Pickleball Apes Joy & Enhance Turbos
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_-3qP3MR8E
Hey guys, today we're taking a look at some new $100 budget foam options. Previously the Ronbus Quantas and Vatic V-Sols have dominated this space but we've got two new contenders here with the Enhance Turbos and the Pickleball Apes Joys. Let's see how they compare.
Starting off let's talk about the Pickleball Apes Joy paddles. So this uses a new variation of their diced core design. It's their high density foam surrounded by an EVA ring, similar to their previous Charm series but the Joy instead uses circular incisions instead of the horizontal ones in the Charm. Right now this only comes in 2 shapes, the S which is a slightly longer but skinnier hybrid shape that's the same as the previous series's S shapes, and the S+ which is their new 16.2 by 7.8 hybrid. Both have 5.75 inch handles and feature a surface blend of KFC so carbon fiber on the bottom, fiberglass in the middle, and kevlar on top.
In terms of how they play, I had a different experience between the two shapes. Let’s start with the S which was the one I didn’t enjoy as much. For metrics we got 6.55 for the twistweight and 110 for the swingweight so it is a bit on the lighter side and it’s a paddle I do recommend adding weight onto because in stock form I thought the sweetspot was well below average. Compared to the other hybrid paddles I hit in the session, I had a tough time with my shots, especially when blocking fast drives. I experimented with some Pickle Clips at 3 and 9 which did help but I do think even with weight, I didn’t find the forgiveness to be on the level as other foam paddles. There’s a noticeable difference when you hit the center of the paddle vs anything slightly off center because that area has a pleasant feedback and it feels more solid and muted while other areas of the paddle feel stiffer and a bit jarring. The paddle does take some time to soften up as out of the box it is quite stiff but with some play, the S does get more plush.
The S+ on the other hand I found to have a better feel. For metrics it has a swingweight of 111 and a twistweight of 7.00. I do think with its shorter and wider dimensions, the diced core design works better here. It felt more stable on shots and even without weight I thought this paddle performed fine. Overall across the face the S+ did feel more plush out of the box and I felt the improvement in the sweetspot the moment I switched off from the S.
In terms of the firepower for both models, I would place both of these in the all court category which I do think is a bit strange considering that the Charm is already their all court foam line. The Joys basically play like the Charms but with a slight stiff feel from the middle fiberglass layer. The Joy S I felt was a stiffer feeling Charm S with a worse sweet spot while the S+ I thought was solid and something I would take over the Charm S.
At $100 I think the S+ is a solid hybrid all court option but again it’s interesting that their new line kind of undercuts their Charm series though I do applaud Apes for experimenting with the core design here.
Moving on let's talk about the Enhance Turbos. We've talked about the EPP briefly before but these are going to be floating EPP foam core paddles with a CFC surface so basically the same layout and construction as the Bread & Butter Locos. In terms of the feel, the two paddle series are going to be very similar. They both have high levels of pop and power but I would give the slight edge here to the Locos. The feel isn't exactly 1 to 1 with the Locos having a little more of a denser and plush feel with a bigger contrast between the carbon fiber and fiberglass while the Turbo EPPs feel a bit lighter in comparison and have a more consistent stiffer feel overall. It's not a big difference but it is a noticeable one where you can tell the two paddles aren't the same when you hit them side by side. Overall the two EPP paddles I would classify as stiff and poppy power paddles but they just have minor differences in the feel.
But like I mentioned in my previous video, the biggest differentiator is going to be the shapes. For the standard, we do see a more squared off shape compared to the Loco Widebody. The handle is advertised as 5.5 inches but the throat does have a wider taper than the Loco so you actually get a bit less usable length than the 5.3 advertised on the Loco. For metrics, we see a swingweight of 110 and 7.20. In terms of differences I noticed in gameplay, the balance on the Turbo felt a tad bit lower and I could feel the shorter handle length so it’s really personal preference here depending on the shape. I personally liked the Loco S shape better but I can see there being a market for people that would prefer the Turbo.
For the hybrid, I was able to get my hands on a new one which had different metrics from the former one I shot the previous video on. The twistweight went from 6.15 to 6.85 while the swingweight went from 107 to 113 so this explains why I thought the previous one felt like a Quanta more than a Loco and I think I just had an outlier for the last one. The main difference in the shapes here are the extra long 5.9 inch handle on the Turbo vs the regular 5.3 inch handle on the Loco. The hybrid Turbo plays the poppiest out of the 3 shapes. It’s the loudest and higher pitched with the liveliest surface but personally I do wish they went with a regular handle length. It is nice to have this long handle option because it is unique compared to other paddles. It reminds me of the old Speedup paddles that launched with extra long handles and you can feel the extra leverage you get on shots requiring a lot of wrist but I do think it does target a smaller market. I have heard that they are coming out with a regular handle hybrid shape which would be a smart move as it would instantly be an easy recommendation over the Loco H but as of now I personally give the edge here to the Loco again though I will say the Turbo Hybrid is still a solid shape and its more unique.
Meanwhile for the elongated, the Turbo is basically the same shape as the Loco E. But metrics wise, my Turbo came with a swingweight of 118 and a twistweight of 6.4 which is lower than both the Loco Es I own which have swingweights of 120 and 122. Maneuverability wise, both my MPP and EPP elongated Turbos have more manageable swingweights than the Loco and I do think the EPP Turbo is going to be the most appealing of the 3 shapes. Again it's not quite the same feel as the Loco, but Enhance has made it so their elongated paddles are a bit lighter which will appeal to more people that are turned off by the head heaviness of the Loco E and on top of that, the Turbo is around $80 cheaper after a discount code.
Now let's talk about the MPP Turbo which is basically the same construction as the other Turbo except with a MPP instead of EPP foam core. For metrics we got a swingweight of 115 and a twistweight of 6.25. Previously I’ve disliked MPP paddles because of my experience with my original stiff Inferno and the Ronbus Refoams, but with the release of the updated Inferno and Aireo Cyclone, my view on MPP paddles has started to change.
For the Turbo MPP, I ended up enjoying this over the EPP variant. It has a deeper hollow sound that I’ve seen people describe as “thonky” but it has a denser and more pleasant feedback than the EPP which has a stiffer ball feel. With the MPP you can feel the paddle pocket the ball a bit more. Firepower wise it’s a bit tough to tell but I would give the slight edge here to the EPP variant. I ended up bringing out my new Inferno and Aireo Cyclone to playtest against the Turbo. Of the three, the Turbo was the stiffest feeling but it had the least firepower. The Inferno felt the most solid and dense and I ranked #2 in fire power while the Cyclone hit the hardest and felt a bit stiffer than the Inferno but more plush than the Turbo. All three felt similar for forgiveness and spin generation. The Turbo is more affordable than the other two and doesn’t lose out for performance, it just has a little bit of a stiffer feedback but overall it still does feel like a quality MPP paddle like the other two.
All right so Apes and Enhance have brought some solid releases into the $100 foam market. My recommendations are going to be the Joy S+ which is the best all court foam option at its price point right now, the Turbo EPP elongated which is a more affordable Loco clone, and the Turbo MPP which is the most affordable MPP foam paddle on the market.
