I recently tested the Holbrook Mav Pro E paddle from Holbrook Pickleball. The great thing about testing paddles is that you can learn something about paddle construction, which I think is important. My review follows the specifications section.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Weight – 8.0 ounces
Paddle Length – 16.5 inches (a bit longer than most)
Paddle Width – 7.5 inches
Grip Length – 4.75 inches
Grip Circumference – 4.25 inches
Thickness – 16 mm (optional 13 mm)
Paddle Surface – Force Field 3k Carbon Fiber (more about this later)
Paddle Core – Dual Reactive Polypropylene Honeycomb
Paddle Edge – Foam injected
Paddle Handle – “Specialized Comfort Grip”
COMMENTS:
At first I thought the handle would be too short for a two-handed backhand. That turned out not to be the case. I think the longer paddle face created an optical illusion.
What is Force Field 3k Carbon Fiber? (This is going to get technical) Well, here is something new I learned (and it would be great if other manufacturers included this type of information in their specs). You may have heard about 3K and 12K carbon fiber (also 1K, 2K, 6K, 24K and so on). Carbon fiber is supplied in the form of a continuous “tow” wound onto a reel. The tow is a bundle of thousands of continuous individual carbon filaments, held together and protected by an organic coating. 12K means there are 12,000 filaments per “tow”, 3K means there are 3000. 3K carbon fiber is the most popular, most common carbon fiber. (My understanding is that whitewater kayak paddles, VERY tough paddles, are made from 3K carbon fiber).
Dual Reactive Polypropylene: No way am I going to try to explain this, other than to say that this material is used in surgical meshes – something you don’t want to disintegrate. So, let’s just say that it is tough.
PERFORMANCE:
Feel/performance on dinking – Very soft feel and accurate dinking.
Performance on ground strokes – I was able to hit deep forehands and two-handed backhands with excellent top spin. I think, however, that the best feature of his paddle is its accuracy. I set up targets for my serve and was able to hit/get close on most of them.
Performance on volleying – It took me a while to get accustomed to the longer length, but once I did, I found volleying to be easy.
The manufacturer says that the paddle provides “control finesse and sharpens cutting spin”. The grit on the surface is intense, and getting big spin was quite easy.
BOTTOM LINE:
I think this paddle is suited for control play, not necessarily power play. But, after all, that’s what you want most of the time.
It’s a great paddle at a reasonable price.
You can purchase it here: https://holbrookpickleball.com/collections/pro-series-paddles/products/mav-pro-e
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