2024 Hot List Silver Award

This is an interesting one we weren’t expecting to be so good. While most power paddles have high power and pop metrics, this one has higher power but average pop numbers. Meaning it has power on bigger swings like drives and overheads but is more controllable at the net because the ball doesn’t jump off super fast. 

The paddle is extra elongated at 17″ long paired with an extra long handle at 6.25″. The typical elongated shape is 16.5″. The added length moves the sweet spot further from your hands and feels more tennis racket like than other paddles. This increases the paddle’s head speed on big swings and the paddle carries through the ball well which is where the power comes from.

Pickleball Apes were the first company to popularize Kevlar as a facing material with their kevlar/carbon fiber weave. Kevlar adds a touch more power than carbon fiber and makes the paddle feel a bit more muted and less stiff.

Because the Pro Line Energy is so long, it is also skinnier. The paddle plays surprisingly forgiving for how skinny it is, but it is simply skinnier so you do miss some shots that you catch towards the edge that you might pick up with wider paddles, but conversely, you also have extra reach to pick up and flick lower balls at the net.

Because the paddle is longer it feels a bit foreign at first and takes some getting used to. It moves a bit sluggish at first but it gets better as you adjust.

The bottom line: A unique extra elongated design that gives you good power from the baseline and a nice touch at the net.