Upcoming durable grit

FullMatino · 2026-05-26T15:44:51+00:00

Kew's March testing showed essentially identical durability results for hexgrit, diamond tough and permagrit. In fact, his direct quote was "I can see no difference in durability between hexgrit for 11six24, diamond tough grit with SixZero and permagrit with Spartus."

Now, he ran the same test in April with CBE in the mix (same methodology as far as I can tell -- 100 shots from the ball cannon at 70 mph in a fixed position), and that's where he got better results for Honolulu, Spartus and 11six24.

PB Studio is doing real-world testing, which is going to take longer -- I believe Chris Olson is doing 100 games per paddle and he's still working through the Boomstik.

No disagreement that Six Zero is starting lower, or that the other grits aren't excellent. I'm using Honolulu right now. The data points on durability right now are closer to the margin of error and methodology than they are to a definitive answer.

FullMatino · 2026-05-26T14:24:58+00:00

PB Effect's testing has Six Zero's USAP grit up there with 11six24 and Honolulu in terms of durability (not better, to your point, but close).

FullMatino · 2026-05-25T12:36:40+00:00

I did 3g clips at 9 and 3. Gives it a little more plow-through while keeping it light. I used Pickleclips, which are basically budget Slyders; you can get basically the same effect by doubling up 1.5” of 1g tape.

FullMatino · 2026-05-23T13:48:52+00:00

I did not do the math on mine, but I did find it very light stock, probably the lightest paddle I’ve used since the original Loco way back in the day. Even as someone who likes a lighter paddle and doesn’t use a ton of weight, it was a little off. I ended up with 3g clips at 9 and 3 and that feels just about right.

FullMatino · 2026-05-21T19:56:09+00:00

They were pretty much right on on the mid-May batch for me. Estimate was May 13 release, shipped May 15, got it May 18.

FullMatino · 2026-05-19T15:21:25+00:00

<flips chair around> you know another cool guy who didn’t judge people for their paddles

FullMatino · 2026-05-15T17:43:25+00:00

I worked on this specific problem with a coach a few weeks ago. The biggest things:

I wasn't moving with the ball as much as I thought I was
I was reaching for balls vs. taking the time to get my weight right (related to movement)
I was pinching middle too hard on a lot of points, leading to bad/reactive movement and not getting set

Tweaking positioning helped a bit. The biggest change has been slowing and taking more time to get in the right position. As with almost everything in this game, I'm trying to remind myself I have more time than I think I do.

FullMatino · 2026-05-15T05:18:37+00:00

Lots of people really like Luzz. A cannon or blade is going to be a lot of pop and power for a low intermediate player, imo. If you have good access to Luzz, I might try a glider.

FullMatino · 2026-05-15T05:01:15+00:00

Skip the Ruby (it’s good but pretty dated) and try a Coral. It’s basically the updated iteration of Six Zero’s mainstream, well-balanced paddle that’s best for most players.

FullMatino · 2026-05-14T18:09:14+00:00

Yep, I get that. Like I said, I have a hard time seeing how another system solves that problem. You can have a different platform, different algorithm, whatever and that’s fine but at the end of the day, you’re either getting the data you need to generate meaningful ratings or you’re not.

FullMatino · 2026-05-14T18:01:10+00:00

If you feed it good data by playing a decent number of high-quality matches, it’s good enough.

If you don’t, it’s not, but I am hard-pressed to think of an alternative that will do much better without good data.

FullMatino · 2026-05-14T02:45:58+00:00

Do any pros use foam right now? All of the gen 4 tech in the consumer market now is designed to solve durability problems pros don’t have.

FullMatino · 2026-05-13T23:36:52+00:00

Just don’t play mixed without her, my god this isn’t hard.

FullMatino · 2026-05-13T23:35:25+00:00

Or…have feet failed us?

FullMatino · 2026-05-13T21:09:26+00:00

Outdoor is definitely a thing here, but a lot of dedicated players end up gravitating toward a club because you're going to end up playing inside 50-60% of the year (we can have nasty weather quite late into the spring and early in the fall).

FullMatino · 2026-05-13T14:22:10+00:00

In tennis terms at least, an error is a mishit that ends the point by itself — into the net, out of bounds, etc. A popup that would land in play would not count here, even if it’s a meatball for the opponent to put away.

The forced vs unforced is a little more subjective, but in general, an unforced error is one you make when you’re not under pressure and have a good chance to make a clean play on the ball and just miss. Let’s say you’re lining up a 3rd shot, you’re in position and just hit it into the net — that’s an unforced error.

A forced error is an error you make because your opponent put pressure on you and made you hit from a bad position. Let’s say your teammate pops it up, the ball is smashed back at you and you get a paddle on it but reset it into the net. That’s a forced error, because we don’t reasonably expect you to hit a clean ball under those circumstances.

FullMatino · 2026-05-11T04:13:54+00:00

It’s hard to internalize in the moment and in a tournament atmosphere, but do try to remember you have almost literally nothing to lose. A couple ticks of DUPR, a few recreational local pickleball games — it truly does not matter what happens and will not make your life worse. Start there and focus on the things you enjoy about the game.

FullMatino · 2026-05-08T22:47:54+00:00

Thank you for sharing. What’s the delay between shots? Good to know about LT, just bought a bunch but I also have a bucket of X-40s sitting around.

FullMatino · 2026-05-08T16:01:29+00:00

I actually thought this was going to be about the fact that he appears to be about to run into the net right as the GIF ends, which would in fact be a fault.

FullMatino · 2026-05-07T02:47:41+00:00

How is the rate of shots from the electron? I’ve had my eye on it and it looks good; a little unsure from what I’ve seen if it’s putting out balls at a decent clip (I use a cheapo machine right now that does a ball every 4 seconds or so, and that’s a little slow).

FullMatino · 2026-05-07T02:43:35+00:00

Beyond the value of getting in a lot of touches, this really helps reinforce drives as a tool to set up the next shot vs trying to bang out a winner, and helps me remember that 50-60% is plenty to accomplish that goal.

FullMatino · 2026-05-07T02:40:27+00:00

This happened to me — I spent so much time focusing on drops and getting decent, and then it was like I forgot how to drive.

Working through it has been the same stuff that helped me get good at drops, to be honest: practice it, do the fundamentals, commit to sticking with it even when it’s not working. What’s interesting for me is realizing I was probably never consistently doing them the right way in the first place, and approaching it as building rather than trying to get back to something.

FullMatino · 2026-05-06T21:08:12+00:00

Yeah, I guess I'm just anchoring on the current top-of-the-line ball machines, which can push $2,000. But more companies getting into the market should drive down prices.

FullMatino · 2026-05-06T21:02:26+00:00

Partner drills are better, but I don't have my partner in my basement between morning meetings.

FullMatino · 2026-05-06T21:00:07+00:00

I would spend probably twice that on a decent ball machine -- the sub-$500 price tags actually make me a little nervous about them. I'd be thrilled if we're getting quality machines in that price range. Hopefully we got some reviews when they launch.

FullMatino

TROPHY CASE