25″ |
| Facing Layer | Graphite |
The Aero Proshot falls into the control paddle category. It’s technically a mid weight paddle but it felt lighter. Its light weight combined with the air vents made the paddle very quick in your hands. I got more balls when I was scrambling and my hands were quicker at the net.
It has a light, crisp feeling at contact that translated well to the soft game. Consistency with my drops from the baseline and midcourt came quickly. I always felt in control while dinking and could absorb pace off the ball well with block shots. However, it didn’t have the swing weight to glide through the ball, you had to take a bigger swing on dinks and drops to get the right distance.
Power didn’t come as easy with the Proshot as it did with the Powershot. Its widebody design and lighter weight contributed to that. If you swung harder, the paddle responded, but you had to swing harder to get significant pace. This didn’t cause many issues with serves or drives since you have more time to swing bigger. It was more noticeable with attacks that use shorter swings like counter punches and rolls.
The bottom line: The Aero Proshot has excellent feel but less power. It’s a great option for players who value paddle speed, control and forgiveness over power.
The Aero Proshot has a widebody design that is more forgiving than the elongated shape of the Powershot. It’s technically a midweight paddle but it felt lighter. The handle length is a little longer at 5.3″. You don’t see too many widebody paddles with longer handles like this. I think it’s great. The longer handle adds some leverage to the paddle and makes it more comfortable for two handed stuff.
The graphite facing layer, slightly thicker core, and lighter weight gave you a connected feel to the paddle. This gave it excellent control that made it easier to control the pace of play and increase consistency with drop shots. The face has a gritty surface out of the box but it wears out after two weeks of play.
The vents combined with the lighter weight of the paddle made it very quick in your hands. The vents didn’t seem to get in the way as often as they did with the Powershot. I think it’s because the vents are farther away from the sweetpot with the Proshot.
The Proshot was very effective at controlling the pace of play and hitting your spots. I could generate more spin with the Proshot compared to the Powershot because I could accelerate through the ball quicker. This made it great for those 50/50 balls that you could attack or volley dink. I would attack them!
The pop on the paddle wasn’t there, though. If I attacked a ball at the net and didn’t hit them in awkward spots like their paddle side shoulder or hip, then the ball came back with more speed than I’d like.
If I had time to swing big with overheads or drives, I could still generate good power and depth, it just took more effort. Its lack of power was most noticeable with counter punches.
If you have a hard time generating power on your own, then you’ll have a tougher time getting the power and depth you want out of the Proshot.
Its lower pop did come in handy with attacking low balls and flicking shots at your opponents shoulders. Those type of attacks require less power. It’s easy to hit those long, but they stayed in play more often with the softer paddle.
This is where the Proshot really excelled. It had a great feel to it that absorbed the ball well. The air vents and its light weight made the paddle very fast in my hands. This enabled me to get more balls and keep points alive.
Controlling dinks and drops came quickly. Those type of shots did require more effort to get the distance you needed, though. But once you got used to it you didn’t notice.
The paddle played very forgivingly and consistent. This made it easy to play with and reduced unforced errors at the net. The vents are further away from the sweet spot than the Powershot and rarely got in the way.
If you have a defensive or all-court style of play that relies on consistency to win points, then this may be the paddle for you. It’s an easy paddle to play with that suits all level of players.
Its advantage over other control oriented paddles is its maneuverability and quickness. You get more balls with this paddle that you normally wouldn’t. It does lack some put away power, but still responds if you can generate your own power.
Pro tip: If you like the idea of the Proshot but want more power, you can add lead tape to the sides and top of the paddle to increase its power level.
Looking for the right paddle to fit your game? Take our paddle fitting quiz for three recommendations that will match your style of play.
