Excited by the latest in pickleball paddle technology? Or are you suffering from some serious (or minor) pickleball elbow? Either way, you will want to check out ProKennex’s first entry into the pickleball paddle market, the ProKennex Kinetic Pro Speed.
I was able to get my hands on one and my initial impression was, “Wow!”
From the moment I picked up the Kinetic, I knew this paddle was significantly different. To start, it felt super solid. With its super-thin core, yet standard weight, I was wondering if this paddle was forged from solid aluminum. Not knowing the technology within the paddle, I thought there was no way this paddle could have any real feel to it. However, my mind was changed with the very first ball I hit, a perfect third shot drop. And then another, and another, and another perfect drop shot. Then I moved to the kitchen line to practice some drills from our most recent tip of the week, and again, amazing touch. This left me wondering, how does a paddle this solid have such beautiful touch?!
This is where a little research comes in handy. ProKennex has introduced their energy transfer technology from their tennis and racquetball lines to the pickleball market. The Kinetic has a ring of tungsten beads embedded around the outside of the paddle that not only expands the paddle’s sweet spot (awesome) but also reduces the vibrations that normally transfer through to your hand and elbow.
Speaking of hands, the paddle comes with a 4″ handle circumference. This felt super small in my hands, but it appears the smaller handle is another potential nod towards those of us with pickleball elbow. Smaller grips equal less area for us white knucklers to pressure down on. I can’t say that I’m personally sold on the small grip, but that’s nothing a little (or a lot) of overgrip can’t fix.
Did I mention how new this paddle is? Well, I’ll mention it again, it just debuted at the 2018 U.S. Open in Naples and already has a few medals to its name. I’m hoping as the weeks go by, we’ll start to see a lot more about this paddle, but until then, the only place you can read about the paddle (and purchase) is over at PickleballCentral.com. It’s worth checking out the great staff reviews and I left itching to take the paddle for a longer test drive. Here’s a link to the Kinetic Pro Speed review.
Cheers,
Matt