Gearbox Pressure X 8M Elongated Review
Like the rest of the Pressure X lineup, the 8M Elongated officially launches October 1, 2026. Early access customers who sign up at GearboxSports.com get pre-order access starting September 13.
The 8M is the MPP half of Gearbox's new Pressure X pairing, and I'd have guessed it would be the softer, hollower one of the two. It isn't. If you've read my companion review of the 8E, you already know where this is going.
Spin RPM comes in at 2,216, a scaled score of 77 out of 100, Good, with spin durability testing at Tier 2, the same strong result the 8E posted.
KewCOR lands at 0.421, a Firepower score of 63 out of 100, right in Power (Mid) territory, just a touch below the 8E's 0.424.
Retail is $279.99, or $251.99 with code JOHNKEW.
Same Gen-4, full-foam platform as the 8E, with one swap: a modified SST core with MPP foam ribs instead of EPP, plus the same outer foam layers of EPP and TPE, with expanding foam tuning pods running through the perimeter and neck, all under a thermoformed carbon fiber face with a grit-infused peel-ply surface.
I don't have an x-ray image file of the 8M specifically yet, but I've seen one, which I'll describe here. The 8M's tuning pods are larger than the 8E's, which is my working explanation for why the two paddles feel backwards from what their core material would suggest. I'll get a real x-ray image of this one soon and update accordingly.
Dimensions are identical to the 8E: 16.54 by 7.4 inches, 5.51 inch handle, 16mm thickness. Static weight is 8.0 ounces, swing weight is 118.9 (scaled 59, close to database average), and twist weight is 6.18 (scaled 50, dead average). Balance point sits at 24.4cm (scaled 59), and Hand Speed Index reads 25 out of 100, low but a few points ahead of the 8E's 21. It's still not a quick-hands paddle.
| Shape / Build | Elongated, Gen 4 |
| Surface | Peel Ply, Grit-Infused |
| Layup | Carbon Fiber, Thermoformed |
| Core | Modified SST core with MPP foam ribs + shared EPP/TPE outer foam layers + expanding foam tuning pods (perimeter & neck) |
| Length × Width | 16.54″ × 7.4″ |
| Handle Length | 5.51″ |
| Static Weight | 8.0 oz |
| Swing Weight | 118.9 |
| Twist Weight | 6.18 |
| Balance Point | 24.4 cm |
| Certification | USAP Certified |
| Warranty | Lifetime |
KewCOR is a controlled firepower metric: how efficiently the paddle transfers energy back into the ball, measured with a ball cannon.
KewCOR comes in at 0.421, a Firepower score of 63 out of 100, in Power (Mid), just below the 8E's 0.424. Power and pop scale at 69 and 63, virtually the same balance as the 8E (71 and 64). Whatever else differs between these two, firepower isn't where the gap shows up.
Spin RPM measures 2,216, a scaled score of 77, falling in the "Good" category, and edging out the 8E's 76 by a hair. Spin durability tests at Tier 2, matching the 8E and putting both well ahead of the Tier 4 raw-carbon surface most Gen-4 full-foam paddles ship with. As with the 8E, that's a lab result from day one; how it holds up over weeks and months of real play is still an open question.
This is the section where the 8M earns its own identity instead of just being "the other Pressure X." It plots just barely on the stiff side of center and clearly hollow, essentially straddling the Stiff-Hollow boundary. Traditionally, MPP cores read softer and hollower than EPP. The classic MPP examples are the Luzz Inferno line and the Enhance MPP Turbo. This one doesn't have that classic MPP feel profile. It's noticeably tighter than either of those references, and my best guess is the perimeter tuning pods are doing more of that work than the core material itself. If you've played an MPP paddle before and found it a little too forgiving or mushy at contact, the 8M might read as a pleasant surprise. If you were specifically chasing that classic MPP-core feel, the 8E is actually the one that delivers it here, not this paddle.
Everything I said about the Pressure X line's return-to-form applies here too: after a year where the market moved fast on Gen-4 full-foam, this lineup puts Gearbox back in serious contention, and the Tier 2 spin surface is a real differentiator over most of the field.
On the 8M specifically, the tighter, stiffer response changes the character of the power. It doesn't feel quite as springy or pocket-and-launch as the 8E; contact feels a little more direct and immediate, which some players will read as more control-friendly even though the underlying power numbers are nearly identical between the two.
Sweet spot mapping looks the same as the 8E's on paper, and on court I'd give it the same grade: about average for a Gen-4 full-foam paddle, which again means very good, just not category-leading.
My own preference still lands on the 8E, mostly because I like that hollower, softer feel and the 8M doesn't give me that. But I'd stop short of calling the 8M the lesser paddle. If anything, it's the more interesting one of the two: an MPP paddle that plays like it has more backbone than the material should allow.
The 4 closest paddles by overall performance profile, scored across spin, dimensions, weight/balance, power, pop, KewCOR, and feel profile. Same targeted shortlist used for the 8E review, recomputed against the 8M's own numbers rather than copied over.
Who it's for
- Gearbox fans upgrading from the GX2 Power series who want current Gen-4 full-foam performance and don't have a strong feel preference either way.
- Players who want above-average spin durability (Tier 2) without the raw-carbon Tier 4 surface most Gen-4 paddles ship with.
- Players who like the idea of an MPP paddle but have found traditional floating-core MPP builds too soft or mushy: the 8M plays tighter than the core material would suggest.
- Players comfortable trading some reset and finesse touch for real power and pop.
Who it's NOT for
- Players specifically chasing a classic soft, hollow MPP feel. Counter-intuitively, the 8E delivers that better than this paddle does.
- Players who prioritize resets and finesse over power. The kitchen line and transition zone are where that tradeoff shows up most.
- Players who need quick hands off a lower swing weight. Swing weight and balance point both run a bit above average, and Hand Speed Index tests below average, though slightly better than the 8E's.
Judged purely on the numbers, the 8M and 8E are nearly interchangeable: same spin, same durability tier, same firepower range, same price. The reason to pick one over the other comes down almost entirely to feel, and it's the opposite of what the core material names would suggest. If you want the tighter, denser response, take the 8M. If you want the traditional hollow feel MPP is supposed to deliver, take the 8E instead. Either way, this is a legitimate, well-built return to form for Gearbox, and I'd call both paddles viable successors to last year's GX2 Power series.