Pickleball And Paddle: Ultimate Guide

The Origin of Pickleball

Pickleball is a game of hitting balls with a racket. It originated from Benbridge Island in Seattle, USA. It would be most appropriate to say that it is a hybrid sport of tennis, badminton and table tennis. It was invented by two people. The name "Pickleball" comes from a dog belonging to one of the inventors; when the game was first invented, the dog named Pickleball often ran with the ball in his mouth.

The amount of exercise is smaller than tennis but larger than table tennis. It can be played in singles, doubles, or mixed doubles, both indoors and outdoors. The ball is heavier than a badminton, lighter than a tennis ball, moderate in weight, strong in wind resistance, and suitable for all ages.

Parameters and Types of Pickleball

1. Number of holes: 26 holes for indoor balls and 40 holes for outdoor balls

2. Aperture: The aperture of indoor balls is larger than that of outdoor balls.

3. Weight: Outdoor balls tend to be heavier than indoor balls

4. Hardness: Outdoor balls tend to be harder than indoor balls, which helps with bounce

5. Durability: Because outdoor pickleball balls are harder, they are more likely to break than softer indoor pickleball balls.

Indoor pickleball focuses more on skills and control, while outdoor pickleball focuses more on strength and speed.

6. Material: PE (polyethylene)

Pickleball Racket Parameters

1️. Racquet weight

2️. Handle size (length and size)

3️. Thickness of the racket surface

4️. Racket core (PP honeycomb, aramid honeycomb)

5️. Racket surface material (wood, fiberglass, carbon fiber)

It is composed of a honeycomb core and two layers of surface skin, a typical honeycomb sandwich lightweight structure. The honeycomb core is made of hexagonal honeycombs welded online with fibers. The size and strength of the honeycombs can be adjusted to match the strength of the pickleball attack. This continuous production model reduces costs and is suitable for civilian consumption. The upper and lower surface skins are made of high-performance resin coated with glass fiber or carbon fiber, which is solid-phase formed under high temperature and high pressure to form an ultra-thin hard material with no volatile odor. The texture is hard and the overall performance is comparable to aluminum alloy. While being as light as possible, it remains rigid and gives the pickleball a good rebound height.

Pickleball Racket Weight

■    Pickleball rackets typically weigh between 7.0 ounces (198.44g) and 8.6 ounces (243.8g). While the weight difference may not seem like much, it has a significant impact on the way players prefer to hit.

■    Lightweight Pickleball Racquet (7.0-7.4 oz) Lightweight Pickleball Racquet feels quite light in the hand. Players who prefer a light racket tend to prefer the speed and control of a racquet.

■    Standard weight pickleball rackets (7.8[221]-8.3[235] ounces) Standard weight pickleball rackets are the most commonly used racket weight. This is probably because most pickleball racket manufacturers make rackets in this weight.

■    Heavyweight Pickleball Racquets (8.4 ounces and above) Heavyweight Pickleball Racquets are a great choice for players who like to use more power.

Pickleball Racket Thickness

The thickness of your pickleball racket is also an important factor to consider. Typically, the thickness of pickleball rackets ranges from 11mm to 19mm. The core and thickness of the racket are more important to the performance of the racket than the surface material of the racket;

A thicker core can soften the feel of the racket and enhance control, helping to stabilize the racket, thereby reducing the shaking of the racket caused by off-center hits. 16mm is the most popular and beginner-friendly;

Thinner cores, between 10-14mm thick, are known for greater power and bounce, but sacrifice some feel and control;

Summary: If you are an aggressive player who likes to attack the ball, then you will prefer a thinner racket; If you prefer to control the ball and defend, then you will prefer a thicker 16mm racket.

Pickleball Racket Types

Pickleball Racket Core Material

1. PP honeycomb (polypropylene)

It is a hollow three-layer or double-layer composite honeycomb structure made of polypropylene as raw material. It has the characteristics of one-step molding, light weight, high strength, light smell, good flame retardancy, shock absorption, cold resistance, sound insulation, moisture resistance and heat insulation, 100% Features such as 100% recyclability (most commonly used materials, high cost performance)

2. Aramid honeycomb, a new type of high-tech synthetic fiber, industrial-grade aramid honeycomb with strict craftsmanship was originally an exclusive material for aerospace. The sound of aramid is crisp and clear; the price is much more expensive. Calculated from the cost of honeycomb core alone, aramid is 6-8 times that of PP. The aramid racket is only about 160g. If it is too light, it will also affect the feel of the ball.

3. Wooden, the heaviest, can basically reach 260-300g, low cost, suitable for beginners. The first racket invented was made of wood.

Comparison of Surface Materials of Pickleball Rackets

1. Rigidity

Rigidity refers to the ability of a material or structure to resist elastic deformation when subjected to force. Carbon fiber materials perform better in this performance, while glass fiber is slightly inferior. Fiberglass is suitable for use in places where stiffness is not required, such as helmets, etc.

2. Strength

Carbon fiber has greater advantages in tensile strength

High-strength carbon fiber can even reach 3500MPa

High-strength glass fiber is only about 2800MPa

Carbon fiber has a higher limit

3. Durability

Carbon fiber has better impact resistance and service life than glass fiber

4. Price

The price of glass fiber is lower than that of carbon fiber. First of all, glass fiber has been popularized in China earlier and has a larger production capacity. The production capacity of domestic carbon fiber is seriously insufficient and imports are restricted. In addition, carbon fiber performs better in specific strength and specific modulus in many high-end fields. (such as aerospace) and the complex production process, resulting in higher carbon fiber prices

Comparison of Cold Pressing and Hot Pressing One-piece Shooting

In one-piece shooting, carbon fiber prepreg is cut, pasted (with honeycomb panels and foam materials), wrapped in a mold, heated at high temperature and solidified to form a rough embryo. The entire racket is produced using carbon fiber one-piece molding technology and is fully carbon forged to enhance the strength of the racket.

Cold-pressed racket, also called sandwich racket, the racket surface is made of glass fiber or carbon fiber + PP honeycomb core board, and the racket handle is made of PP honeycomb core board + EVA foam + hand tape (handle leather) )

Comparison:

1. The molding process is different: the one-piece shot is molded using a mold, while the cold-pressed shot is processed without a mold.

2. LOGO process: one-piece shooting with water mark, cold pressing with UV printing

3. Hemming: The one-piece shot is formed in one piece, no need for separate hemming. Cold-pressed shots need to be hemmed with TPU separately.

4. Strength: The handle and racket surface of the hot-pressed one-piece racket are covered with carbon fiber, which has higher strength.