2026 Hybrid Comparison Part 1
Hey guys, today we're going to be taking a quick comparison on some new hybrid paddle releases in 2026. We've got the 11Six24 Vapor 2, Spartus P1, Gherkin Draco, Chorus Coda, and the Flik F3 Triple Core, as well as some quick thoughts on the Enhance Turbo and the GRUVN MUVN 16-HD Full Foam. We'll be talking through each paddle with some gameplay on top but just a heads up, the gameplay is from the overall sessions so it may not perfectly match the paddle that is being discussed at the time of the video just because I am flying out for vacation soon and won't have time to perfectly synch everything up. But anyways, Let's get into it
Starting off let's take a look at Vapor 2. So construction wise we actually don't know the exact details of the Vapor 2 but my guess is that it is some sort of floating foam core construction with a CFC face layup. On top of that is their new Hex Grit texture which is their new durable grit technology to compete against things like perma grit and infinigrit. For the metrics we got 112 for the swingweight and 6.71 for the twistweight which does lean a bit towards the lighter end of the spectrum for a hybrid paddle.
The way it plays reminds me of the Spartus P1; both foam power paddles that have a slight hollow feedback that isn't quite as pronounced as the Loco or V-Sol Pros. Like the P1, I found the Vapor 2 to be a bit more muted compared to the other floating epp paddles but I would say you can feel the fiberglass better in the Vapor 2. With the P1 it's hard to tell that it's a CFC surface layer but with the Vapor 2, you can really feel the pop in the face more compared to the former. One more thing about the Vapor 2 is the unique shape; it's the same as the previous Vapors so it has this flatter top that tapers at the top two corners but the overall length is actually a little under 16.2 making it shorter than the majority of hybrid paddles which are generally in that 16.2 to 16.3 range.
In my opinion, this makes the Vapor shape more similar to a widebody with a higher balance, rather than a true hybrid. While the latter shape would be something like the Six Zero Double black diamond which plays more like an in between of an elongated and a widebody, the Vapor plays closer to a widebody which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Personally I enjoy this shape because I do enjoy widebody paddles and the lighter weight makes it easy to customize but it is something I did want to call out for those of you that were expecting a true hybrid paddle.
But anyways, overall I don't think the Vapor 2 played crazy different from existing foam power paddles. The Hex grit texture does feel rough to the touch and the paddle does have top tier spin but the play profile of the paddle is similar to some of the other floating epp paddles out there.
Let's talk the Spartus P1 next since this is the one I felt was the most similar to the Vapor 2. We know this one is a 16mm floating epp foam core with a CFC layup and their new permagrit texture on top. Numbers wise, this was actually the heaviest of all the hybrid paddles brought out with a swingweight of 118 and a twistweight of 6.95. In my experience, I believe the combination of the permagrit texture and its heavier stock weight gives it the densest feel out of the paddles. Even though there is fiberglass in the middle layer, you don't feel it as much as the other paddles that do have it and I do think that was one of the biggest differences in terms of feel between the Vapor 2 and the P1. We had mentioned this earlier but both are denser and less hollow feeling than most power paddles but with the Vapor 21 could feel the fiberglass layer better and overall it had more pop. Because the P1 is also heavier in stock form, this contributed to it having more power on drives so while the two paddles had a similar feel, the Vapor was higher pop than power while the P1 was higher power than pop. And of course the last difference is going to be in the shape. The P1 is that classic hybrid shape so it is going to be slightly longer.
Next up let's talk the Gherkin Draco. Construction wise it uses NCP foam instead of EPP, has a CFC surface, and a 16mm core thickness. Mine has a swingweight of 112 and a twistweight of 6.62 so it's similar in terms of metrics to the Vapor 2. The shape has some similarities as well with the Draco also having a flatter top but the Draco has a different slant on the corners and it's also slightly longer in length. Personally I really enjoy the shape of the Draco and it's my favorite one out of the hybrids just because it has the better forgiveness near the top of the paddle and doesn't sacrifice on length. Because the paddle comes pretty light in stock form, I do think it's one that does need weight to bring out its performance. For weight setup I've done a simple 3 grams at 9 and 3 but may consider testing out a 4 corner setup as well. With weight, this gives the paddle a power bump and more stability without sacrificing too much on hand speed.
After a slight break in period, the Draco does achieve high levels of power similar to a Bread & Butter Loco but it has less of the hollow feedback than the Vapor 2 and P1 and the overall feel is a bit lighter and stiffer than them as well. It's got less of a pocketing sensation than those paddles and the ball springs off quicker and overall it's the most powerful paddle on this list and top tier for power in the market. While it doesn't have the durable grit technology that the P1 and Vapor 2 have, I do think for its lower price point and different ball feel compared to the market, it still is a viable power paddle option to consider.
Moving on, let's talk about the Chorus Coda. This is similar to their previous HX shape but now there's no taper at the sides. It's a 16mm EPP foam core with a light eva foam ring and then a lighter PU foam edge around that. For the surface it's also CFC and for the metrics we got 112 again for swingweight and 6.63 for twistweight. I do enjoy the shape of the Coda, honestly the difference between the new H and their previous HX shape is basically negligible but overall this was my second favorite hybrid shape behind the Draco. I didn't have as much time with the Coda as the previous paddles but I found it to be the least powerful so far. I do think a lot of this is because I do need to put more hours into the paddle but I found it to be very stiff and solid feeling. The fiberglass didn't have that lively pop I saw more in the Vapor 2 and the Draco but instead it was a more consistent stiff feel in the face. Overall I do think it's a solid paddle that will likely feel better once I break it in more but for initial impressions, I do enjoy the H shape and the performance does seem promising once the stiff feel and power open up more.
Next we'll talk about the Flik F3 Triple Core. I talked briefly about the elongated variant last video but for the hybrid we got a swingweight of 115 and a twistweight of 6.5. It was the least powerful paddle of the week with a firepower that is comparable to a Six Zero Coral. Like the elongated version, this one has that denser foam feel and along with its lower power output, it was the easiest to control. This was actually the paddle I played the best with out of all the sessions and again, it's a solid all court contender against the Coral and Apes Charm S. It's a bit denser and more powerful than the other two and I'll likely look to add some weight on the sides to add some more power but I think this is going to be a great all court option for people to consider. I don't have too much to say on this one since I did cover the elongated one in a previous video but yea just a solid all court paddle
Moving on, let's do a quick first impression of the Enhance Turbo. This is their upcoming $100 foam paddle that comes in 3 shapes but I only hit the hybrid for a session. It's got a weird shape with an extra long handle and small paddle face and the length I believe is also a bit shorter overall. Honestly I didn't have high hopes for this paddle because I knew it would be very unstable and yea when I played with the paddle, I did not enjoy it. The feel reminded me a lot of the Ronbus Quantas, super hollow and light feeling with mediocre power. I did add some pickle clips mid play session but I do think this paddle will need much more weight than these 3 grams I put on each side. The sweet spot was small and the paddle felt unstable. I unfortunately was not a fan of this shape at all and thought the hybrid Turbo played like a worse version of the Quanta R4. The other two Turbo shapes have more normal dimensions and I'm guessing they'll play similarly to the Quantas but yea this hybrid one is not going to be one I recommend.
The last paddle is going to be the GRUVN-MUVN 16-HD Full foam so their foam core hybrid paddle. Again this will be a very quick first impression but I thought this was a solid high all court foam power paddle. Compared to the LAZR Full foam, this one is stiffer feeling but it's a step lower in overall firepower. It's stiffer and not as dense as the Flik F3 hybrid but it's a more stable and lower balance paddle with a touch of firepower over the F3 so another solid foam offering from GRUVN.
One last thing before we end this video, I wanted to talk about the J2CR. I do want to mention that I was recently informed that the J2 models I have are actually pre-production models. Apparently we were supposed to be sent a sheet telling us details on the paddles as well as a note that the J6CR was the only production model in the package. But my package didn't have this sheet unfortunately and I found this information out after I had done my playtesting. I did want to call this out because my previous paddles may be inaccurate on detailing how they play since they could be pre production models, and to also explain why the J2CRs were not included in this video.
