Buying pickleball gear is a big decision. Having the right equipment can boost your performance, win you more games, and advance your rating quickly. Buy the wrong gear and you might get stuck at the beginner level, missing routine shots you should have mastered by now.
When it comes to the quality of pickleball gear, it's not always easy to know what's good and what's bad. Pickleball is so popular that new brands are always popping up, flooding the market with paddles, balls, nets, and more. Some of the gear is amazing, but some of it is junk.
Our goal is simple: provide you with gear reviews you can actually trust. Your gear should advance your game, not hold you back. As avid players ourselves, we're constantly testing new gear and updating our guides. We believe there's only one place to properly test – out on the court!
Read our About Us page to learn more about Pickleheads.
"Every paddle we test goes through at least five hours of on-court play over multiple sessions."
Brandon Mackie
Co-founder, Pickleheads
Our promise
We follow a few simple principles to ensure our reviews are as helpful to you as possible:
- We test every product on the court for at least five hours across two play sessions to ensure our review is thorough.
- We test every product we can get our hands on.
- We never accept payment for gear reviews.
- We always give our honest opinion, not what brands want us to say.
- We help you cut through the noise, separating the best gear from the junk.
If you ever disagree with something we've said in our reviews, email [email protected] and we'll make it right.
How we test
We test all types of products, from pickleballs and shoes to accessories like paddle erasers. For paddles (our most popular gear category), here's our testing process:
- Get the paddle in our hands.
- Test on the court (minimum play time of five hours per paddle, across at least two play sessions).
- Score the paddle across key performance metrics (power, control, spin, forgiveness, etc).
- Give a star rating and overall verdict.
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How we score
In each review, you’ll find ratings for key attributes on a scale of 1 to 10. The attributes change based on the product. For paddles, you will see:
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Overall verdict and ratings
After thoroughly testing the product and considering the performance scores above, we rate the gear using a five-star rating system.
You’ll find the star rating at the top of each buyer’s guide deep dive and full product review.
For our overall verdict (our final, comprehensive recommendation of the product), we consider the performance metrics, star rating, price point, value, and what type of player the product is for. For example:
The JOOLA Perseus Pro IV is a lot of fun. I have the 14 mm version and it's one of the most explosive paddles I've played with. It's built for players who like to drive and attack, so it may be difficult for players who rely more on touch and finesse. For that reason, I don't recommend it for beginners. However, if you're a rising intermediate or advanced player who wants a high-level power paddle, the high price tag is worth it for you.Our reviewers
Our reviewers are avid players, playing at least three times per week on average. They have stacks of paddles at home and aim to test at least one different paddle every week. They closely track new paddle releases and keep up with the latest paddle technologies, gear, and accessories.
Many of our reviews are done by Pickleheads co-founder Brandon Mackie. Brandon is a 4.0 player and has written much of our content (see Brandon playing in the Pickleheads virtual clinic). He has been quoted in over 150 articles talking about the growth of pickleball.
Being in the pickleball community, we have gotten to know many high-level players and we trust their opinions. Our contributors include:
Stephen Mijangos
Brandon Mackie
