2024 Hot List Silver Award

Selkirk’s Vanguard Power Air series is the first set of paddles to come to market after going through the Selkirk Labs R&D process. The result? A high combination of pop, spin, and speed. Its thin 13mm core, no edge guard, and hole in the throat give it a high level of speed that you don’t get often with power paddles.

The speed and pop of the paddle make you a major threat at the net. Counters are strong, and the quickness of the paddle helps you stay in front of the ball and keep it down. Though the paddle has good pop at the Kitchen, the power from the baseline however is more average which makes it easier for drops and defense from the baseline. 

The downside to this paddle is its unpleasant, wood like feel that isn’t the easiest to connect with and takes some time to get used to. The sweet spot is a bit below average as well which is typical for a power type paddle though Selkirk offers this paddle in three different shapes that vary in forgiveness levels. Their shorter and wider shape options like the Epic and the S2 are more forgiving but less poppy than the elongated Invikta shape.

The bottom line: Big pop, big spin, very fast. Compared to other power paddles that made our Hot List, this one has the least pleasant feel to it.