I work in the tennis/pickleball industry in China, you'd be amazed at how cheap paddles are to make, including "Good" ones. $250 paddles cost at max 200rmb to produce, which is around 30 dollars.
I am a new pickleball player, only been playing 6 months. I have had the flat top version of the Friday pickleball paddle for about 2 of those 6 months. My thoughts: My 2 paddles I received weigh in at 8.5 oz each. This to me feels a little unwieldy and cumbersome compared to my first paddle and other people’s that I have tried. It has plenty of power, but the pop is just not there. The ball seems to just die on volleys and blocks and I find myself putting it into the net more than my first paddle. And control… I guess it has it? I’m still new so it could be me, but for the lack of pop, I wish I could control better. I have some weird consistency problems on serves with it in regards to power/depth. Overall, I agree with this review. It’s a great beginner paddle if you don’t mind the weight, but be prepared for it to feel less nimble than other paddles. I don’t agree with other reviews I’ve seen that claim that this one is good enough for higher level play, but maybe it’s just my play style. One last thing, I’ve had positive comments about the designs, but also gotten as many raised eyebrows. Most beginners in the pb community are polite, so I don’t get direct comments, but I do get the impression that some intermediate and higher players see the design and automatically think these paddles are gimmicky.
I bought this paddle and love it. It feels very solid, and the gritty texture provides so much confidence when directing shots. I switched to this from a more expensive (relatively) Onix Z5.
I loved you review! I got my 2 Friday Paddles in yesterday and played with both last night and was super impressed with the way they play! The spin is really good and I felt like I didn't have to hit as hard to get the ball over the net. Control was great but my old paddle was wider than the Friday paddle so that may take some time get use to. I don't mind the weight at all. Great paddle in my opinion especially for the money. I have been playing for 9 months 2-4 times a week.
Awesome, let us know what you think when you get a chance to play with them! I'm not sure how long shipping takes... maybe someone who reads this could weigh in on how long it took theirs to arrive!
How would you say the Friday paddles compare to the Vatic Pro Prism V7 in terms of quickness and power? I’ve got a Vatic Pro Prism V7 and while I really like it its control, spin, and it’s a step up in power compared to my old Onix Outbreak, I think it could be quicker (I kind of wish I had bought the Prism Flash instead). I also have wondered about the increase in power of a thermoformed paddle. That 2-for-$95 price is crazy cheap and I’ve probably got a friend or two who would buy the Fridays off me for my cost if I didn’t like them. Thanks!
Good question... in terms of quickness, do you mean more along the lines of maneuverability and how quick you can move the paddle around, or quickness in terms of how fast it hits the ball? I think the VP V7 may feel a touch more maneuverable with a lower swing weight, but the Friday paddles will be much more powerful than the V7, with the tradeoff being a little less control oriented, but so much that it's an overt power paddle that can't be controlled easily like a selkirk labs paddle or something like that.
@@PickleballMedicineI meant in terms of maneuverability. Sounds like there’s not enough difference between my Prism V7 and the Friday paddles and I should look for a lighter thermoformed paddle. Thanks
No problem! I would suggest checking out my video of the Top 5 Paddles $100 or less... give a good breakdown and comparison of what I think of the top affordable paddles on the market. I'll link that below. I rank them 1-5, but a person could arguably reareange them based on the aspects they look for in a paddle, with the lost having a good spectrum. Another thing to think about is that Friday Pickleball has that true 99-Day return policy, so if you try it and don't like it, you can return the paddles without any need to resell. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Ldke-2ZkVe0.htmlsi=GJhLnMX3sofhfSa1
