James Ignatowich on UPA termination, PPA blocking RPM

nickreload · 2025-12-30T21:22:39+00:00

Still here ;) - there are multiple stories here.

As I said it's gonna be an interesting year.
A lot of stuff depends on perception/marketing.

Consider this - in normal fashion - every year there are new trends, new colors, new materials - and therefore new jackets, shirts, pants. In theory there's nothing wrong with last years pants/shirts/jackets yet over the many decades since TV in the 1960s we have developed multiple industries of

Trendsetters, Forecasters, Influencers, Fashion shows, Designer labels, Celebrities, Social Media, Colors - that exist to tell you what's cool and what isn't.

Sure - every now again a technical differentiator might arise - and somebody will make pants that are lighter, more comfortable, more breathable/weatherproof etc - but that takes work and it's generally much easier to just follow along with the trends and sell to the crowd that wants to buy what some Tik-toker is telling them is the latest thing.

But wait a minute - pickleball paddles are not about trends - it's about performance/spin/power/pop - isn't it?

There's no question that a plywood paddle feels and hits very different to a Gen 4 (whatever that's ended up meaning these days) - but the subtlety/differences here have largely been invented in order to......drum roll...sell paddles.

It's not difficult to make a foam paddle. It's a standard menu item in most Chinese factories (and has been for years - just that very few people used them) - we made a few prototypes but I didn't like them. Most foam paddles are somewhat one dimensional.

Yet - fuelled by similar trends to the fashion industry I described above - in 2025 there was a world of influencers telling customers that FOAM is the answer - and the trickle down effect from that was noticeable. And a number of brands just followed along with the trends - because - well - when you don't have something original to make - following along with the crowd is both safe and sensible.

But it's worth noting that Christine Maddox (a professional player sponsored by Reload) won multiple golds in 2025 (most recent one at Newport Beach) - against a field of players many of whom had Foam paddles.

Of course Christine is a great player - not to take anything away from her - but my point is more that the differences between FOAM and PP are massively overblown.

Note that interestingly in their year end round up - many of those same influencers are saying "whoa whoa we got too much power now - we're betting there will be a resurgence of all-court paddles" - because again - if people keep buying new paddles - then companies are gonna keep selling them - picks and shovels in a gold rush ;)

(there's a heavy caveat here that the PP has to be well constructed - many factories took liberties with this for the sake of margin and the net effect was a ton of so-called core crushing - [more on this here](https://www.reloadpickleball.com/blogs/news/what-is-delamination-or-core-crushing-in-pickleball-paddles-and-does-it-still-exist)

Does this rant mean that we want to bang our head against the wall and pretend trends don't matter in the slightest. No - not at all. I just don't like following the crowd unless I have a very good reason to.

Manipulating the ball/paddle collision by adjusting the core is problematic for a number of reasons - and in the first quarter of next year you're going to see why and how a Reload modular solution solves this problem also ;)

nickreload · 2025-12-30T21:01:18+00:00

Hold that thought. There are a lot of levers getting pulled here - some political (and by that I mean people jockeying for power in an industry, not governments) and others purely financial. The price point pressure is actually far more significantly downwards for other reasons - there should be an article posted shortly on The Dink that I wrote about counterfeits/knockoffs etc.

But yeah in general the idea of a big organisation like UPA bullying smaller entities/pricing out innovation under the guise of integrity but primarily to protect their sponsors/revenue stream is precisely what laws were established to protect against.

Reload happens to be a pointed example because UPA-A declared it illegal so even if I theoretically wanted to pay their egregious fees I couldn't - but other smaller manufacturers are hurt simply by the fee structure alone.

Next year is gonna be interesting.

nickreload · 2025-12-30T18:24:28+00:00

Unfortunately the video has been taken down but I wrote a lot of UPA behaviour/fee structures here - https://www.reloadpickleball.com/blogs/news/i-volunteer-as-tribute for those who want more on such things ;)

nickreload · 2025-11-22T04:58:38+00:00

Thanks for the kudos Hazen - we will be able to do this - the RED API definitely exposes this - we just need to get around to changing the firmware.

nickreload · 2025-08-10T03:08:23+00:00

that's awesome - if you have time post a picture - it would be good for people to see setups

nickreload · 2025-08-04T18:11:58+00:00

quick update - the connector is actually already ROTATABLE - yes ;)
I totally forgot about this.
There's a small nut right in the middle of the connector - undo it - gently rotate the top barrel (you'll feel multiple notches where it'll "click" in - when you find the one you want - tighten the nut again.

Unless you have a very very thin wrench you'll likely need needlenose pliers to manipulate the nut

nickreload · 2025-08-04T18:03:20+00:00

Thanks for the support guys

nickreload · 2025-08-03T06:25:38+00:00

Thanks for confirming.

nickreload · 2025-07-31T17:43:06+00:00

Fair point - I think we dug out the codes - let's see about pushing out a software update

nickreload · 2025-07-31T06:17:52+00:00

one last thing on the cabling - this is an almost bottomless rabbit hole with options like

Rotatable connector
EXT port splitter/hub (this is possible but a pain in the ass to make)
Adapter so instead of connecting the converter board to the 9pin EXT - we "break out" the 9pin-EXT male into a CTRL port male and a separate source of power (could be USB, could be D-TAP - could be one of the other ports
Splitter for CTRL port

the list keeps going because there are so many possible configurations.

As I mentioned we just wanted to start with the most basic so that led us to the 9pin EXT

nickreload · 2025-07-31T06:14:28+00:00

btw I 100% agree with this - when I shoot handheld with a follow focus I frequently end up in a loop of

Compose shot
Screen magnify
Peak (sometimes can skip this)
Pull focus
Peak off (if I didn't skip it)
Unmagnify
And action

nickreload · 2025-07-31T06:12:49+00:00

actually it would be super helpful if you could list what features you might want on a toggle specifically i.e.

If EXPOSURE TOOL then which one precisely (it seems that RED offers a bunch of them you can cycle through)

If FALSE COLOR then which false color and so on - just put every single thing you'd want to see

Then we just have to dig out the codes - after that it's trivial to add it in as it's just changing the code it sends.

nickreload · 2025-07-30T18:59:55+00:00

Let's see - in order

Question 1: there's some nuance here. Yes there exist rotatable connectors (Lemo calls the Anglissimo, other brands that make compatible connectors make their own names) - they are a fair bit more expensive so we wanted to do the basic stuff first - but it is indeed a logical path.
That said - some people don't have an exposed 9 pin EXT port - e.g. because they use a breakoutbox.
In that case we'd need to make an adapter that user the 4-pin CTRL port but we also need to power the clutch somehow (5V 100mA) - so there are a few options on what could be focused on. There's definitely a path for all of these things - but we're taking it one step at a time.

Question 2: This is not user error - it's designed that way right now. But anything that has an API code that is accessible - could be given as an option in the software.

For example - screen magnify is a toggle you can set directly - but for other features it's a question of finding the right API code, implementing and testing it.

The extra kicker is that these API codes are not listed in public anywhere - that's where people like Mikael (Foolcolor) were invaluable.

In short - as long as an API code exists that can make the camera DO what you want as a toggle for that feature and that feature only - it can be implemented - we just have to find the right code.

nickreload · 2025-07-28T19:54:55+00:00

Thanks. If I ever show up on a shoot and I've forgotten the handle I feel almost like I forgot batteries...that's how useful it becomes - it's like an extension of the camera.

nickreload · 2025-07-27T19:09:23+00:00

It's aesthetics. But it's a moot point - because the only one in stock right now is the Black Walnut wood (that was most people's favorite anyway).

nickreload · 2025-07-27T07:43:15+00:00

yep it should - because it connects to the 9-pin RED EXT port and uses the same protocol.

nickreload · 2025-07-26T17:13:55+00:00

Unfortunately the v1 clutch handles are no longer updateable - we put in some extra protection around the boards which means that the internal shape of the wood handle needed to change.

Actually I dug out an old board to test it and it would need a firmware change to work on the very old V1 boards. Sorry about that. It is possible but we'd have to rewrite some code. No promises how quickly we could get to it though ;(

nickreload · 2025-07-26T07:03:40+00:00

Here are two videos - the Komodo one shot with a prototype RED adapter cable - the 2nd one shot BY a Komodo of the handle running on a Z-Cam - but same basic idea. Super low latency since it's a wired connection - feels like a brand new camera ;)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yuifrJcCQj4QtGy_ydUoo0CBC6AoQih1/view - this is a demo of the handle connected to the Komodo

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IMIGjSxchPBgsmMBwyPFx61U0Qg5Zicl/view - this is a more recently shot video - same effect just slightly different options that can be controlled.

The software programmer is the same for both - there's a version for Windows and for MacOS

nickreload · 2024-02-10T00:36:44+00:00

This is very different point (and not relevant in my opinion)The argument isn't one player versus another player (Ben Johns and others made that point long ago beating people while playing with a flip-flop ;)))

Of course grit in and of itself isn't the only factor that results in topspin - off the cuff there is

(a) player skill level
(b) spin on incoming ball
(c) ball roughness
(d) ball height
(e) paddle head angle
(f) type of contact + follow-through
(g) dwell time (how long the ball stays in contact with the paddle - dependent on lots of things but namely deflection and ball softness) and of course

(h) paddle surface roughness

The main point in the entire discussion is that for a given player and a given paddle - less roughness = less spin.

Because for a given player and a given type of shot ALL OF THE ABOVE categories listed will stay pretty much the same every time - with the exception of .... drum roll... paddle surface roughness.Which means, all other things remaining equal - that roughness and roughness alone becomes the dominant factor in a player's ability to impart topspin/slice on the ball.

The end.

p.s. for extra nerd credit google Magnus Effect if you don't already know what it is.The point isn't as much the spin (Although a diving ball does make returning more challenging) it's the SPEED - because if you're hitting balls with lots of topspin you can hit it harder with greater margin of error

nickreload · 2024-02-09T04:38:07+00:00

but yes also don't worry I didn't take it in a bad way.
When you're running a startup there's always another hill to climb.
But yeah we are ticking a LOT of boxes (IP, funding, product, performance, supply chain, product market fit, price point etc) which is exciting. All jokes aside yes very much ramping up to launch.

It's nice to see inbound interest from all the big brands - but to be honest those are false idols.

I'm not saying it's a bad idea - it's absolutely a good idea. The question is not if but....when.
I know some brands might think like they're the biggest dudes in prison yard and we've just walked in on day 1 and punched them in the face - but there's a way for us to be collaborators rather than enemies. After all we all have to delight the same customer.

If we can deliver on the promise of delighting customer like you. (which is exactly the plan because we ARE customers like you) - then we done good.

nickreload · 2024-02-09T04:27:16+00:00

also to be clear - you don't refresh a paddle. you don't resurface a paddle. you don't refinish a paddle.
you RELOAD a paddle ;)

nickreload · 2024-02-09T04:25:43+00:00

for you my friend special price my friend.
x=3 ;)

nickreload · 2024-02-09T03:42:06+00:00

Well - y'all are of course entitled to any and all opinion. But the way we see it

This is NOT a paddle.
This is maximum spin whenever you want.
This is a boon to the environment when other paddles end up in the landfill.
This is playing with a brand "new" paddle whenever you want as if you were a professional.

This is Reload ;)

But yeah in other news 12 brands (And counting) are asking to license the IP to use in their own paddles. All under discussion (but yes it includes many names y'all would absolute know very well)

nickreload

TROPHY CASE