Our pickleball writer, Rush Walters, is back with a pickleball paddle review of the Stiga Aviox Fiber Poly Pro.

Stiga Aviox Fiber Poly Pro Paddle Review

Demo from Total Pickleball: Stiga Aviox Fiber Poly Pro

Check out our other pickleball paddle reviews here.

Specifications

Head Dimensions (Length x Width): 16 in. x 7.5 in.
Paddle Thickness: 13 mm.
Grip Length: 5 in.
Standard Weight: 7.8 oz
Paddle Material: Polymer Honeycomb
Notable Features: Composite Fiberglass Surface, “Diamond” Head Shape

Growing up with a Stiga ping pong table in my parents’ basement, I have long been a fan of the brand. With being a big name in the ping pong industry, I am not surprised they began producing paddles. With the growing popularity of pickleball, this is an excellent opportunity for them to grow the Stiga brand. Also, although I don’t give out bonus points, quite a few players at my community center complimented how the paddle looks. The green makes it stand out while giving it a robust and sleek visual design.

Initially, I thought this paddle would produce more power due to its thin 13mm build. My assumption was correct, but in comparison to its control, the power was reasonably similar. The paddle has more power than control, but not by much. I rated its power and control ? because the paddle is very versatile. When doing a little research on Stiga’s website, they designed this paddle specifically to be an all-around paddle. Outside of spin & soft touch, the paddle is just a high-quality general paddle. Also, the paddle’s power and control transferred into its ability to produce deep shots and dinks, which are just very average. It is very good for beginner to intermediate players, but I would suggest it for beginners.

Performance

Time Tested:__5+hrs_
Date(s) Tested:___6/29/22-6/30__

Final Grade: 27/35 77% C

Grading Scale:
A 100-90%
B 89-80%
C 79-70%
D 69-50%
F 49-0%

Conclusion

Again, visually it does have a pretty slick design. The bold green does pop. The paddle scored only a C because it truly is an average paddle. The paddle isn’t bad by any means, just for the versatile player. Honestly, I’d recommend it for beginners and players who have not yet found their style of playing. I am more of a control and spin player, so the paddle didn’t produce the results I wanted.

Nonetheless, it was still good quality, average paddle. When I did try to hit harder with it, I did notice how I lost control, and softer hits gave me more control. Although power was more substantial, neither power nor control stood out. One aspect that did stand out other than its colors was its maneuverability. I could truly get around at the net with ease, mostly because the design of the head of the paddle. Stiga calls it a “diamond head shape,” you can see it in the pictures. The shape allows it to cut through the air with ease. Overall a great beginner paddle.

You can buy the Stiga Aviox Fiber Poly Pro from Total Pickleball

Our pickleball player, Rush Walters is back with a pickleball paddle review of the Joola Solaire CFS 14. How does it perform?

Joola Solaire CFS 14 paddle review

Do you play pickleball or padel? Many tennis players do as a complement to their main sport. Let us know in the comments below!

Specifications Joola Solaire CFS 14

Head Dimensions (Length x Width): 16 in. x 8 in.
Paddle Thickness: 14 mm.
Grip Length: 5.5 in.
Standard Weight: 8.4 oz
Paddle Material: Reactive Polymer Honeycomb
Notable Features: Carbon Friction Surface (CFS), Aero-Curve

Check out the Joola Solaire CFS 14 on Total Pickleball.

Play-test

Joola’s Solaire Carbon Friction Surface (CFS) 14 had many similarities to its brother, the Vision CFS 14. I play with the Vision. You can find a review here under pickleball too.

Going into the review, I did not know what to think with the large head on the Solaire. I figured more power, of course, with a larger head comes a more prominent sweet spot and a larger sweet spot typically brings more energy. Although I like to focus more on control and spin, I quickly became a fan of the larger surface area on the head of the paddle. The large head provides forgiveness and the potential for aggressive power.

It seems like Joola took the Vision and gave it a larger sweet spot. I say this because although you typically lose control with a paddle that focuses more on power, the Solaire did not sacrifice much. Don’t get me wrong, a player would have more control and spin with the Vision because it is designed to deliver that output, but the Solaire, on the other hand, is designed to provide more power. Still, with its carbon grip surface you can produce decent spin, which is a plus.

Scores

As you can see in the rubric below, many of the paddle’s graded categories fall under 4/5, with power being 5/5. The only aspect of the paddle that scored low was its soft touch. Yes, the paddle can produce some reasonable control and spin near the kitchen, but it doesn’t have a soft touch that will slow the ball down. The thin carbon grip surface speeds up a player’s contact with the ball (touch). If you force spin on the ball, it will slow it down but not to the extent that I’ve seen other paddles do so. Example Engage’s Encore had a great soft touch that would grip the ball, hold it, and send it back as a flat ball, not a ball with spin necessarily. I reviewed the Encore on here as well.

The Solaire received a justifiable 3/5 on soft-touch because it wasn’t designed to do so, it was designed to be an aggressive power-house while still producing a decent amount of spin and control.

Performance Rubric

Time Tested:__4+ hours__
Date(s) Tested:___6/21/22-6/22/22__

Final Grade: 28/35 80% B

Grading Scale:
A 100-90%
B 89-80%
C 79-70%
D 69-50%
F 49-0%

Conclusion

My experience with Joola’s paddles has been nothing but good. I am a fan of the larger head the Solaire brings to the table ultimately because it was forgiving. When I make a mistake in my form, I could get away with it because the larger head on the paddle would compensate for my slight off. With Joola’s Vision paddle, I needed to focus more on shot placement and form because it has a smaller head built for control.

Solaire’s head also does have the Aero-Curve to help increase maneuverability. Still, I did not give it 5/5 on maneuverability because its brother Vision had better movement due to its small head, which makes perfect sense.

In addition to it being a forgiving paddle, I enjoy the extra pop of power it produces with my overheads and baseline hits. If I had some more time with this paddle under my belt, I’d be able to drain some powerful shots from the baseline more adequately. I would only note that I had to adjust my baseline form a bit because of the amount of power it produced.

This paddle is for the power player who wouldn’t mind a little spin. If you want a paddle strictly with power and no spin, there are probably better options, but if you are looking for a paddle that produces aggressive power and tosses in a bit of spin, this is your paddle.

Check out the Joola Solaire CFS 14 on Total Pickleball.

Our pickleball player, Rush Walters, is back with a pickleball paddle review. This time it’s a Baddle Lancer review.

Baddle Lancer Review
by Rush Walters

Check out the Baddle Lancer at Total Pickleball

Specifications
Head Dimensions (Length x Width): 16 in. x 7.8 in.
Paddle Thickness: 13 mm.
Grip Length: 5.25 in.
Standard Weight: 7.8 oz
Paddle Material: Honeycomb Polymer Core
Notable Features: Fiberglass Surface

Introduction

Before I get started, I believe it is fair to mention that before doing this review, I was a little rusty due to taking a little over a week off from pickleball. Due to my day job and other unexpected events, my love for pickleball was set aside. After a few games during open court at my local community center, I was back in the swing of things, pun intended.

That being said, this is one of my lowest-rated reviews yet. I pride myself on being honest with my reviews, so take it with a grain of salt that I was off a week from playing. After reflecting on my performance, this paddle does not complement my style of play but could complement others. My style of play is aggressive and focuses on spin and control from all over the court, not just the kitchen or baseline.

I only brought the Lancer to open court at my community center, but I wish I had brought my personal paddle to switch them out when needed. I understand switching between paddles can affect any player’s performance, but I honestly noticed a difference in the effectiveness of the paddle’s performance compared to my Joola.

Baddle Lancer Review – Rating

The Baddle Lancer has received a 62% D, as seen below. The paddle did not deliver. Almost every ground stroke I took seemed less effective. I had to compensate with physical strength when producing more power and pay close attention to shot placement. The paddle was unforgiving when it came to ground strokes. I would hit my groundstrokes in, but not shots I was happy with. Since I had to increase my physical strength at the baseline to compensate for power, it threw off my groundstrokes’ shot placement.

In terms of strengths, I will give it props regarding touch and control at the net. When playing near the kitchen, I could have decent control and touch, but the paddle still lacked power. The paddle has a gritty fiberglass surface to produce spin, which was helpful at the net for dinks too. The spin was fair, but I have played with other paddles that produce better spin.

Performance Rubric
Time Tested:__4+hrs_
Date(s) Tested:___6/21/22___

Final Grade: 22/35 62% D

Grading Scale:
A 100-90%
B 89-80%
C 79-70%
D 69-50%
F 49-0%

Conclusion

Overall I was not happy with this paddle. As I mentioned earlier, for some reason, I only brought the Baddle Lancer to the open court instead of my personal paddle too. On open court, I played a competitive doubles match with one of my tennis friends from high school. I wish I had brought my paddle to change out, at least during the more competitive match, because I needed to up my game.

For players in the market for a paddle that focuses primarily on dinks by the kitchen and soft touch with decent control, this is your paddle. For players who play the baseline and who want a more versatile paddle, this is not your paddle. Yes, it had soft touch, control, and fair spin, but all of these features were more applicable to the kitchen than the baseline. You could apply these features to the baseline, but you will need to adjust the physical strength you apply to your swings to compensate for the lack of power that this paddle produces. With the paddle being more robust with control and soft touch, it makes sense that power is sacrificed. Usually, paddles and similar to tennis racquets, have stronger control or power. The Lancer had more control over power, and I could tell.

Where to buy Pickleball Paddles

You can buy the Battle Lancer and other paddles at Total Pickleball

Our guest contributor Rush Walters is here with a pickleball paddle review – the Engage Encore MX 6.0.

Pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in the United States. I’ve played it a few times and it’s fun! Since padel and pickleball are growing fast and many players actively play both sports, I will have some guest contributors reviewing padels/bats/racquets from other racquet sports from time to time. We start with the Engage Encore MX 6.0 Review.

You can check out the Engage Encore MX 6.0 at Tennis Warehouse or Total Pickleball

Buy the Engage Encore MX 6.0 here

 Specifications

• Head Dimensions: 5″ long x 7.5″ wide
• Standard Weight: 8.0 – 8.4 ounces
• Paddle Material: ‘ControlPro’ Polymer

Performance

Time Tested:__8hrs_

Date(s) Tested:___5/2/22-5/4/22___

Final Grade: 22/35 77% C

Grading Scale:

• A 100-90%
• B 89-80%
• C 79-70%
• D 69-50%
• F 49-0%

Summary

After playing multiple doubles round-robin matches for 8 hours over the course of 3 days, I have concluded that the Engage Encore MX 6.0 strength is its flexibility in controlling the ball accompanied by its consistent soft touch. The paddle’s weaknesses are its maneuverability and power.

I am more of an aggressive player at the kitchen, therefore being able to quickly move the paddle to and fro is of utmost importance for my playing style. In addition to weak maneuverability, I really had to put a decent amount of effort into producing power. From the baseline I could produce some great top spin, but I had to really smack the ball in order to get it across the net from the baseline. In addition to the paddle having a great amount of control, the paddle also produced some great top spin on my baseline shots and back spin on my dinks too.

Spin was not 10/10, but was very effective and got the job done when it came to my baseline top spin. Overall if you are looking for a heavier paddle with high control, ample amount of soft touch and spin ability, this is your paddle. Although it struggled in maneuverability and power, the paddle does also come in a LITE weight ranging from 7.5-7.9 ounces. I’d like to assume that the LITE Engage Encore MX 6.0 would have a higher grading on maneuverability due to its lighter weight.

Check out the Engage Encore MX 6.0 on Amazon