Product Reviews

  This is the second year I have put together a list of Pickleball Gifts for the holidays.  You can see the 2020 list here. For 2021 I thought I would create a very short list of products that I can personally recommend. These products will improve your game or help you feel better (which we...
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Updated July 2021 I’ve added three new paddles which have come to market since this article was first written.  They include the Gamma Compass, Engage Encore MX 6.0, and Selkirk Amped Invikta.  All of these have enhanced technology and are in the $150 range.  All are considered to be an elongated paddle since they are...
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The focus of this post is to do a Niupipo Pickleball paddle review of the Explorer. But before I dive into detail about this paddle, I want to give a little history of the Niupipo company along with where they are now. So, let’s start with when I first heard about the sport of Pickleball...
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What Pickleball Paddle Do The Pros Use – Updated July 2021 Have you ever wondered what Pickleball paddles do the pros use? Over the last few months, I’ve interviewed over 30 professional Pickleball players on the Pickleball Fire podcast and asked them which pro Pickleball paddle they use and why. This included senior pros and...
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I recently spoke to Brandon Swanson, the Paddle Geek, about Pickleball paddles on the podcast.  Since you may not have had a chance to listen to the podcast, I thought I would write a post to summarize what I learned from Brandon. Brandon became the Pickleball geek after he broke his first paddle.  Apparently, he...
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As Pickleball has grown, so to have the gift options this holiday season.  We now can buy shoes specifically designed for Pickleball.  We also can choose to learn about Pickleball through an in depth video series since many destination clinics have been postponed due to COVID-19.  Fortunately, we can get some comic relief as a...
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A few weeks ago, I paved an area in my backyard for my RV.  This space along with part of my driveway doubles as my practice court for pickleball.  The court is regulation length at 44 feet but only 12 feet wide rather than 20 feet wide.  It’s great for practice or a game of...
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Pickleball paddles began to evolve when Arlen Paronto decided to employ the material used by Boeing to construct their aircrafts.   This ‘honeycomb’ design used in the construction of the aircraft was transposed by Arlen onto the pickleball paddle.  This paved the way for more technologically-advanced designs which we see in new pickleball paddles today. 2020...
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Update:  June 27, 2020: New Pickleball Machine Options I originally chose the Lobster Machine over the Pickleball Tutor and Simon Ball Machine because of two features.  First, it was the only one to offer a control for top and back spin.  To me, this is a must for a Pickleball machine since spin is a...
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Putting spin on the ball can be advantageous when playing pickleball.  It’s a great tactic for keeping the ball low when dinking or hitting a third shot drop.  Players who hit heavy top spin have an advantage when trying to keep their opponent deep in the back court.  When I chose my first pickleball paddle,...
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