I recently had a good reason to weigh one of my paddles (the last one discussed). Based on what I found, I decided to weigh a few others. Note that not one of the paddles met its specs, except for one that had a lot of leeway built in. Another used the term “average” for its weight. I guess that counts as meeting the specs.
Here are the results.
The specs for the Prodrive say that it should weigh 8.5 ounces. This one weighed 8.6. I can live with that.
The specs for the Joola Swift state that it should be an “average” weight of 7.9 ounces. This one weighs 8.0 ounces. Again, I can live with that.
Selkirk Invicta midweight – 7.8oz – 8.4oz (not sure why there is a range). This one weighs 8.0 ounces.
Diadem Warrior. Specs say 8.5 ounces. This one weighs 8.4 ounces.
This is the Diadem Warrior Edge. Because I had shoulder surgery, I decided to learn how to play left-handed, and wanted a lighter paddle. I figured an 8-ounce paddle would be good. I could dink very well with the Edge, but could not get any drive on ground strokes. So I decided to weigh it. It was way off! I sent this photo to the Diadem warranty department and asked for a replacement and, to Diadem’s credit, they agreed.
So, why are the weights off? I can only guess it is because of sloppy manufacturing.
So, my opinion is that you should always weight a new paddle (or a paddle under warranty) to see if it meets (or comes close to) the stated specifications.
By the way, the scale I used is a kitchen scale.
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