About
About
John Kew
I test pickleball paddles the way a lab would, on the same equipment, the same way, every time, and I answer to you, not the brands.
PhD archaeologist by training. I bring the same material science and statistics to paddles that I once brought to prehistoric stone tools.
Before pickleball, I was an archaeologist. I earned my PhD from Southern Methodist University in 2003 and spent years as a Paleolithic specialist analyzing prehistoric stone tools, which is really applied material science: measuring how a material fractures and wears, and using statistics to tell a real pattern from noise across large samples. It turns out that studying how a stone edge holds up under use is not far from studying how a paddle face holds its spin. The habits carried straight over. Measure everything, test it the same way every time, compare against a large reference collection, and let the data tell the story.
So when I turned that lens on pickleball, the problem was obvious. Most paddle reviews come down to one person's feel on one afternoon, and too many are shaped by who paid for placement. I built this site to do the opposite. Every paddle I cover is measured on the same instruments, under the same protocol, and scored against hundreds of others, so that when I say one paddle spins more or hits harder than another, there is a number behind it and you can check my work.
How I test every paddle
The goal is simple: make paddles directly comparable instead of trusting spec sheets and marketing. Here is what goes into each one.
Firepower (KewCOR)
My ball-cannon measurement of how much energy a paddle returns on contact, mapped across the face, so power is a measured number rather than a label.
Spin, on radar
Spin RPM recorded on a Stalker Pro 3s radar gun off a real swing, then tiered so you can see Elite from Good at a glance.
Spin durability
An accelerated wear test with the ball cannon and a Freefly Wave high-speed camera, because the spin that matters is the spin still there months later, not on day one.
Weight and balance, measured
Swing weight, twist weight, and balance point measured dynamically, since those shape how a paddle actually plays far more than the number on a scale.
Inside the paddle
X-ray and dissection to show the real core and face construction, not the brochure version, feeding the Radiology Lab.
Scored against the field
Every metric is turned into a Z-score against hundreds of paddles and placed on my Feel Map, so a rating means something relative to the whole market.
Independence and integrity
This only works if you can trust it, so a few things never change. Brands do not pay for placement or for where a paddle lands in my data, and a paddle is tested exactly the same way whether or not the company sent it. When something underperforms or is overpriced, I say so, even when it is a paddle from a company I work with. And every affiliate link is disclosed plainly: if you buy through my code I earn a commission that helps support the website, and it never changes a test result or a ranking. I would rather send you to a cheaper paddle that is right for you than talk you into an expensive one that is not.
What you will find here
Everything on this site is built to help you choose gear with real information instead of hype:
Plus in-depth video reviews, early First Hits on new releases, and the occasional deep investigation when a story in the paddle world deserves a closer, evidence-based look.
Start with the data. Browse the paddle database to compare hundreds of paddles on spin, power, and durability, or jump into the head-to-head matchups to settle a specific decision.