[Cedwards38]

I've never played pickleball in my life, but it looks like fun and I'm going to give it a try. What factors should I look for in a pickleball paddle? I know the obvious answer is, look for one that feels good to me, but what things really make the biggest difference? Price? Size? Weight? Handle length? Just a little help please!

[CFrance]

You can "borrow" a pickleball paddle from the folks at the Square on Thursday. Tell them you are a beginner and ask for suggestions as to paddles. They will let you take one to try. I suggest doing this before taking a clinic, like pickleball 101. Take the paddle to the clinic and play with it.

The softball store up in the Crispers shopping center has a pretty good selection of paddles, and they will talk to you about them.

Also, the people who run the clinics will let you play with their paddles, so you could try a different one out there.

You can also talk to the guy at the Market of Marion if you have two hours to spare and don't care if you get a word in edgewise! Also, he says you can return the paddle, but there's caveats in that statement.

Some paddles are built to give strength to the shot, some are built to allow more control.

[AriaGrandparents2013]

As a beginner I bought a paddle from the folks at the Sumter Market night and am satisfied. In my opinion a mid- price paddle is all you will need.......I bought the second most expensive paddle (not cheapest....but next price from cheapest) and choose a comfortable grip that the Market folks pointed out to me.

Spenting a lot of money on a paddle seems excessive as I assume you will be playing for fun and exercise. Play safe and enjoy the game.

[Paperboy]

Originally Posted by AriaGrandparents2013

As a beginner I bought a paddle from the folks at the Sumter Market night and am satisfied. In my opinion a mid- price paddle is all you will need.......I bought the second most expensive paddle (not cheapest....but next price from cheapest) and choose a comfortable grip that the Market folks pointed out to me.

Spenting a lot of money on a paddle seems excessive as I assume you will be playing for fun and exercise. Play safe and enjoy the game.

Talk to the vendor @ Sumter Mkt.---VERY knowledgeable!

[AriaGrandparents2013]

Originally Posted by Paperboy

Talk to the vendor @ Sumter Mkt.---VERY knowledgeable!

Great advice.

[goldenlucydog]

Originally Posted by Cedwards38

I've never played pickleball in my life, but it looks like fun and I'm going to give it a try. What factors should I look for in a pickleball paddle? I know the obvious answer is, look for one that feels good to me, but what things really make the biggest difference? Price? Size? Weight? Handle length? Just a little help please!

My husband purchased a new graphite Storm PB paddle. Doesn't like the color. Used 6 times. Paid $65. Will sell for $45. Great paddle.
Sue 248.730.6488

[John_W]

I went to Pickleball 101 four weeks ago at Sterling Heights Rec Center. I'll give you some tips. Before going I went on the Youtube website and searched pickleball and watched numerous videos for a couple of hours. This helped during class because one of the biggest stumbling blocks in 101 was scoring or how you score and how it's said out loud. I was ahead of the class because I had no problem and understood it completely. I also made note of the brand and type of paddles used in the videos, especially by the good players.

The next day when I actually took the 101 class the instructor allowed me to use one of his personal paddles instead of the free wooden paddles provided by the rec center. I liked his Onix Sports Z5 paddle and it was one of the paddles I saw in several of the videos.

The next day I went online and looked for the Onix Sports Z5 paddle at a couple of online sites and they had it for $73.99. Then I went to the 'Softballs R Game' store at Southern Trace and looked at their paddles. They had some nice ones for a good price but didn't stock Onix, they did have the Blaster 2 which was my second choice. I then went LSL on vendor night to the Pickleball stand. They had the Onix Sports Z5 Paddle for $64 so I bought it. Mine looks just like this.