Johnkew Newsletter · July 13, 2026 · 10 min read

Another $100 Durable Spin Contender

Three paddle giveaways, a new USAP regulation, and the PAKLE Fuse spin durability verdict, tested.

By John Kew. Independent, lab-tested, no pay-to-play.

Pickleball News

The Radiology Lab Is Live: X-Rays of 150+ Paddles

The website now has a dedicated Radiology Lab: paddle x-rays with side-by-side comparisons, zoomable views, core material breakdowns, and relative hardness scales for the foams and materials inside. The homepage also shows trending paddles based on views over the last 24 hours, week, and month, with the 11Six24 Ultré currently ranking first. It is the closest thing to seeing what is under the hood before you buy.

USAP Is Rolling Out Direct Spin Testing

Starting October 1, 2026, paddle legality will be decided by directly measuring spin output, with a limit of 2,100 RPM. The protocol clamps the paddle, fires a ball at 40 mph into a 30 degree paddle angle, and tracks the outgoing spin with a two camera system running around 1,500 frames per second.

• The SOP goes to manufacturers July 15.
• Paddles certified under the new standard appear on the approval list no earlier than October 21, 2026.
• The camera system and a specially marked test ball will be available to buy.
• Both USAP and UPA-A now align on 40 mph testing with a 2,100 RPM limit.

Volair Settles in the JOOLA Patent Case

Volair has settled with JOOLA in the Propulsion Core patent lawsuit, making it the third defendant to settle after Proton and Paddletek/ProXR. The Volair build shows the core-plus-EVA-plus-foam sequence only in a two inch strip at the neck, with the rest of the paddle built as bands within bands. Volair confirmed the settlement, which prompted a price drop on the Shift. The precedent keeps building in JOOLA's favor.

Giveaway

Three Rainbow Coral Pros, Plus a 1 of 10 Collector

Six Zero is releasing a limited edition rainbow colorway of the Coral Pro, giving away three units alongside a handmade Coral Pro, one of only 10 ever made with colored sparkles infused into the grit peel ply and diamond dust. The collector piece is hand finished at Six Zero's factory in Australia. To enter, follow the instructions on the Instagram post: follow Six Zero and John Kew, leave a comment, and tag a friend. If you want the full lab picture on this paddle first, here is my Six Zero Coral Pro review.

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X-ray

Paddles of the Week

PAKLE Fuse: The $100 Paddle Promising Durable Grit and Spin

The Fuse is 101 dollars after 15 percent off with code JOHNKEW, and it averaged 2,199 RPM fresh. It is a Trifusion core with an MPP center, a high rebound TPU foam band, and an EVA outer band, and it plays extremely stiff and hollow. The Duraspin surface is notably gritty, grit particles over unidirectional fiber, structurally closest to Selkirk's Infinigrit but grittier in hand. On court it is low and hollow sounding, with a massive sweet spot and a pocketing feel that reminds me of a tennis racket. Power matches the Luzz Inferno, and it is softer and more hollow than the Boomstik.

The durability verdict is the story. Controlled spin durability testing put the Fuse in Tier 4, over 20 percent spin loss, right alongside traditional raw carbon fiber paddles. That is accelerated lab testing with a ball cannon and a clamped paddle, so real world durability over time still needs watching, but the number is the number. I put it head to head with the Spartus in my Spartus Spitfire vs PAKLE Fuse matchup.

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Ronbus Tenon: The Soft, Dense One That Won Us Both Over

The Tenon launches Friday July 24 at 9 a.m. ET, at 149 dollars after 20 dollars off with code JOHNKEW, in four shapes, R1 through R4, all landing 7.9 to 8.0 oz static, spinning 2,200 to 2,300 RPM on topspin serves. The name references mortise and tenon joinery, and the x-ray shows why: notches in the central EPP core reach into the surrounding EVA foam, creating a tongue and groove lock.

The standout is feel: soft and dense, in the neighborhood of the Coral and Coral Pro, with exceptionally flat KewCOR curves down the long axis. It plays softer and denser than its sibling Quanta, with sneaky power. Grit is a conservative grit infused peel ply, with durability testing still to come. Full lineup breakdown is in my Ronbus Tenon review.

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X-ray

Gear of the Week

Tifosi Vogel SL: $36 Eyewear That Performs

The Vogel SL is 40 dollars, roughly 36 after 10 percent off with code JOHNKEW. It is rimless, with minimal frame in your peripheral vision, and shatterproof polycarbonate lenses. On the ball cannon dummy head it showed no lens breakage until roughly 60 mph impacts, and even then the temple broke before the lens failed. Multiple sizes and shapes are available to fit different faces.

Is Pickleball Doomed?

A Half Million People Watched a Video Arguing Yes

Entrepreneur Michael Girdley's case study argues pickleball is following the path of Topgolf, CrossFit, and GoPro: a pandemic boom now cooling, investors overbuilding clubs and franchises, a flood of paddle brands manufacturing from a handful of factories, an aging player base, and brutal indoor facility economics.

The demographics tell a more interesting story. Two years ago viewership of my own channel peaked at 55 and up; today the peak is 25 to 34. US viewership dropped from 99 percent to 56.9 percent, with the Philippines now second and Vietnam and Malaysia climbing. Against the doom case: college teams are forming everywhere, and young players at PPA events have gone from sulking on their phones to showing up in packs. My read is a maturing market going through facility and brand consolidation, not a collapse. Cautious optimism, supported by the demographic spread and international growth.

Does a Paddle's Feel Trick You About Its Power?

The theory: a muted feel registers as weak power, while a loud, stiff, hollow paddle like the Boomstik sounds powerful, and soft dense paddles like the Coral, Coral Pro, and Tenon read as control first. So we measured it. The Tenon's KewCOR is 0.412 versus the Quanta's 0.407, and its firepower score is 77 versus 73. Then Eddie served 10 times with each paddle using an identical stroke, with a Stalker radar gun on every ball. His prediction was Quanta by about 5 percent. The result: Quanta 53.6 mph, Tenon 53.9 mph, essentially tied, with the softer paddle a hair ahead. A muted, controlled feel reflects vibration character, not firepower. At demo days, trust the measurements over the sound. More on the Tenon in my Ronbus Tenon review.

Deep Thoughts

Your Feet Have Been Wearing Casts for 30,000 Years

Christopher McDougall's Born to Run documents Tarahumara runners covering ultramarathon distances in basic thong sandals while keeping pace with elite athletes in advanced gear. The implication is that human biology performs at a high level without heavy support. Bioarchaeologist Erik Trinkaus's 2005 study found the earliest anatomical evidence of footwear written into bone. Around 30,000 years ago, the stabilizer toes, two through five, suddenly got thinner while leg bones stayed robust. Same walking and hiking, less work for the stabilizer toes, means something supportive came between foot and ground. Pueblo peoples of the American Southwest, largely barefoot or in moccasins, kept thicker toe bones than Europeans from 30,000 years earlier.

The balanced takeaway: wear proper court shoes for pickleball, always. But work in some minimal footwear or barefoot time, like a walk at the dog park, to let those stabilizer toes do their job again. Human evolution supported minimal footwear, even if modern longevity and aging bodies benefit from strategic support.

What's Up Next

The Ronbus Tenon grit is going through accelerated wear testing before its late July launch. My ball cannon spin methodology may shift from 60 mph to 40 mph to line up directly with the new USAP and UPA-A standards. More news is being held for next week.

Thanks for reading, and for being the kind of crowd that will follow us from a patent lawsuit x-ray to 30,000 year old toe bones without blinking. That is our kind of nerdy. Cheers. John

Explore the data behind these verdicts in the paddle database and the Comparison Lab. This issue was originally sent to subscribers on July 13, 2026.

I test every paddle independently, with no payment and no editorial input. The buy links above are affiliate links, and if you use them I earn a commission that helps support the website. It never changes how a paddle is tested or where it lands in the data. Read more about how I test.