Walk into any UK session and you’ll see £25 paddles beating £250 paddles. The paddle matters less than beginners fear and more than they can tell. Here’s how to pick without wasting money.
A note on this guide: it’s a choosing guide. We only publish ranked “best paddle” lists once products have been through our testing process: no scores without play time.
The three questions that pick your paddle
1. What core thickness?
The number quoted on every paddle (14mm, 16mm) is the honeycomb core’s depth, and it’s the biggest single difference you’ll feel:
- 16mm: control. Absorbs pace, keeps dinks down, forgives off-centre hits. The right default for almost everyone.
- 14mm: power. Livelier off the face, better for drives and put-aways, less forgiving in the soft game.
- Thinner than 14mm exists and is a specialist power choice; ignore it for now.
2. What face material?
- Fibreglass: lively and cheap; what most sub-£60 paddles use. Fine to learn on.
- Carbon fibre: stiffer and more controlled; the £80–£150 sweet spot.
- Raw (unpainted) carbon: maximum spin grip on the ball; standard on performance paddles £120+.
3. What shape?
- Standard (roughly 40.6 × 20.3cm): balanced sweet spot; the safe pick.
- Elongated: longer and narrower for reach and power; the sweet spot sits higher and smaller.
- Widebody: extra forgiveness for brand-new players.
Weight and grip, briefly
Most paddles weigh 210–240g. Lighter is quicker at the net and kinder to tennis elbow sufferers when balanced well; heavier drives through the ball. If you’re between grip sizes, go smaller and build it up with an overgrip; you can’t shrink a big handle.
UK price bands: what money actually buys
| Band | What you get | Who it’s for |
|---|---|---|
| Under £50 | Fibreglass face, basic core, sometimes sold as a set with balls | First sessions, family spares |
| £50–£100 | Carbon faces appear, proper cores, honest performance | The best value band for regular players |
| £100–£180 | Raw carbon, thermoformed builds, real spin | Improvers who know their preference |
| £180+ | Pro-endorsed flagships | Marginal gains, lovely feel, not beginner money |
Buying in the UK (read before importing)
UK stock has improved massively: specialist pickleball retailers, the big racket-sport shops and Amazon UK carry most major brands (Joola, Selkirk, Franklin, HEAD and a growing list of direct-to-consumer names). Two warnings from hard experience:
- Import maths. A “$120” US paddle becomes £120+ after 20% import VAT, courier handling fees and delivery, and warranty returns cross the Atlantic at your expense. If a UK retailer stocks it, the sticker premium usually beats the import gamble.
- Counterfeits. Marketplace listings at too-good prices for flagship paddles are frequently fake. Buy flagships from the brand or an authorised retailer.
Our shortcut recommendations
Until our tested rankings publish, the honest generic advice: a 16mm, standard-shape, carbon-faced paddle from a recognised brand in the £60–£120 band is the right buy for the vast majority of UK players, and borrowing a club paddle for your first three sessions is the right buy before that.
Try before you buy where you can: many venues with equipment hire stock several shapes, and club nights are full of players happy to lend a paddle for a game.