PICKLEBALLOGIST PLAYER PROFILE • BY LLEYTON HOWARD There are two kinds of former tennis players in pickleball. The first kind shows up at open play, announces that they played Division I tennis in 1998, and proceeds to launch seventeen consecutive third-shot drives into the back fence. Then they complain about ...
The PIKKL Hurricane Pro 14mm is what happens when a control paddle gets tired of being described as sensible. It has the soft feel, broad sweet spot, and reassuring consistency you would recommend to an improving intermediate—then it casually produces elite spin, a 108 swingweight, and enough pop to make kitchen ...
K-Swiss has been making court shoes since long before anyone was arguing about whether a serve was illegal on Facebook. So it shouldn't be surprising that they're all over professional pickleball. What is interesting is how different the K-Swiss shoes pros wear actually are. TL;DR: Use this flowchart to ...
The CRBN 1X X Series 14mm is a fascinating little time capsule. In 2023 it was the scary new thermoformed paddle: raw carbon, foam-injected edges, a unibody throat, nuclear spin, and a $229.99 price that required a brief conversation with your household budget committee. In 2026, CRBN has cut it to roughly $169.99 ...
The LUZZ Cannon is what happens when a budget paddle wanders into the premium-power section, eats somebody's lunch, and refuses to leave. At $109, this elongated Gen 3+ thermoformed paddle brings serious baseline pace, excellent spin, and tournament-ready dual certification without charging the usual $280 ...
Author’s Note: I’m Brenton, a 4.0-level pickleball enthusiast in my 40s. Over the past months I playtested Vatic Pro’s entire lineup – the Prism, Saga, V-SOL Pro, and V-SOL Power – to see how these affordable paddles stack up. Below I share first-hand insights, performance data (weight, swingweight, twistweight, ...
There’s a certain kind of player who makes you uneasy before the first serve is even struck. It’s not the loud ones or the chest-thumpers. It’s the players who look like they’ve already solved the puzzle—like they’re just waiting for the rest of us to catch up. Connor Garnett fits that mold perfectly. You watch him ...
There are players who try to intimidate you. Then there’s Christopher Haworth, who looks like he’s calmly filing taxes while dismantling your crosscourt dink pattern. He just wins. And if you’ve coached as long as I have, you know that’s the scariest kind of player. Who Is Christopher Haworth? ...
Bread & Butter Pickleball Overview I’ll never forget the first time I saw a Bread & Butter paddle – the wild graphics and cheeky names immediately told me this company was different. Bread & Butter Pickleball was founded in 2022 by Doug Sapusek and is run with his two adult children as a passionate ...
By Lleyton Howard (5.0 coach). Playtesters: Mason Kelley (4.5) & Sophia Martinez (3.5). Quick Summary (TL;DR) Rating: ★★★★½ (4.6/5) — elite pop and power with a surprisingly forgiving sweet spot; not built for timid hands. Shape Tested: Elongated (new Selkirk Labs silhouette). What it’s for: Power ...
Brenton Cashmore
Let me be blunt: if you’re chasing pop, speed, and aggression, this paddle might make your other paddles jealous. But it’s not perfect (what is?), especially for folks more worried about “Will my elbow survive this?” than “How fast can I hit a winner?” Get the Bantam and Start Hunting Today! We grabbed this ...
When Hunter Johnson steps onto a pickleball court, opponents know they’re in for a battle – and likely a barrage of blistering forehands. At 6’0” tall with a lanky build honed on tennis courts, Johnson has adapted his game to rattle the pickleball world. The 31-year-old’s journey from college tennis standout to ...
Lleyton Howard 
Mikhail Ricci 
Sophia Martinez