I was very excited when I found out that JOOLA was sending me one of their Rally Rocket special edition paddles. This is part of their summertime JOOLA Pops campaign, which I'd seen all over the Internet.
I was even more excited when I unboxed it and realized I'd got my favorite of the JOOLA Pro V line – the 16 mm JOOLA Perseus Pro V, which I reviewed a few months back. Now I have it in this limited edition, popsicle-dripping colorway.
It reminded me right away of my kids' popsicles and my own childhood, which I guess is the point. JOOLA is cleverly appealing to parents and the child inside us too, drawing on the nostalgia of long summer days.
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The Rally Rocket is JOOLA's summer-only love letter to the bomb pop: red, white, and blue, melt-inspired detailing, the whole nostalgic ice cream truck aesthetic dialed up and printed onto a paddle face. It's available across the entire Pro V lineup – Perseus, Scorpeus, Hyperion, Agassi, and Kosmos – so whatever shape you already play, you can get it in popsicle.
The whole package is so well done. It comes in a super-impressive box. It really looks like you're opening a giant popsicle. Every paddle ships with a matching paddle cover (which looks amazing), overgrips, and stickers – exactly the kind of unnecessary-but-delightful packaging that gets people like me every time.
The best thing about it is you're getting a truly elite paddle. This is no gimmick that looks good but plays mediocre. The JOOLA Pro V is one of the best pickleball paddles of 2026. So you're not just showing off on the court with this vibrant paddle, it's actually a weapon.
The JOOLA Pro V series is one of the most expensive paddle lines, and they're going up a little from $300 to $330 for this special edition Rally Rocket version. If you want a budget-friendly paddle, they've got you covered with a limited run of Double Vision Rally Rocket paddles at select retailers.
JOOLA's broader JOOLA Pops marketing campaign has been fun. They built an actual ice cream truck – the JOOLA Pops truck – and sent it on tour from Dallas through St. Louis, Chicago, New York, and down through Maryland and the Delaware beaches, letting players demo the paddles, win giveaways, and grab a free popsicle between games.
Special editions are not really competing with the standard gear. A Rally Rocket Perseus isn't trying to out-perform the standard Perseus – it's the same engineering wearing a different outfit for a couple of months. So, the value isn't in the specs, it's in hitting the right person at the right time. A popsicle-themed pickleball paddle in the dead of winter would feel random. A popsicle Perseus or Hyperion in late June, when the courts are hot and everyone's already thinking about shaved ice and pool days, gets you in the mood for pickleball.
So, this isn't a review – it's an ode to the special edition runs that keep nostalgia-prone players like me excited about pickleball gear, season after season. Kudos to JOOLA for an inspired summer campaign.
If you’re a sucker for limited edition paddles like me, grab the Rally Rocket before July 31. After that, it'll forever be a collector's item!
