Review of the Vatic V7

If you are interested in purchasing a paddle at a discount, use this link:

https://vaticpro.com?sca_ref=3361890.s4CsK5dJII

UPDATE

Normally when I review paddles I go through a number of drills to see how they perform. Yesterday, I used my Vatic V7 in a doubles match. One of the players on the other side was a big guy who had a very fast serve with a lot of side spin. We were down 7-0 before we knew it. I changed up tactics and, on return of serve, opened my paddle face a bit and pushed the ball back to him. It went very deep with either side spin or underspin (depending on how I held the paddle). It turned out that his serve was his only game and the return of serve bothered him. When serving, I hit soft side spin serves to him and drives to his partner. We won 11-9. I might have been able to do the same with one of my other paddles, but I can attest to the fact that the V7 enables great spin shots.

If it looks like a Joola, and plays like a Joola, it must be as expensive as a Joola.

NOT TRUE!

You may know that Joola went after the Legacy Pro because its logo was close to theirs. According to rumors, they were about to go after Vatic, so Vatic changed their logo. I don’t know if that is true, but let’s look at the logos.

This is the old Vatic Logo

This is the Joola Logo

Not the same, but (according to rumor) close enough for Joola.

So, this is the new Vatic Logo

Anyway, I have had the opportunity to test the Vatic V7. First, the specs:

  • Surface – Raw TORAY T700 Carbon Fiber with heat compressed texturing
  • Foam Injected Walls for an increased sweet spot and added control
  • Thermo-formed edges and a Unibody Construction
  • Average Weight – 8.1-8.3 oz
  • Total Length – 16.5 Inches
  • Width – 7.5 Inches
  • Grip Circumference – 4.25 Inches
  • Grip Length – 5.3 Inches (elongated for 2-hand backhands)
  • Grip has 2 Ethylene Vinyl Acetate inserts to absorb shock and help with tennis elbow
  • Core – Optimized C7 Polymers and high-grade performance Honeycomb
  • Core Thickness – 16mm
  • Edge Guard: Anti-Abrasion TPU

I have already defined T700 carbon fiber in another post, but what is heat compressed texturing?

Well, below is a picture of the machinery that makes textured T700 carbon.

And this is what textured T700 carbon looks like close up.

So, the V7 surface, when examined close up, looks like the weave shown above. More on that later.

Then, what is TPU filament? It is a filament that is resistant to abrasion, oil, chemical and wearing. Great for a pickleball paddle.

PERFORMANCE

Dinking

This paddle is soft and quiet, and is excellent for dinking

Serving/ground strokes

This is a powerful paddle – which means, in my opinion, it is not intended for beginners. You must have good control to use this paddle and, if you do, you can hit very strong ground strokes. If you want more power, and think you have good control, this is a paddle for you.

Volleying

Because of its light weight, I can take a pretty good two-handed volley stroke with the V7.

Two-handed ground strokes

The longer handle makes it perfect for anyone with a two-handed backhand (and a two-handed backhand dink, which is what I use now).

Spin

I was able to put BIG spin on my serves. I think it is because of the weaved surface.

PRICE

In my opinion, the V7 plays as well as the Joola but costs a lot less. There is no reason to spend more than you have to.