I personally love the paddle. It has incredible power, control, and spin. You can power a ball from the back line and drop it right over the net with top spin and it then drops so nicely. My new paddle that I hope fulfills the promise to never lose its spin.
As a current owner of this paddle for the past month+ with dozens of hours of playtime (Series 1, 11mm, Square) this paddle has 2 major pros with 1 minor drawback. The first and foremost pro is the value, which sounds insane for a $280 paddle, but hear me out. My prior peel-ply grit based paddle lost its grit in just a month, forcing me to change my swing and playstyle constantly as it degraded. Replacing it every month would mean $150/mo, where even after a fresh paddle, I'd still need to re-learn how to play with more spin again. After just two months, the Proton's surface has some minor nicks and scratches, but the performance is as stable as day 1, meaning my skill with my paddle only improves without the "reset" time I need to re-learn a new paddle AND I'm saving $$$ upfront by simply having the same paddle for potentially an entire year or more. If you're serious about pickleball and getting better, this is a massive factor to consider. Imagine handing Tiger Woods a new golf club every tournament and asking him to be at his best with just a bit of warmup time. The second pro is "touch-based" spin, and as far as I know, the Proton Series One (and maybe the Hush) are the only paddles that can execute this. The issue right now with peel-ply-grit based spin generation (99.9% of paddles out there) is that it has a strong dependency on being able to interface with the ball when being hit hard. This means peak spin potential for standard paddle faces is when you drive hard at the ball, since it relies on the ball "squishing" into the surface to create bite and therefore spin. The Proton NanoTac surface isn't grit-based, as you can clearly tell, but rather friction based (like rubber, or the frictiony surface of a phone case), so you have maximum spin potential EVEN on lighter, and more technical touch shots. Dinks and drops no longer need to be flat with no spin, but you can actually guide and put more shape on them with the Series One. This is analogous to table tennis spin, where spin generation can be had on both smashes/loops, but also with gentle touches and pushes. One minor drawback is that they seem to be a bit behind the times in terms of basic paddle construction technology. It doesn't appear the Series One uses any of the typical gen 2 technologies like injected edge foam and thermoforming. They are using core technology like polypropylene honeycomb, so this paddle feels more like a gen 1.5 construction. I assume the NanoTac surface is fairly dense, so adds some weight, meaning the lack of edge foam doesn't majorly detract from sweet spot size. That being said, I still add edge weighting at 4/8 o-clock positions of my paddle for additional stability that may have otherwise been had with a gen 2 edge-injected foam design. The build quality also kind of leaves something to be desired. My paddle's buttcap isn't perfectly flat so you couldn't stand the paddle up on the handle. Not to mention there are these weird rails that extend about half an inch into the handle down from where the edge guard disappears into the grip tape. That's a bit jarring to feel and doesn't exist on any other paddle that I can think of. At the end of the day, this is a complete game changer of a paddle (along with the Reload) that should really be seen as the torch-bearer for paddle sustainability and performance consistency, over time. ESPECIALLY if you're not a pro sponsored player just getting boxes of paddles for free, which I'm sure most of us aren't.
This is an excellent synopsis of which I’ve echoed numerous times. Light impact shots (those that don’t allow the paddle to shape around the ball during dwell time) are far spinnier. And the spin now, a year later, is as good, if not better than day one. So I don’t have to relearn strokes. The only issue for me is I think the twist weight is quite low and the sweet spot a little smaller than thermoformed paddles. Still a worth-while trade off.
I just played with mine for the first time and I was wondering if yours has yellow marks all over it from hitting the pickleball? I’m sure it is just cosmetic but it is unsightly imo.
Ball dust comes off the paddle very easy with a towel ( for deeper cleaning use a wet towel and soap)...while playing, I rub my hand against the surface to remove ball dust but this isn't really necessary as the ball dust doesn't seem to affect spin or play
@@sidneyparker201 I tried rubbing it off and using a damp towel and they do not come off. Used brand new neon green balls and I am wondering if the dye transferred to the face of the paddle. Literally neon marks all over the face of it that refuse to come off
@@WStar4Life I had a similar problem with magic marker transferring from the pickleball to my Proton paddle which would not come off. I used a black magic marker on my pickleball to mark my initials on the ball (as many people do). When striking the ball, some of the magic marker transferred from the ball to the paddle and left black markings on the paddle face which would not come off with any attempt at cleaning. Proton reassured me that these markings would not affect the functionality of the paddle. However, cosmetically it bothered me enough to the point where I returned the paddle (under the 30 day return policy at Pickleball Central) and replaced it with a darker paddle face so the markings would not stand out. I don't use any magic marker on my pickleballs anymore. What type of pickleballs were you using that caused this problem?
@@sidneyparker201 PCKL Elite 40s. Got a bunch of them on sale for 50¢/ball. You can still find them for like 59¢/ball some places bc PCKL went out of business. They play very similar to the x-40 but are neon green and at that price I bought a few hundred lol
I have the series one B square pink and orange paddle and I have the same issues where the ball has discolored the paddle some. I was told by Proton that the yellow color I was seeing was in fact the dye from the balls. I absolutely LOVE my paddle so I will just accept the discoloration and enjoy it nonetheless. I was not able to remove the color with an eraser OR soap and water, so I assume it is permanent.
Swing weight is wayyy too high. Grip size is a little high. Sure wish they would come out with a hybrid and 16” long wide body with 112 or less swing weight
Opposite of mine. Had lots of spin right away but did take about a week to kick in. Certainly wasn’t zero tho even from the beginning. I think new, the surface is a little slicker than after it gets beat up a little.
I personally love the paddle. It has incredible power, control, and spin. You can power a ball from the back line and drop it right over the net with top spin and it then drops so nicely. My new paddle that I hope fulfills the promise to never lose its spin.
I was really impressed as well.
I absolutely LOVE my series one B paddle. I have no reason to ever switch brands.
As a current owner of this paddle for the past month+ with dozens of hours of playtime (Series 1, 11mm, Square) this paddle has 2 major pros with 1 minor drawback.
The first and foremost pro is the value, which sounds insane for a $280 paddle, but hear me out. My prior peel-ply grit based paddle lost its grit in just a month, forcing me to change my swing and playstyle constantly as it degraded. Replacing it every month would mean $150/mo, where even after a fresh paddle, I'd still need to re-learn how to play with more spin again. After just two months, the Proton's surface has some minor nicks and scratches, but the performance is as stable as day 1, meaning my skill with my paddle only improves without the "reset" time I need to re-learn a new paddle AND I'm saving $$$ upfront by simply having the same paddle for potentially an entire year or more. If you're serious about pickleball and getting better, this is a massive factor to consider. Imagine handing Tiger Woods a new golf club every tournament and asking him to be at his best with just a bit of warmup time.
The second pro is "touch-based" spin, and as far as I know, the Proton Series One (and maybe the Hush) are the only paddles that can execute this. The issue right now with peel-ply-grit based spin generation (99.9% of paddles out there) is that it has a strong dependency on being able to interface with the ball when being hit hard. This means peak spin potential for standard paddle faces is when you drive hard at the ball, since it relies on the ball "squishing" into the surface to create bite and therefore spin. The Proton NanoTac surface isn't grit-based, as you can clearly tell, but rather friction based (like rubber, or the frictiony surface of a phone case), so you have maximum spin potential EVEN on lighter, and more technical touch shots. Dinks and drops no longer need to be flat with no spin, but you can actually guide and put more shape on them with the Series One. This is analogous to table tennis spin, where spin generation can be had on both smashes/loops, but also with gentle touches and pushes.
One minor drawback is that they seem to be a bit behind the times in terms of basic paddle construction technology. It doesn't appear the Series One uses any of the typical gen 2 technologies like injected edge foam and thermoforming. They are using core technology like polypropylene honeycomb, so this paddle feels more like a gen 1.5 construction. I assume the NanoTac surface is fairly dense, so adds some weight, meaning the lack of edge foam doesn't majorly detract from sweet spot size. That being said, I still add edge weighting at 4/8 o-clock positions of my paddle for additional stability that may have otherwise been had with a gen 2 edge-injected foam design.
The build quality also kind of leaves something to be desired. My paddle's buttcap isn't perfectly flat so you couldn't stand the paddle up on the handle. Not to mention there are these weird rails that extend about half an inch into the handle down from where the edge guard disappears into the grip tape. That's a bit jarring to feel and doesn't exist on any other paddle that I can think of.
At the end of the day, this is a complete game changer of a paddle (along with the Reload) that should really be seen as the torch-bearer for paddle sustainability and performance consistency, over time. ESPECIALLY if you're not a pro sponsored player just getting boxes of paddles for free, which I'm sure most of us aren't.
What do you think between the 11 or 15mm? I would like to have your opinion
I actually finished reading this comment. Great points though.
This is an excellent synopsis of which I’ve echoed numerous times. Light impact shots (those that don’t allow the paddle to shape around the ball during dwell time) are far spinnier.
And the spin now, a year later, is as good, if not better than day one. So I don’t have to relearn strokes. The only issue for me is I think the twist weight is quite low and the sweet spot a little smaller than thermoformed paddles. Still a worth-while trade off.
@@KP-lh1hm I like the 11 mm and you can always weight it up with lead tape if you want to (can't weigh a paddle down)
@@sidneyparker201 you are 100% correct thanks for the advice
So does it compare to Selkirk’s coating on power air, amped air, control?
I just played with mine for the first time and I was wondering if yours has yellow marks all over it from hitting the pickleball? I’m sure it is just cosmetic but it is unsightly imo.
Ball dust comes off the paddle very easy with a towel ( for deeper cleaning use a wet towel and soap)...while playing, I rub my hand against the surface to remove ball dust but this isn't really necessary as the ball dust doesn't seem to affect spin or play
@@sidneyparker201 I tried rubbing it off and using a damp towel and they do not come off. Used brand new neon green balls and I am wondering if the dye transferred to the face of the paddle. Literally neon marks all over the face of it that refuse to come off
@@WStar4Life I had a similar problem with magic marker transferring from the pickleball to my Proton paddle which would not come off. I used a black magic marker on my pickleball to mark my initials on the ball (as many people do). When striking the ball, some of the magic marker transferred from the ball to the paddle and left black markings on the paddle face which would not come off with any attempt at cleaning. Proton reassured me that these markings would not affect the functionality of the paddle. However, cosmetically it bothered me enough to the point where I returned the paddle (under the 30 day return policy at Pickleball Central) and replaced it with a darker paddle face so the markings would not stand out. I don't use any magic marker on my pickleballs anymore. What type of pickleballs were you using that caused this problem?
@@sidneyparker201 PCKL Elite 40s. Got a bunch of them on sale for 50¢/ball. You can still find them for like 59¢/ball some places bc PCKL went out of business. They play very similar to the x-40 but are neon green and at that price I bought a few hundred lol
I have the series one B square pink and orange paddle and I have the same issues where the ball has discolored the paddle some. I was told by Proton that the yellow color I was seeing was in fact the dye from the balls. I absolutely LOVE my paddle so I will just accept the discoloration and enjoy it nonetheless. I was not able to remove the color with an eraser OR soap and water, so I assume it is permanent.
Please split step prior to determining where you’re going to strike the ball. Thank you.
If your concerned about the swing weight being to high, get the 11mm square series 1 model (not the 15 mm or elongated shapes)...
what mm core is this and elongated? or standard ? thanks- maybe I missed these details given.
It looked like a 15mm. I have the same model in a square shape.
Did yours come with a cover?
No. But I bought mine a year ago
@@mingez mine didn’t either. $280 for a paddle and they can’t include a cover? 🤦♂️
11mm or 15 mm what you guys think?
15 is a little heavy for me personally, but the control is a lot better IMO
Swing weight is wayyy too high. Grip size is a little high.
Sure wish they would come out with a hybrid and 16” long wide body with 112 or less swing weight
Played with it for two weeks . Zero spin. Sorry. I have year old paddles that have a sharper serve kick than this has. Returned it.
Opposite of mine. Had lots of spin right away but did take about a week to kick in. Certainly wasn’t zero tho even from the beginning.
I think new, the surface is a little slicker than after it gets beat up a little.
It get more spin the longer you have it. Buy used if you don’t have patience