I got a behind-the-scenes look at Selkirk – they're serious about the future

I just flew out to Selkirk’s home base in Idaho for a behind-the-scenes look at their R&D and paddle testing process.

As a pickleball tech nerd, I was intrigued to visit the famous Selkirk Labs. More importantly, as a pickleball player, coach, and paddle tester, I wanted to see if they could wow me with their new investments in paddle technology.

After all, with the exception of the recent SLK ERA Power Elongated (one of my favorite new paddles), Selkirk’s paddle launches have been pretty disappointing for the last year and a half.

Don’t get me wrong: Selkirk is still one of the top pickleball brands, and they sell the most gear. It’s just that people aren’t really looking to Selkirk’s new paddles anymore in the way they used to.

For years, they were the brand in pickleball. They helped pioneer the power paddle era with the original VANGUARD Power Air range and built a loyal following across all levels of play with their premium Selkirk LABS and budget-friendly SLK lines.

With newer releases like the Selkirk LABS Project 007 and Project 008, there’s been a general feeling that Selkirk’s paddles are becoming too soft at a time when players are craving power. It’s fair to say they’ve lost ground to brands like JOOLA and Paddletek.

With all of that in mind, I went there with a lot of curiosity about their R&D, production, and upcoming launches. I came back pleasantly surprised and very excited about the future for Selkirk.

Selkirk has a serious presence in Northern Idaho. While they still do the majority of manufacturing in China, they now do all their R&D in the U.S., and a good amount of manufacturing and assembly here, too. I visited their prototype lab and shipping warehouse, the renowned Selkirk Labs where they test their paddles and run their entire QC process, and the main Selkirk HQ.

I started in their R&D lab, where things got interesting fast. They walked me through a durability test where they blast their paddles thousands of times at different speed ranges, even going over 100 mph.

The idea is to simulate long-term wear, fast. It’s the kind of test you’d expect in a tennis or baseball lab, not something most paddle brands even have access to.

It proved to me that Selkirk is trying to build paddles with impressive lifetimes (or at least a solid one-year warranty), while a lot of brands seem to be making paddles that are getting less and less durable.

They’ve built these tools to match USA Pickleball standards exactly, so they can see how a new paddle holds up before it ships. This also lets them tweak designs and materials on the fly – no waiting months for an overseas prototype to come back.

I got the impression that Selkirk doesn’t want to lose their lead in the industry. They’re still acting in startup mode, focusing on innovation.

Next up was a tour around the facility with Rob Barnes, one of Selkirk’s co-founders. We didn’t sit in a conference room and he didn’t talk from a script. We walked through his R&D headquarters while he answered questions straight-up about paddle design, player feedback, pricing, and where they’ve misfired in the past.

Rob didn’t dodge anything. He admitted that some recent launches didn’t connect with the advanced player market. He’s heard the same feedback I’ve been hearing: too soft, not enough pop, unclear value compared to the competition.

What stood out was how much intention they’re putting into the rebuild. Rob walked me through a roadmap of where the lineup is headed: fewer models, clearer naming conventions, more consistency from paddle to paddle, and better durability backed by stronger warranties.

They’re building beyond paddles with launches for shoes, bags, and apparel but paddles are still the core focus.

All of this was interesting for sure but it wasn’t until late afternoon, when Rob sent over a briefcase to my hotel, that I started to really change my mind about Selkirk.

When I picked up the briefcase, I immediately thought some Narcos-type stuff was about to go down. I excitedly opened the case to find a brand-new paddle inside.

I’d heard whispers about this paddle before the trip. It’s supposed to be Selkirk’s boldest product in years. It has a full-foam core but is built for power. It has weights attached on the side, which is pretty intriguing and made me think they were really trying to push for more control on this power-focused paddle.

It’s always risky hitting with a prototype – you never know what you’re going to get. Within the first few rallies, though, I knew they were onto something.

The Boomstik swings fast but feels solid. The edge weighting expands the sweet spot in a way I actually felt on off-center hits. Most power paddles give you pop but punish you when you miss the center. This one felt different – it let me swing big without giving up trust at the kitchen.

Later that day, I played a small tournament with it, and I ended up winning the whole thing. I’ve tested plenty of paddles that look promising in warmups but fall apart in match play. The Boomstik truly held up.

Since then, I’ve had a few advanced players try it (including Selkirk emerging pro players who are very familiar with Selkirk paddles). The response has been huge. People said it’s the first Selkirk paddle they can see competing with the likes of the JOOLA Pro IV series.

If the SLK ERA Power Elongated got Selkirk back on players’ radars, I think the Boomstik might be the one that puts them back in the top tier.

I’ve visited other paddle brands and tested just about everything out there. What I saw in Idaho tells me that Selkirk is not on a downturn. They’re busy in the background, getting to grips with the challenges they’ve faced, and building heavily for the future.

With the Boomstik, they’re not chasing trends but are right at the forefront, pushing new technology forward. They’re really focused on making a foam paddle that’s powerful, not soft and control-focused like the 008. It’s not hype to say that the Boomstik could go toe-to-toe with JOOLA’s best offerings.

If I came into this trip skeptical, I left thinking that Selkirk is going fully in the right direction. If this paddle plays as well as I think it does, they’ll be right where they belong – at the top.