Fall Paddle Reviews: 2025 Edition

Hey guys, the past few months have been a bit busy for me and I haven't gotten to play too much pickleball due to travel but I did want to go over the experiences I have had with a few of the notable releases this fall. We're going to go over the Pickleball Apes Charm, Six Zero Opal, Enhance Duo, F+B Runout, and the Warping Point Phoenix. Let's get into it.

All right, let's talk about the F+B Runout, a US made paddle that Justin from Pickleball Etc had a hand in developing. From what I understand, the construction of this paddle doesn't fit into a particular "gen" category. I believe it's technically not a thermoformed paddle but it does use foam in certain areas similar to a C45. This comes with a 12.7mm core thickness and in the 3 big shapes, but I've only received the elongated one so we'll only be covering that one today. This has a 5.5 inch handle and a sw of 116 and a tw of 6.35. These are pretty good numbers for a 12.7 paddle giving it some room for customization but also some pretty solid stock measurements. What's unique is that the Runout is encased in this carbon fiber frame which gives it a unique feel but also helps out the base measurements. Compared to other thinner US paddles like the Engage MX and the Paddletek bantam tko. The Runout noticeably has more forgiveness on off center shots and a better sweet spot. The feel isn't as crisp but it has a more solid feel from the carbon fiber frame. I did end up adding some more weight onto this since although it does have an above average forgiveness rating for its thickness, it still isn't as good as a 16mm paddle so I ended up doing 3 inch tuning tape strips at the 3 and 9 positions. For firepower, this is more in the all court category, it's not going to be as powerful as a paddletek but it sits a step lower at the higher all court area.

Overall this is a solid first paddle from F+B. They use a unique construction and have made a pretty good all court paddle with a thinner core that gives a solid feel with more forgiveness compared to other US made paddles. It has features of a thinner paddle like being more maneuverable and poppier, but also gives more dense contact and higher forgiveness.

I wouldn't say it's necessarily better than the paddleteks or engages because it does lack their firepower and doesn't have the crisp response some people may look for, but rather its a different paddle that’s its own entity. Though at $200 it's definitely a more affordable US made all court style paddle that is worth checking out.

Next let's talk about the Pickleball Apes Charm. This is a new foam paddle from Apes that actually uses a different construction from other popular gen 4 paddles. l’ve thrown an image on the screen but you can see the horizontal cuts that go across the paddle and how it looks different from the typical floating epp layup. This comes in the same 3 shapes the Harmony did so the elongated X, the Hybrid S, and the standard V. For the measurements we got 122 and 6.35 for the X, 116 and 6.45 for the S, and 7.35 and 11 for the V. I thought this would be the first true power paddle from Apes but the Charm falls more in the All Court category. In stock form, I found the firepower to be very similar to their previous Harmony series, but the difference is in the feel. The Charm has more flex and dwell giving it a softer feedback response while the Harmony felt stiffer and a bit lighter. While most Gen 4 paddles these days have opted to be stiffer and higher on the firepower scale, the Charm has a softer all court feel where I would say it's kind of like an in between of the Crbn TruFoam Waves and the Honolulu FC+. It's got more flex and a softer feel than the FC+ but not as much as a Waves. The sweetspot and stability I also found to be in between the two. Across the board the Charm series doesn't have the best sweet spot, off center shots really die off. This is most noticeable on the elongated X which has the most flex out of the 3 shapes though it was also the more unforgiving one compared to the other two. While weight did help with the S and V shapes, the X I found to be on the heavier end with a swingweight of 122 so it was tough to modify this even more. This is a similar issue I found with the CRBN 1 and 3 shapes though I do think in stock form the Charm series as a whole has better sweetspots than the TruFoams.

Overall it's a solid all court option from Pickleball Apes bringing new construction and a unique feel to the Gen 4 market. It's basically a slightly better version of the Crbn TruFoams and I personally would recommend the Charm over the Crbns to people who are looking for that flex and dwell but with more forgiveness, though if you were expecting a performance power paddle from pickleball apes, this unfortunately won't be it.

Another foam paddle with a unique construction is going to be the Enhance Duo. Enhance has already come out with a foam paddle before in the Gen 4.5 but now with the Duo, they've made their first performance power paddle. They are planning on having this in the hybrid and standard shapes too but for the time being they only released the elongated shape. Mine came with a swingweight 121 of and a twistweight 6.45 of which leans a bit towards the heavier end. I've got a cutout of the core here but unlike several other popular foam paddles, this actually isn’t a floating core.

Now in terms of how this core plays, it's denser and more solid compared to the floating epp cores. While paddles like the Loco and Quanta feel more crisp, the Duo has this dense springier feel to it which makes shots easier to control. It’s similar to the Vatic V-Sol Powers though I find the Duo to have a better sweetspot and a fuller feel. For firepower, drives and serves from the baseline are top tier but I do have to note that I have a heavier swingweight Duo which does contribute to the higher power I feel compared to others. Pop on the Duo isn’t as high though which lowers its overall firepower score. It absorbs the impact of the ball a bit better compared to the floating EPP core paddles making it easier to control on softer shots. 

I would say this is a more forgiving power paddle and what someone would look for if they wanted a step up in power above the J6FC+ but a similar feel profile. I do think when Enhance does release the other two shapes, this is going to be a series to keep an eye out for. Out of all the fall releases this is my favorite one and it's definitely a paddle to check out. 

Next up let's talk about the Six Zero Opal. This is going to come in their signature hybrid shape but with a 14mm core thickness and a gen 4 construction. The Opal has several new tech that Six Zero has been working on that I got to see firsthand when I visited their factory this summer in China. We saw most of these in the Ruby Pro already such as the new power gel adhesive that connects the face to the core, as well as the diamond tough surface to prolong grit durability. But the main difference between this and the Ruby Pro is with the core material. With the Opal, Six Zero uses a new proprietary foam instead of honeycomb. This foam is a bit denser than other EPP foam paddles I've tried, which is why Six Zero opted to use a thinner 14mm core rather than the standard 16mm, as the SW is 114 and tw is 6.20 in stock form.

In terms of how this plays, I was pretty surprised by this. Admittedly I was a bit worried about Six Zero as it's been almost 2 years since they've come out with a relevant paddle. While they've been doing R&D, many other great foam paddles have already been released like the Boomstik, Loco, V-Sol Pros, and Quantas. If Six Zero had come out with something that was similar to any of those earlier releases, it would have been very underwhelming, but they managed to make something different in the foam space. The Opal has a very dense and muted feel that reminds me a lot of the Gearbox GX2 powers but on steroids. Most power paddles generally have stiffer impact feels with the Gearbox GX2 power being the biggest exception. Now the Opal has an even more muted feel with more power. It doesn't have the hollow feedback of the Gearbox and instead it has this very solid feel to it. I describe the Opal's impact feel as hitting the ball with an object that's heavier and larger than what you are actually hitting the ball with because of how substantial the feel is.

It's interesting for sure and something not commonly seen in power paddles so I was pretty impressed that Six Zero still managed to do something different in the space. For overall firepower this is definitely top tier. Out of the box the power is pretty high but I did find with a bit more use the power did go up a bit more where it's the hardest hitting hybrid power paddle right now. The sweet spot and stability though are the drawbacks. While weight does improve this a bit, compared to other hybrid paddles, the sweet spot wasn't the biggest here. On top of that, off center shots seemed to die off very fast which overall makes this a more difficult paddle to use.

The Opal is an interesting paddle, it's got a unique feel that some may really enjoy and it's power is great for those who prefer shortened strokes in their game but it's more of an advanced paddle in my opinion and for a smaller audience but I do applaud its uniqueness

Last paddle we'll talk about is going to be the Warping Point Phoenix. This is an elongated Gen 3 paddle with a 5.6 inch handle that's actually the signature paddle from Tina Pisnik so it is UPA approved. It comes in 16 or 13.3mm core thickness options but I only received the thinner variant so that's the one we'll be discussing. From what I understand, this uses Gen 3 construction similar to their Neon paddle so it's got that thicker eva foam ring that goes around the whole paddle similar to their neon and the 11six24 powers. For a thinner paddle this surprisingly came heavier in stock form. A swingweight of 118 and a tw of 6.4 which are numbers you usually see on a thicker 16mm paddle. The numbers are a bit higher so there's definitely internal weighting that's been done on the paddle to make it usable out of the box. Typically thinner paddles are lighter and you have to add your own weighting but with the Phoenix, Warping point has made it so it's got a weight setup that Tina Pisnik likely prefers so it's already pre weighted. Some people may appreciate this but some may also prefer customizing their own, and the heavier stock form of this paddle does give you less room to add your own weight.

In terms of how it plays, it kind of is what you would expect of a weighted up Gen 3. While still having the stiff feel of a 13.3mm, it's a bit more solid and denser from the added weight making it more controllable than other thinner paddles. There's not much dwell on this paddle and the ball shoots off pretty fast on contact. Overall firepower is solid and firmly in the power category. It plays like a heavier and denser Chorus phoenix so overall an upgrade to the Paddletek TKOS in having more firepower, better feel, and a better sweetspot.

At $220 before a discount code it's decently priced and a viable option for people who want a thinner paddle with a solid crisp response that's usable out of the box.