What matters ultimately is that you and your paddle connect. Ideally it should be an extension of your body, and using it should be comfortable and natural. We can take some key metrics, and use these to compare paddles and narrow down what may be of interest to us, however it’s important to remember, the numbers are not everything, and ideally you should always try demo a paddle before you commit.

SHAPE:
A simple one, what shape is the paddle? We have four broad categories here:

1. Widebody - This is a shorter and wider paddle, typically the extra width trades some power for great stability, often this shape lends itself to control due to a large sweetspot.

2. Standard - Just like it says on the tin, this is the original proportions for a pickleball paddle.

3. Hybrid - This is somewhere between Standard and Elongated, walking the line and taking some of the benefits of Elongated paddles while minimising the downsides.

4. Elongated - These paddles are longer and often narrower than Standard, this length however gives extra reach, but mainly extra leverage allowing increased power at the cost of a smaller sweetspot and some control.

FACE MATERIAL:
What makes up a paddle? Its usually one of three materials:

1. Fiberglass - Standard in most budget paddles this face material provides some flex, leading to a springy feel where the ball “pops” off the face. Good for attacking, but can be more challenging to control.

2. Carbon Fiber - Standard amongst more premium paddles, this face material is more tough, but lends to a softer feel, absorbing more energy off the ball and enhancing control.

3. Kevlar - New on the scene, Kevlar does much of what Carbon Fiber does, but does it more softly. A material designed to stop bullets, it’s great at softening hard shots, lending it to being very controlable.

CORE THICKNESS:
The core thickeness is typically between 12mm and 16mm with some outliers. Generally speaking a thicker core will provide a softer more forgiving feeling, aiding in control, resets and dinks. On the other side, a thinner core will often provide more “pop” accelerating the ball off the paddle face, which can be difficult to control, but when mastered allows for a lot of attacking options.

STATIC WEIGHT:
This is a simple one, how heavy is the paddle? A heavier paddle will “plow” through the ball providing increased power on heavy hitting shots. A heavy paddle can also absorb a fast shot to aid in blocking. Heavier however, can often mean harder to swing, though not always, refer to the Swing Weight below.

BALANCE POINT:
Where is the center of mass of the paddle? This in tennis is often spoken about as head light, or head heavy. The further the Balance Point is from the end of the grip, the more head heavy the paddle is, this along with the Static Weight, will drive the Swing Weight below.

SWING WEIGHT:
This is a measure of how light or heavy the paddle feels to swing. Usually ranging from very light (100) to very heavy (130), this will affect how maneuverable the paddle feels. If you struggle with arm strain, or want to put less strain on your body, getting a paddle with a lower Swing Weight is a good option. High Swing Weights on the other hand can “plow” through the ball to provide effortless power.

TWIST WEIGHT:
Lastly, this is a measure of how hard it is to twist the paddle in your hand. Higher numbers mean that on off center shots, and blocks the paddle is less likely to twist and send a ball somewhere unexpected. High Twist Weights (6.5 and above) are strongly linked with a large sweetspot and great control, while lower Twist Weights (5.5 and lower) are typically a compromise to achieve a very light or maneuverable paddle.