I played around 20 games with both these paddles over the last 2 days and I have to say I think they are great. 15mm is my new favorite thickness. These are the first paddles I've ever played with that I felt had zero compromise in any area. They swing fast at the net, don't pop the ball up on dinks and resets, have adequate power and spin. Really really love these paddles. Especially the standard shape.
100% agree with Luca. Cheap bastards put on a real handle on your $$$ paddles! Even the $95 Babolat XPLR has a real molded handle. Love you Babolat 👊🏼 Can’t wait for you to catch up with the industry in 2024.
Drops with the Raw are perfection. Love the plushness. Immediate improvement in my soft game. But I totally agree about the groundstrokes though, your description was spot on. I don't feel dialed in just yet.
I always enjoy your vids Luca! I thought I was the only one who questioned hybrid shape paddles. I felt that the sweet spot has different reactions from top to bottom and can throw off your play. I always like straight sides so hitting surface is consistent through the length of the paddle. I like my Vatic Flash having the lead by the throat to equalize hitting area, but I prefer my standard and elongated paddles more.
Not really blown away with these paddles from Head at this point. I expected a little more from them, not to mention that I was looking forward to buying one. When I played tennis, my favorite racquet was the Head Extreme series. The more spin the better. So if the paddles are not producing the levels of spin that other paddles are producing, then these paddles are not a viable option.
Would you say the Raw (non EX ) has a muted feel similar to the proline energy S? Looking for a paddle with that feel but lower swing weight and the Raw looks interesting.
There isn't a compelling reason to buy these, unless your local tennis shop dabbles in PB. They might carry them. One of the guys in my group just bought one (at the local tennis store). Playing against this paddle, it seemed like the spin was more than adequate. I borrowed it briefly. Observations: first thing that I liked was the handle which you touched. I have a 2 hander and the handle is excellent. Paddle is definitely a control paddle with the added bonus of having some pop. I think for $200CDN though is a big ask with so many brands out there like Ronbus that seem to be a better value.
Glad you touched on handle build. I tried the Diadem 18k and can't believe how cheap the handle construction is. I couldn't stand how Diadem leaves the core exposed underneath the grip where I could actually compress and damage the core.
Slowly we'll see companies putting more emphasis on this. It's natural that the tennis brands have good handles but I completely agree that it's frustrating when you have a great paddle with a terrible handle.
I'll try to add that to reviews in the future. These are fairly "normally" balanced which I believe means they are head heavy but things are a little different in pickleball compared to other paddle/racket sports.
@@RacketsandRunnersPickleball everywhere I look they ONLY have the 3 7/8 grip in short handle standard RAW paddle. The ex seems to only start at 4 1/8 I believe????!?
