I got to play with one of the original prototypes of the 002 today, 2 years old and very used. It still spun the ball more than any paddle I’ve played with. The paddle had way more power than I was used to, but because of the spin you can keep it in the court which is insane.
It really is a rocket. Tons of pop, almost hard to control at first in short game. I'd have to play with it more to get a full self review but off my 1 or so hours with the paddle I agree on all counts with your review here. And as far as the cut out goes, I think it affects the sweet spot more than anything, my older invikta had a lot of dead space towards the throat and the 002 feels more stable and the sweet spot actually extends down a little further. I dont notice much in the way of hand speed difference from it.
I normally play with the Vanguard Invikta. I was excited when my 002 came in the mail last Friday. The 002 is able to spin the ball and it produces more power than my Invikta. However, the sweet spot is noticeably smaller. And when you don't hit the sweet spot, the ball goes nowhere. For me, the extra spin and power doesn't justify the smaller sweet spot. I also didn't feel my like my hands were any faster at the net due to the hole or reduced thickness. I'm glad the 002 has a 30 day return policy because I'm sending mine back.
Solid spot on review. I actually hit the hole 2x once because of a misdirect ball from my opponent and 2nd because of wind...lol...surpisingly the ball didnt go crazy and i think because the hole's edge is so smooth.
I was really looking forward to your video on these paddles (& thoughts on labs). I noticed one of the guys you play/film with was using one in a previous video, which gave me hope you’d be releasing a vid soon on them… and… wallah!! Well done as per usual!
The hole in the paddle is to add flexibility, which increases the contact time between the ball and paddle face, and hence, the amount of spin you can impart to the ball. This is probably at least as significant that the surface grit. The rules limit the amount of deflection of the paddle face, but the way they measure the deflection doesn't measure the deflection of the paddle face relative to the *handle*, they just measure the deflection within the face. The hole is a way to get around the maximum deflection spec. The added flex may also increase the pop on the ball as the energy stored as the paddle flexes gets put back into the ball as it comes off the paddle face. As for the wind resistance, I can't see a hole that small affecting the drag in a meaningful way. That claim is a distraction from the real purpose, which is to increase the flexibility.
The bigger the paddle the smaller the sweet spot. You feel increased vibration when you hit the ball with a bigger paddle and less vibration with a smaller (surface area) paddle, hence a bigger sweet spot.
Great video I'm an equipment junkie most likely like you are. When I first hit 3.5 I got a Gearbox GX6 power series at 8.5. I'm an aggressive player and like to hit the ball hard. However I didn't like how the paddle acted at the net. It jumped off the face. I switched this year to the Diadem Icon and this paddle gave me my power and feel. Tyson is my favorite player so of course I was intrigued by the 002. After your video I can see that this paddle isn't one I would spend $300 plus dollars on the take a flyer on the chance it would work. I'm borderline 4.0 but it seems like this paddle is too much for me. Our Selkirk rep in our area has one and she was going to let me try it but she had her knee replaced so it may have to wait a bit. Thanks for saving a bunch of us $300. I'm in Minnesota in the summer where do you play out of?
I’m Minneapolis! Generally play in the southern areas like Burnsville, Eagan, Bloomington, etc. we’ll have to hit sometime this summer. I am definitely an equipment junkie 😂
@@PickleballStudio We're in Inver Grove Heights and play mostly there. We won't get back from Arizona until late May. We're looking to branch out and play some better competition this summer. Would love to hit sometime. Keep up the great work.
Great work again! Appreciate you making the paddle “accessible” to the masses. That hole can’t be making that much difference at least enough for someone to notice. I do believe that hole is going in the right direction for manufacturers. I think eventually paddles will have proper throats like tennis and racket ball rackets and allow for flexibility & dampening in the throat
Yup. This is basically how I feel. While we may not be able to notice the different because of airflow, it is possible that the hole is part of the reason the paddle can have so much power, flex, ando ther things. Hard to say either way, but it can't really be disproved either. Will be interesting to see what the next few years looks like. Reminds me back in my Speedcubing days when companies first launched magnets in the cube. EVERYONE thought it was a total gimmick and overpriced. Today? Literally every single speedcuber uses magnets. It's a complete joke if you don't use magnets now. Wouldn't be surprised if the hole ended up being similar for Pickleball.
Hello from Discord. This is a great thorough review. Well done! I can't find my source but I believe that Selkirk has stated that once the edge guard has detached from the edge of the paddle then the entire structure of the paddle has been compromised and it will affect the sweet spot and playability in a negative way. Did you notice if it started playing different after the edge guard came loose??? I had a Selkirk Epic with a loose edge guard along the top of the paddle that Selkirk replaced. The difference between the two paddles was night and day.
Hey! Edge guard only started to come loose just the other day. And it's sooooooooooooo minor that I don't think this one is affecting the performance. We aren't talking about the loose edge guard where it's really noticeable, you have to look pretty close and pull fairly hard, but it does move just a bit. loose edge guards definitely cause performance issues the worse they get. It kind of holds everything together for solid contact.
I am inbetween 3.5 and 4.0. Have been playing for 2 months. I get a lot of spin on my serves, and it is my best weapon along with my drives, but I heard you say nobody below 4.0 should buy it. I was wondering if you think I should get it just off the fact that it complements my game perfectly?
My primary reason for saying 3.5 shouldn’t get it is that I think their paddle preferences change a looooot. Especially since you are only 2 months in. My recommendation would be to wait until the official release of the 002.
I have played this paddle a month straight and agree with a lot of your review but just wanted to say more about the sweet spot soft game and doubles play There’s no question this paddle for drives and put always plays like a power paddle and the added feature that I think puts this on top for a power paddle is the spin you can get on the ball both on a top spin drive that will stay in on this paddle vs a lot of other paddles both power and control. Another strong shot not mentioned the paddle does well is the drop volley. The power to keep your opponents back is obviously easy with this paddle but the drop volley with all this spin you can part in it is at a new level as well with the paddle That’s the good part of the paddle. The not as good part is how long it takes for most players coming from control paddles like the vanguard line and electrum E to get used to this paddle. You really need to drill for a long long while before you play a game Because the paddle feels very differently on third and 5th shot drops and dinks. It takes a long time to get the feel… The main reason is while I agree the sweet spot is not large on this paddle it moves a little north and plays a little closer to the head of the paddle then center So unlike even a lot of elongated paddles due to the hole it moved the sweet spot …and dead center is not dead center in the sweet spot. This causes trouble at first in resets and aggressive dinks as you really need to look at the ball more then ever with this paddle. I disagree as well that this paddle is not amazing for doubles. First the spin is still tops which allows you to spin your dinks more aggressive Second … with todays both paddle technology and elongated paddles there’s no such thing as a dink or rest that can’t be sped up quickly even below the net. The old way of sinking just to keep a non attackable ball is slowly leaving pickleball as most balls are attackable ( maybe not a great idea in some but attackable) so the speed of the paddle at speed ups is incredible due to its thinness , it’s power face and maybe slightly the hole giving you 5 to 10 percent quicker hands. So I am a fan of this paddle for doubles with players capable of speeding up the ball when it’s below the net. So 4.0 and higher
Thanks for your insights! Appreciate you sharing them here. Just to be clear, I don't believe I said that it wasn't a good doubles paddle, just not a good one for my play style :) I think for plenty of people it's going to be an amazing paddle for either event (Tyson McGuffin being a great example) but I do think it's such a radical change for most people that it either won't be a good fit for doubles, or it'll take a good amount of adjusting. Now to be fair, that adjustment period might be worth it. Like you were mentioning, that extra spin for dinks, drops, or passing shots would be incredible to have and not many paddles even come close to having those traits. Definitely a lot to consider with this paddle. Thanks for chiming in!
@@PickleballStudio your welcome for the feedback as it’s a lot of money and people should know what they are getting and not getting I really think that this paddle due to the sweet spot being moved an inch or more up and the radical spin and pop it has takes days and days of drilling before your first match with it. It’s not a paddle you can just go to and start playing games. There are really only 5 main shots in pickleball. ( obviously others but 5 main ) The serve is clearly incredible with this paddle due to the spin and power The drive is the same answers as above The volley also is the same as above The dinking game also is excellent once you’ve hit a thousand or so in practice to get used to how to use the spin to your advantage Lastly the reset which takes the most time to work on with this paddle as the power and spin don’t play as much of a part Bottom line be prepared to use every day of the 30 day return period drilling as most will need it. But the bottom line is you can drill the control you need for the paddle but for power and spin technology there is t a better paddle so far I’ve tested
Amazing review! Your videos are so well put together. Random question: what camera and mic are you using? I'm fascinated and envious of your desk and set up. The quality of your videos are top notch!
Thank you!! In this video I was using the Black Magic Pocket 6k Pro with a Sigma 18-35mm 1.8 and the mic at my desk is the Shure SM7B. Eaaaaasily the best desk/podcast mic. Love that thing. Appreciate your support!
@@PickleballStudio With kinda rig I assume you must be into videography then...? Do you have another channel or something because I'd love to follow more of your work outside of pickleball.
@@SofieAndStephen Yup! Filmmaking has been my full time gig for the last 8 years. I just work for myself. My other channel is Chris Olson Films. It's not quite so much of my regular video work, but mostly tutorials about video editing. My website ChrisOlsonFilms has some of my portfolio. My biggest piece of work that is easily accessible is "The Speedcubers" documentary on Netflix. I was the cinematographer for that documentary.
@@PickleballStudio Judging by the quality of your videos I knew you weren't the average Joe. I'll check out all your other stuff and I'll have to watch that documentary. Good stuff man. Keep it up!
Very through review. How is the hole legal based on rule 2.E.2? “2.E.2 Surface roughness. The paddle’s hitting surface shall not contain holes, indentations, rough tex- turing, or any objects or features that allow a player to impart excessive spin on the ball.”
For the hole, it seems most companies have claimed this as the "throat" which would not be part of the hitting surface. This has been debated heavily on the various forums. I guess USAPA agrees with it. As for as the texture goes, that seems to just be outdated. So many paddles have rough surfaces. I do know that they have an upper limit though. So they must just be saying you can't cross that.
I'm looking at the CRBN since this is sold out and it's $300. How does the face/grit of the CRBN compare to the 002? I had a chance to play with 002 last weekend, and my serves were wickedly fast with great topspin.
The Joola and CRBN are probably your closest top spin paddles that are similar. But even then, the 002 is in a league of its own. There aren’t any other paddles that match the spin from it that I’ve tested. So it depends how much less you are willing to settle for. I’d probably recommend waiting for the mass production 002.
@@asmithgamer221 Better is very dependent on what you measure it by. 002 hits harder, has more spin, but is not forgiving at all. Joola has great spin, doesn't hit as hard, and is very soft and quite forgiving.
I hit with it the other day. Wasn’t impressed enough to justify the price. It did hit nice and what not. But I can other paddles at half the price that will do the same. As far as spin. I can hit a ton of spin with just about anything.
Project 001 has 2 paddles in it, Invikta and Epic. Hard to say don't order project 001 just because you didn't like that version of the Invikta. The Epic is a totally different deal.
The 001 epic is what I have lol. But I get your point. Yes there are two variations, but the things that I find bad about the 001 aren’t going to change by using the Invikta version of it. I’ve also had 10+ people hit the thing now and none of them like it. In fact, someone I know who bought the 001 also hates it.
@@PickleballStudio what's the deal with the epic/invikta 001? I am actually considering it for an upgrade on my vanguard 2.0 invikta. I really wanna know what's wrong with it before buying/discarding. thanks!
@@edwinjaguila Most of the issue is spin. It's a biiiiig downgrade. Literally hitting any shot with spin just drops the ball into the net. You can't hit roll shots, top spin drives are useless, top spin serves are harder, flicks are harder, etc. Basically anything with spin is a giant no go. If you hit flat, the paddle is fine (I guess...) but who only hits flat these days? The paddle is the second lowest that I've personally hit, and I've had 3 other testers do the spin test and they've all scored the lowest result I've ever recorded for a paddle while using the 001. Only thing I found it good so far is dinking and block shots. It's also pretty decent for hands exchanges at the net. Basically, there is virtually 0 reason you should leave your current Vanguard 2.0. Absolutely horrible paddle for singles play. Maybe passable for doubles, but I would NEVER recommend someone buy this paddle for $333.
How do you guys trash your paddle so fast.. I got my mines the same time as you guys and played everyday. Still looking almost brand new with wear on the paddle face as expected.
haha that's impressive! We had a loooooot of people try this paddle out. Porter Barr used in 5.0 19+ at the MN PPA Championships, probably had 10+ people try it over that weekend, then I had 3 testers plus myself, my brother used it in another tournament, I used it for drilling, etc. So it exchanged a lot of hands who have different play styles. But yeah, it got beat up pretty fast haha.
Hmmm. Interesting take. I'm not sure if I'd say the best spin paddle and possibly highest power paddle on the market is a flop. 🤔 Certainly has some things they should work on (edge guard and face not chipping, but I think any paddle that has an edge guard will always be prone to this). So in the context of every other paddle on the market I feel like they did quite well with this.
@@PickleballStudio have you played with the Gearbox CX 11 Power paddles? I would be curious to know if the Labs 002 has more power as I find the CX11s almost unplayable they are so powerful.
@@juliansulvain3420 I have! That's something I need to review haha. I have them all, just haven't gotten around to it with a big list of other videos I want to get done. Personally in the play testing I have done, I haven't felt that the CX11 is even close in terms of power like the 002 is.
One of the few concise, knowledgeable, and well spoken with varied tone picklebal commentors and reviewers. Another great video.
I got to play with one of the original prototypes of the 002 today, 2 years old and very used. It still spun the ball more than any paddle I’ve played with. The paddle had way more power than I was used to, but because of the spin you can keep it in the court which is insane.
It really is a rocket. Tons of pop, almost hard to control at first in short game. I'd have to play with it more to get a full self review but off my 1 or so hours with the paddle I agree on all counts with your review here. And as far as the cut out goes, I think it affects the sweet spot more than anything, my older invikta had a lot of dead space towards the throat and the 002 feels more stable and the sweet spot actually extends down a little further. I dont notice much in the way of hand speed difference from it.
I normally play with the Vanguard Invikta. I was excited when my 002 came in the mail last Friday. The 002 is able to spin the ball and it produces more power than my Invikta. However, the sweet spot is noticeably smaller. And when you don't hit the sweet spot, the ball goes nowhere. For me, the extra spin and power doesn't justify the smaller sweet spot. I also didn't feel my like my hands were any faster at the net due to the hole or reduced thickness. I'm glad the 002 has a 30 day return policy because I'm sending mine back.
Solid spot on review.
I actually hit the hole 2x once because of a misdirect ball from my opponent and 2nd because of wind...lol...surpisingly the ball didnt go crazy and i think because the hole's edge is so smooth.
I was really looking forward to your video on these paddles (& thoughts on labs). I noticed one of the guys you play/film with was using one in a previous video, which gave me hope you’d be releasing a vid soon on them… and… wallah!! Well done as per usual!
Thank you Chris! Once again, very well done!
Nice review. And I liked the inclusion of others thoughts too. Gets a super nice unbiased balance.
Hi Chris, big fan of your work. How would you rate the reload speed on the Project 002?
Pro XR moment
The hole in the paddle is to add flexibility, which increases the contact time between the ball and paddle face, and hence, the amount of spin you can impart to the ball. This is probably at least as significant that the surface grit. The rules limit the amount of deflection of the paddle face, but the way they measure the deflection doesn't measure the deflection of the paddle face relative to the *handle*, they just measure the deflection within the face. The hole is a way to get around the maximum deflection spec. The added flex may also increase the pop on the ball as the energy stored as the paddle flexes gets put back into the ball as it comes off the paddle face. As for the wind resistance, I can't see a hole that small affecting the drag in a meaningful way. That claim is a distraction from the real purpose, which is to increase the flexibility.
The bigger the paddle the smaller the sweet spot. You feel increased vibration when you hit the ball with a bigger paddle and less vibration with a smaller (surface area) paddle, hence a bigger sweet spot.
Great review, keep up the good work son.
The air hole is near the hand, which would be the slowest part of the swing - giving minuscule benefits.
Good stuff bro. Keep up the amazing content 🔥
i was wondering about this review!
Great video I'm an equipment junkie most likely like you are. When I first hit 3.5 I got a Gearbox GX6 power series at 8.5. I'm an aggressive player and like to hit the ball hard. However I didn't like how the paddle acted at the net. It jumped off the face. I switched this year to the Diadem Icon and this paddle gave me my power and feel. Tyson is my favorite player so of course I was intrigued by the 002. After your video I can see that this paddle isn't one I would spend $300 plus dollars on the take a flyer on the chance it would work. I'm borderline 4.0 but it seems like this paddle is too much for me. Our Selkirk rep in our area has one and she was going to let me try it but she had her knee replaced so it may have to wait a bit. Thanks for saving a bunch of us $300. I'm in Minnesota in the summer where do you play out of?
I’m Minneapolis! Generally play in the southern areas like Burnsville, Eagan, Bloomington, etc. we’ll have to hit sometime this summer.
I am definitely an equipment junkie 😂
@@PickleballStudio We're in Inver Grove Heights and play mostly there. We won't get back from Arizona until late May. We're looking to branch out and play some better competition this summer. Would love to hit sometime. Keep up the great work.
Any tips on what to use to keep the paddle face clean? (Without worrying about damaging the grit)
Great work again! Appreciate you making the paddle “accessible” to the masses. That hole can’t be making that much difference at least enough for someone to notice. I do believe that hole is going in the right direction for manufacturers. I think eventually paddles will have proper throats like tennis and racket ball rackets and allow for flexibility & dampening in the throat
Yup. This is basically how I feel. While we may not be able to notice the different because of airflow, it is possible that the hole is part of the reason the paddle can have so much power, flex, ando ther things. Hard to say either way, but it can't really be disproved either. Will be interesting to see what the next few years looks like.
Reminds me back in my Speedcubing days when companies first launched magnets in the cube. EVERYONE thought it was a total gimmick and overpriced.
Today? Literally every single speedcuber uses magnets. It's a complete joke if you don't use magnets now. Wouldn't be surprised if the hole ended up being similar for Pickleball.
@@PickleballStudio that is actually a super interesting insight on speed cubes
I anticipated this video more than the paddle, knowing how much Chris liked it.
Is that Sammy Lee in black @13:40?
I like that the videos of you and your bro are just you beating up on your bro on the court :)
Hello from Discord. This is a great thorough review. Well done! I can't find my source but I believe that Selkirk has stated that once the edge guard has detached from the edge of the paddle then the entire structure of the paddle has been compromised and it will affect the sweet spot and playability in a negative way. Did you notice if it started playing different after the edge guard came loose??? I had a Selkirk Epic with a loose edge guard along the top of the paddle that Selkirk replaced. The difference between the two paddles was night and day.
Hey! Edge guard only started to come loose just the other day. And it's sooooooooooooo minor that I don't think this one is affecting the performance. We aren't talking about the loose edge guard where it's really noticeable, you have to look pretty close and pull fairly hard, but it does move just a bit.
loose edge guards definitely cause performance issues the worse they get. It kind of holds everything together for solid contact.
I am inbetween 3.5 and 4.0. Have been playing for 2 months. I get a lot of spin on my serves, and it is my best weapon along with my drives, but I heard you say nobody below 4.0 should buy it. I was wondering if you think I should get it just off the fact that it complements my game perfectly?
My primary reason for saying 3.5 shouldn’t get it is that I think their paddle preferences change a looooot. Especially since you are only 2 months in. My recommendation would be to wait until the official release of the 002.
I have played this paddle a month straight and agree with a lot of your review but just wanted to say more about the sweet spot soft game and doubles play
There’s no question this paddle for drives and put always plays like a power paddle and the added feature that I think puts this on top for a power paddle is the spin you can get on the ball both on a top spin drive that will stay in on this paddle vs a lot of other paddles both power and control. Another strong shot not mentioned the paddle does well is the drop volley. The power to keep your opponents back is obviously easy with this paddle but the drop volley with all this spin you can part in it is at a new level as well with the paddle
That’s the good part of the paddle.
The not as good part is how long it takes for most players coming from control paddles like the vanguard line and electrum E to get used to this paddle. You really need to drill for a long long while before you play a game Because the paddle feels very differently on third and 5th shot drops and dinks. It takes a long time to get the feel… The main reason is while I agree the sweet spot is not large on this paddle it moves a little north and plays a little closer to the head of the paddle then center So unlike even a lot of elongated paddles due to the hole it moved the sweet spot …and dead center is not dead center in the sweet spot. This causes trouble at first in resets and aggressive dinks as you really need to look at the ball more then ever with this paddle.
I disagree as well that this paddle is not amazing for doubles. First the spin is still tops which allows you to spin your dinks more aggressive
Second … with todays both paddle technology and elongated paddles there’s no such thing as a dink or rest that can’t be sped up quickly even below the net. The old way of sinking just to keep a non attackable ball is slowly leaving pickleball as most balls are attackable ( maybe not a great idea in some but attackable) so the speed of the paddle at speed ups is incredible due to its thinness , it’s power face and maybe slightly the hole giving you 5 to 10 percent quicker hands. So I am a fan of this paddle for doubles with players capable of speeding up the ball when it’s below the net. So 4.0 and higher
Thanks for your insights! Appreciate you sharing them here. Just to be clear, I don't believe I said that it wasn't a good doubles paddle, just not a good one for my play style :)
I think for plenty of people it's going to be an amazing paddle for either event (Tyson McGuffin being a great example) but I do think it's such a radical change for most people that it either won't be a good fit for doubles, or it'll take a good amount of adjusting.
Now to be fair, that adjustment period might be worth it. Like you were mentioning, that extra spin for dinks, drops, or passing shots would be incredible to have and not many paddles even come close to having those traits. Definitely a lot to consider with this paddle.
Thanks for chiming in!
@@PickleballStudio your welcome for the feedback as it’s a lot of money and people should know what they are getting and not getting
I really think that this paddle due to the sweet spot being moved an inch or more up and the radical spin and pop it has takes days and days of drilling before your first match with it. It’s not a paddle you can just go to and start playing games. There are really only 5 main shots in pickleball. ( obviously others but 5 main )
The serve is clearly incredible with this paddle due to the spin and power
The drive is the same answers as above
The volley also is the same as above
The dinking game also is excellent once you’ve hit a thousand or so in practice to get used to how to use the spin to your advantage
Lastly the reset which takes the most time to work on with this paddle as the power and spin don’t play as much of a part
Bottom line be prepared to use every day of the 30 day return period drilling as most will need it. But the bottom line is you can drill the control you need for the paddle but for power and spin technology there is t a better paddle so far I’ve tested
Perfect bag: 002 and 006
Amazing review! Your videos are so well put together. Random question: what camera and mic are you using? I'm fascinated and envious of your desk and set up. The quality of your videos are top notch!
Thank you!! In this video I was using the Black Magic Pocket 6k Pro with a Sigma 18-35mm 1.8 and the mic at my desk is the Shure SM7B. Eaaaaasily the best desk/podcast mic. Love that thing.
Appreciate your support!
@@PickleballStudio With kinda rig I assume you must be into videography then...? Do you have another channel or something because I'd love to follow more of your work outside of pickleball.
@@SofieAndStephen Yup! Filmmaking has been my full time gig for the last 8 years. I just work for myself. My other channel is Chris Olson Films. It's not quite so much of my regular video work, but mostly tutorials about video editing. My website ChrisOlsonFilms has some of my portfolio.
My biggest piece of work that is easily accessible is "The Speedcubers" documentary on Netflix. I was the cinematographer for that documentary.
@@PickleballStudio Judging by the quality of your videos I knew you weren't the average Joe. I'll check out all your other stuff and I'll have to watch that documentary. Good stuff man. Keep it up!
Very through review. How is the hole legal based on rule 2.E.2? “2.E.2 Surface roughness. The paddle’s hitting surface shall not contain holes, indentations, rough tex- turing, or any objects or features that allow a player to impart excessive spin on the ball.”
For the hole, it seems most companies have claimed this as the "throat" which would not be part of the hitting surface. This has been debated heavily on the various forums. I guess USAPA agrees with it.
As for as the texture goes, that seems to just be outdated. So many paddles have rough surfaces. I do know that they have an upper limit though. So they must just be saying you can't cross that.
Ha Selkirk is sharing this video on my Facebook feed
Will you be doing a similar video reviewing the Project 001?
Yup! Hoping to have it out this weekend or early next week.
I'm looking at the CRBN since this is sold out and it's $300. How does the face/grit of the CRBN compare to the 002? I had a chance to play with 002 last weekend, and my serves were wickedly fast with great topspin.
The Joola and CRBN are probably your closest top spin paddles that are similar. But even then, the 002 is in a league of its own. There aren’t any other paddles that match the spin from it that I’ve tested.
So it depends how much less you are willing to settle for. I’d probably recommend waiting for the mass production 002.
@@PickleballStudio With the CRBN no longer USAPA approved, is this paddle better than the Joola over the 002? Price point aside that is.
@@asmithgamer221 Better is very dependent on what you measure it by.
002 hits harder, has more spin, but is not forgiving at all.
Joola has great spin, doesn't hit as hard, and is very soft and quite forgiving.
I hit with it the other day. Wasn’t impressed enough to justify the price. It did hit nice and what not. But I can other paddles at half the price that will do the same. As far as spin. I can hit a ton of spin with just about anything.
You can do this already with a crbn
Project 001 has 2 paddles in it, Invikta and Epic. Hard to say don't order project 001 just because you didn't like that version of the Invikta. The Epic is a totally different deal.
The 001 epic is what I have lol. But I get your point. Yes there are two variations, but the things that I find bad about the 001 aren’t going to change by using the Invikta version of it.
I’ve also had 10+ people hit the thing now and none of them like it. In fact, someone I know who bought the 001 also hates it.
@@PickleballStudio what's the deal with the epic/invikta 001? I am actually considering it for an upgrade on my vanguard 2.0 invikta. I really wanna know what's wrong with it before buying/discarding. thanks!
@@edwinjaguila Most of the issue is spin. It's a biiiiig downgrade. Literally hitting any shot with spin just drops the ball into the net. You can't hit roll shots, top spin drives are useless, top spin serves are harder, flicks are harder, etc. Basically anything with spin is a giant no go. If you hit flat, the paddle is fine (I guess...) but who only hits flat these days? The paddle is the second lowest that I've personally hit, and I've had 3 other testers do the spin test and they've all scored the lowest result I've ever recorded for a paddle while using the 001.
Only thing I found it good so far is dinking and block shots. It's also pretty decent for hands exchanges at the net. Basically, there is virtually 0 reason you should leave your current Vanguard 2.0.
Absolutely horrible paddle for singles play. Maybe passable for doubles, but I would NEVER recommend someone buy this paddle for $333.
@@PickleballStudio thanks so much for saving me money and grief!!!
Is the paddle USAPA approved?
Yup!
How do you guys trash your paddle so fast.. I got my mines the same time as you guys and played everyday. Still looking almost brand new with wear on the paddle face as expected.
haha that's impressive! We had a loooooot of people try this paddle out. Porter Barr used in 5.0 19+ at the MN PPA Championships, probably had 10+ people try it over that weekend, then I had 3 testers plus myself, my brother used it in another tournament, I used it for drilling, etc. So it exchanged a lot of hands who have different play styles.
But yeah, it got beat up pretty fast haha.
@@PickleballStudio oh wow, lots of hands. Keep up the great content. Production value is insane.
Well I guess add Joola to the spin test list.
Trying to get them ASAP!
model e is so much better. i played with my 002 for a month or since it came out , recently went back and it sso much better
Great review, but c'mon... Caleb's a solid 4.5.
I actually agree that Caleb is a 4.5. But he consistently tells me he doesn't think he is lol.
I'm a 4.0 and he can consistently beat me in doubles.
Review the 001 it’s much better than 002
I’m working on the review. I think the 001 is a horrible paddle lol. It’s not even remotely close to the 002.
$333? Hard pass.
Exactly as we all guessed, another flop from Selkirk, please hire better engineers.
Hmmm. Interesting take. I'm not sure if I'd say the best spin paddle and possibly highest power paddle on the market is a flop. 🤔
Certainly has some things they should work on (edge guard and face not chipping, but I think any paddle that has an edge guard will always be prone to this).
So in the context of every other paddle on the market I feel like they did quite well with this.
@@PickleballStudio have you played with the Gearbox CX 11 Power paddles? I would be curious to know if the Labs 002 has more power as I find the CX11s almost unplayable they are so powerful.
@@juliansulvain3420 I have! That's something I need to review haha. I have them all, just haven't gotten around to it with a big list of other videos I want to get done.
Personally in the play testing I have done, I haven't felt that the CX11 is even close in terms of power like the 002 is.