I've never actually done a giveaway before, so I figured if I'm finally going to do one, I might as well make it a good one.
I'm giving away THREE BRAND NEW MYSTERY PADDLES. And honestly, mystery paddles are more fun anyway, right? I'm not revealing the brands or models yet, but I can give you a few hints:
All three are Gen 4 foam paddles with proven Tier 1 grit, and they’re not budget $100 paddles either!
I'll reveal the paddles later, but for now, the mystery stays.
I can also make it a little more teasing or a little more casual for Reddit.
And I'm covering three different shapes:
1. Elongated
2. Hybrid
3. Widebody
So that's three mystery paddles, three different shapes, and three different winners.
And feel free to share this with your friends and family too. If you know someone who plays pickleball and wouldn't mind getting a brand-new paddle for free, send them over!
Before the giveaway details, I wanted to share a bit about why I started this subreddit and why I review paddles the way I do.
Most of the paddles I review myself, through ambassador drops and occasionally through demo programs. I work a full-time job, so between buying paddles, actually playing with them for hours, comparing them with other paddles, checking swingweight and twistweight on my Briffidi, experimenting with different weighting setups, and eventually writing everything up, I'm honestly not sure how sustainable it is for me to keep doing this at the pace paddles are coming out right now.
There are just way too many releases.
That's also why I'm not really interested in hitting with a paddle for one or two sessions, writing a review immediately, and moving on to the next one just so I can cover everything.
Especially with all these newer foam paddles, break-in matters a lot.
A paddle can feel completely different after five or ten sessions. Power can open up, pop can settle down, the sweet spot can feel better, the paddle can become softer and dwellier, and sometimes something you loved on day one doesn't feel nearly as special a couple weeks later.
The same thing applies to spin durability.
A paddle can have crazy spin out of the box, but I'm much more interested in what happens after 20 or 30 hours of actual play.
Bigger reviewers can do cannon and abrasion tests, and those definitely give useful standardized data. They also make it possible to test a lot more paddles quickly without actually playing every paddle for 20 or 30 hours.
I work full time, so I'm probably not going to build a cannon in my garage or create an abrasion-testing setup just so I can generate another number.
I'd rather spend that limited time actually playing with the paddle.
I want to know what it feels like after break-in, whether the power and pop change, whether the grit actually holds up on court, whether the balance starts bothering me, and whether adding a Hesacore, handle weight, or weight in different positions completely changes how the paddle plays.
That obviously means my reviews take longer, and I can't review everything.
And paddle feel is subjective anyway. Two people can play the same paddle and have completely different opinions about power, stiffness, dwell, balance, or even how big the sweet spot feels.
All I can really do is put in the time, compare it with other paddles I've actually played, and give you guys as much context as possible.
One thing I usually look for when deciding what to buy is value for money.
I'm much more interested in finding a $100 paddle that can hang with something costing $250 or $300 than simply telling you another expensive flagship paddle is really good.
But maybe that's just what I care about.
So I thought my first giveaway would also be a good way to find out what you guys actually care about, because that's going to help me decide what paddles are worth spending my own money and limited testing time on going forward.
Giveaway #1: What are you playing right now? What would you change about it if you could?
Maybe you want more power, less pop, better control, a bigger sweet spot, lower swingweight, a longer handle, more dwell, or better spin durability.
I'm genuinely interested in this because it tells me what people already like about their paddles and what they still feel is missing.
One winner will be selected from these responses.
Giveaway #2: What matters when you're spending your own money?
This is probably the question I'm most curious about.
If you were buying your next paddle, which price range would you be most interested in?
A) Around $100
A value paddle that gives you most of the performance of much more expensive options.
B) $100 to $200
You're comfortable paying a bit more if that's simply where the paddle or brand is priced, as long as the overall performance and quality justify it.
C) $200 to $300
You're willing to pay premium-brand pricing if you really like the paddle and feel the performance, technology, durability, or overall package is worth it.
Personally, the $100 category is usually what gets me most interested in buying something and testing it, especially when a paddle can compete with options costing twice as much.
But maybe most people here feel completely differently.
That's exactly what I want to find out.
One winner will be selected from these responses.
Giveaway #3: Supporter Thank You
The third mystery paddle is going to be a little different.
A bunch of you have previously supported what I'm doing by using my discount codes when purchasing paddles, and I genuinely appreciate it.
When I'm buying most of these paddles myself, that support actually helps make it a little easier to keep picking up interesting paddles and putting the time into testing them properly.
So the third paddle is simply going to be a thank-you to someone who had already supported me before this giveaway.
If you've used one of my codes before this giveaway was posted, just put SUPPORTER somewhere at the bottom of your comment.
It doesn't matter which brand you bought from, how much you spent, or how many times you've used one of my codes.
And please do not go buy something now just for this giveaway. A new purchase will not count or improve your chances.
This one is specifically meant as a thank-you to people who supported the reviews**.**
How to enter
Just leave a comment answering the giveaway questions above and rank your preferred paddle shapes: Elongated, Hybrid, and Widebody.
You do not need to make separate comments for each giveaway. One comment is enough.
If you've previously used one of my discount codes and want to be considered for the supporter giveaway, just add SUPPORTER at the bottom of your comment.
International entries are welcome, but shipping outside the U.S. can get expensive. If an international winner is selected, I'll check the shipping cost first. Depending on the destination, the winner may need to cover some or all of the international shipping cost. We'll figure that out.
Giveaway deadline
The giveaway will stay open through September 15, 2026.
At the end of the day, I still really enjoy doing these reviews. I just need to figure out how to keep doing this in a way that's actually sustainable while working full time, buying most of the paddles myself, and trying to put enough real playing time on them to give you guys something more useful than a first impression.
So consider this giveaway partly a thank-you to the community, and partly me asking you guys to help me figure out what's actually worth testing next.
Three mystery paddles. Elongated, Hybrid, and Widebody. Three winners.
Giveaway open through September 15.
Good luck!