Nox JMA 16 First Impressions

Youtube Video Link: https://youtu.be/ZA3_ylWmFe8

Hey guys, today we're doing some first hits with the JMA 16 Paddle from Nox. 

So Nox is a big company in Padel and they're looking to make a splash onto the Pickleball market as well. They've signed a few pros and they have performance paddles certified for both USAP and UPA play. The one I received to cover is the JMA 16 which is the 16mm hybrid paddle in their X-Foam series. It features a carbon fiber surface and a foam core which they call X-foam and while they haven’t spoken too much about the foam they’re using, I know it’s a variation of a floating foam core in the diving board style so the additional layer of foam only covers the top half of the paddle and doesn’t go all the way around. For the metrics we got a swingweight of 109 and a twistweight of 6.80 which is a pretty light swingweight with a high forgiveness rating

But let's talk about how this paddle plays. 

For first impressions, this is a poppy paddle. The ball comes off the face quicker than other paddles and it falls into the category where it has more pop than it does power. Counters felt really crisp and fast making my hands deadly at the kitchen line while drives were still solid but not at the power levels of counters and punch volleys. I would say with some weight added to help with the plow through on drives, the JMA 16 is above average in the power paddle category

The feel itself isn't as stiff as you think for being a paddle with high pop. It still retains a good feel to it where most of the other playtesters with me felt that they could still dial in the softgame pretty well but could also feel the sharp pop it has in firefights.

Personally I wasn’t a big fan of this shape as it does have a shorter 5 inch handle and curved hybrids aren’t my favorite but they do have an elongated 14 and 16mm option that I’ve heard good things about and think I would enjoy more. But overall a solid foam power paddle offering from Nox and I’m curious to see how much of the pickleball market they can take over

NOX Code: DMVPBALL https://noxsportusa.com?sca_ref=10858446.ydQ5gfus33