What's Inside Expensive Paddles? | Crushed Luxx, DBD, Vanguard, Kevlar, Gearbox, Engage

[@Thriftyknitter2]

That was amazing! I’m way too frugal to ever do such a thing so thank you for doing it for me. I hope the paddle manufacturers don’t get angry at you for showing their secret tech or their lack of quality. You are THE MAN, Ed Ju!!

[@nilkamals]

Ed ju is the content creator we don't deserve

[@dblevins343]

Honestly, Id expext more at these prices. Ikea literally used tech like this to make furniture cheaper. Pickleball manufacturers are using it to raise the price of paddles 😂. The nicest paddle in the bunch was essentially mostly foam with some rubber. I understand the undercover cost of R&D. As a mountain biker, I know that most of the cost of an $8,000 bike is in R&D/marketing and not the materials themselves. But $250 for these paddles is insane.

[@FueledByRyan0]

those black plastic strips used to package stuff is called banding.

[@jburch5752]

Great video! You guys should try cutting it with a bandsaw. That way you could see the entire insides but with a lot less effort than you showed in this video.

[@F.U.N680]

More please! Id like to see whats inside joola diadem and crbn

[@albertopazos6581]

If you a good player you’ll be king of court with any paddle. People make fun of my 50$ paddle from Amazon until they play with me lol

[@anthonyng8800]

Great content Ed, I started using Hesacore bc of you! But to be 100% scientific, you should cut the one that appears fine and confirm it doesnt exhibit the same core crushed features inside

[@Alex-tr4lc]

Now I know why the gearbox never hurts my arm - or maybe because it’s foam inside the handle. Very interesting, thanks Ed!

[@El_Guap]

Ed, the difference you are seeing with the DBD vs TheBestPaddle kevlar is the difference between mono directional CF (BD is monodirectional Fiberglass) vs woven kevlar and carbon fiber. You also see a "weave" in the 18k CF stuff.

[@guittadabe5214]

Kevlar is fuzzy unless imbued with some sort of resin. My experience with it is related to kayaks. Keeping it in the sun is usually not good for it unless they put one or several protective coatings over it. It might not matter as much for paddles since they don't even last a year vs kayaks that could last 20+ years.

[@christopherahmed8961]

Based on insides alone, gearbox is by far the coolest!!! If an alien looked at these, they might concluded there are only two companies - gearbox and then the rest are just all different lines ups from the same company.

[@Eric.Estrada]

Kevlar is significantly more durable than carbon fiber. And if it any raw surface gets wet, it’ll swell up and get furry. Carbon fiber is lightweight, but breaks easily. It’s cool to see that these paddles are pretty much just the way boats are built. Honeycomb core, foam core, carbon / Kevlar weave. You should try a bread and butter paddle.

[@mikeyis009]

Thanks for making those sacrifices. Very informative.

[@bobbybaby06]

dope, been waiting for more of these

[@attybong]

wish you also dissected ben john's gen3 perseus 😊

[@JM-md4ux]

good confirmation on the engage build quality

[@Chrissing69]

now we gotta see inside the gen 3 joola and the vatic oni

[@mattwyro7339]

Paddletek uses black polymer too I believe the core in my tempest wave 2 looks black when I peeled back the edge guard after it disbonded.

[@susanstanley1109]

I'm disappointed seeing inside of these paddles. Materials, construction should be better given what we pay for them. Especially given short life span of the paddles. 😢

[@reiismars]

Pickleball manufacturers taking advantage of the sport's hyper growth.

[@kimleith1378]

Patents are expensive.

[@NOT_A_TOP_FAN]

Welcome to 2024 and Throwaway Society and Pickleball Moneygrab. If you’re into personal finance, financial literacy, etc…this is the wrong sport to play lol

[@scottotf6250]

Just like tires, they are all made from the same materials. Marketing is King.

[@kimleith1378]

@@scottotf6250 Not all are the same inside. But you're spot on with the marketing comment.

[@PTL4179]

Awesome! Love the clip. It's pure science to see how a paddle is constructed.

[@jarednieman437]

I used to manufacture carbon fiber freedive fins. Too bad I wasn't into pickleball back then. I had 10x material cost in my fin blades at the same retail price.

[@jslocomb]

Bandsaw for those lengthwise cuts my man.

[@lsawyer1111able]

Yeah. But first you have to own a band saw.

[@cwarner5909]

Looks like the limits are being pushed with the foam.

[@bryanschaefer9934]

That was so cool. Especially the gear box. I would love to see some more paddles. Gen 3 joola, warrior V2 with its triple core, edge 18k.

[@mtnbikerva1]

What does the first GEN 1 BEN JOHNS JOOLA paddle look like inside? Is there any reason to buy a newer paddle? Thank you very much.

[@perryh6173]

Great vidoe. Looks like the Gearbox is pretty unique on the market.

[@darwest8833]

I do this to all my paddles, makes for some very extreme misdirections.

[@JoshuaReed-ez7iu]

We Use kevlar in Chainsaw Gloves. So fuzzy or Fibers. The fibers is what stops the chainsaw from cutting into the Hand. Kevlar Gloves saved my hand before.

[@nelsonsoaresusa]

Which one the best?

[@NOT_A_TOP_FAN]

I’m trying to figure out why we are manufacturing paddle for the “trampoline effect”, but playing with a core crushed paddle isn’t cool 😂. And then the biggest kicker is pickleball doesn’t want to be tennis, yet the trend is making paddles that essentially behave like tennis rackets lol.

[@joq702]

Pickleball is evolving into the drive and gouge mentality, the tennis rackets that changed the finesse and beauty of angles. If the game is meant for the young, the game will continue to evolve for power for business interests, tv. If kept the same, and put limits on the paddle power, the game will still have some (stressing same) sameness of power game and game for the retired.

[@bigbaboo-3937]

Great video. I was wondering what they looked like inside. I think there are a lot of design decisions that were made with each paddle. To assume that its cheap to cover the honeycomb at the handle is not really fair. (BTW, I have no personal stake in this) As you can see there are many ways to put an handle on the honeycomb. Is it better to continue it down into the grip? Is it better to stop at the face and add something else? Who really knows? Only the designer really. Ultimately they are priced to make money. Are the expensive ones better? I guess thats for us to deicide.

[@SpicyTofu808]

Aww snap the content that made Selkirk grumpy

[@roosterqmoney]

If it's black polymer it is probably an assault paddle

[@TheDoyleFamily-q9l]

Other than the wood pieces on the handle…do u think the engage paddle faired best with the gearbox second??

[@fogflyer]

How did the yellow foam feel in the Gearbox? Soft?Hard?

[@wingsaber629]

Can you cut open a Players Pickleball paddle? They claim their gel-core reduces vibrations. The only other different core other than Gearbox's or the cheap plastic polypropylene.

[@niniyaya7392]

if you could send me the cut in half gearbox i would be happy to glue all the pieces back together 🥲

[@Badong72IV]

Why not compare the paddle insides and or performance of the knockoffs they sell on Temu. It will be a direct perspective to show if we are paying too much for these name brand items.

[@yakbrosmn7521]

How are the gearboxes and new joolas even legal??

[@Yielar1]

Strange question

[@Dototopeanut]

Great vid, Ed. Had me engaged the whole time

[@ap6232]

japanese pull saws ftw! Does the edge foam typically go all the way around to the top or is it just on the sides? I noticed that the Engage didn't appear to have edge foam at the top.

[@patrickkelly5280]

Would benefit you and your audience if you educate yourself on the different chemistries used. Polymer and composite definitions would be a good start.

[@whobru]

Interesting, but I did not really learn anything. Steve could use a bandsaw though....

[@omgfrisky2x343]

How does it get core crushed?

[@paperpeng1]

Damn The Control Luxx is so cheaply made!? I feel so used and ripped off lol

[@johnmacneill6403]

Great video.

[@DannyBPlays]

People that complain about the material and these being overpriced are forgetting that these paddles take a lot of research to get just right, so they go through a LOT of material, plus need the machines to create the final paddles all perfectly, plus gotta pay everyone's salary who is involved with the process. So the $200 you spend isn't just for the material, it's for the cost of people and machinery that it took to create it (not to mention the demand of the product, companies wouldn't sell for $200+ if people didn't buy them at that price)

[@VividTape]

You are not speaking from experience. Paddles don't take much to reproduce or create, the longest and most expensive part of the process is marketing.

[@shahsaa1]

😂 it definitely does not take much at all. It’s all about that marketing… the tech is nothing but plastic polymer

[@gorgangorgan3]

My buddy is finding the same exact manufacturers from China & it literally costs $8-48 depending on the company/model. I understand the people, marketing, warranties, etc add up. But the profit margin on these is INSANE.

[@AJCsr]

So it seems like Gearbox is the only paddle that actually has some real technology involved in it.

[@Bob_DaBuilder-i3x]

Yeah, rubber bands

[@wadejensen6829]

i would be OCD with the differences in the Engage paddles handle sides being different

[@sl0wf.30]

icon v2?

[@kb8978]

You already wore out your new Vangaurd Control?!?!? Or didn't end up liking it?!????

[@piusnevitt9711]

Its called honeycomb and the dead spot is called delamination. Take a quarter and tap all over the paddle and it should have the same high pitch tone. If not its a dead spot

[@pickleballreviews]

Very interesting 😎

[@slicedpickleball]

My friend got mad today and threw his paddle on the tennis court till you could pull every piece apart. Note he would never do this if the paddle wasn't personally his.

[@efrenjrpenol801]

Instead of cutting them bro i will be so happy to have them my idol! 😅😢😭

[@kimleith1378]

Johnkew sent out some paddles to get cut down the center.

[@roosterqmoney]

I wish you had torn up some $25 paddles

[@bobcollins4246]

great video

[@pauljohnmarcelino2121]

Is this what got you in trouble with Selkirk?

[@quidproquo9000]

The best Kevlar paddle, are you sure it’s thermoformed? It might just have foam around the frame? I couldn’t quite see if the Kevlar went under the edge guard

[@BeautifulCr3ature]

50 dollar temu paddle perform just as good as those over price 300 dollar paddle but with less quality control Slap a brand name and price sky rocket

[@chrisjackowski591]

Just wish ed is getting paid by these paddle companies.

[@BeautifulCr3ature]

People buying into a brand, thats how the world works

[@andrewroberts9716]

Nice little worm drive saw

[@audiophilecole2994]

Yaz Steve

[@Bee-of5xz]

Can’t believe you’re waisting all these expensive paddles. Can’t wait to hear the take home conclusions. Are they not worth the investment?

[@brandonkhuu5495]

if you find another core crushed luxx please donate lol

[@dedee-g6952]

🤣

[@derekhively1210]

I just wanna find a decent paddle in the $150 range so I came here after wasting my money starting out.. My feelings say try a gearbox but I don’t trust myself anymore.. please help lol

[@RickyMcGill-qu3gn]

Ok, I'm getting into the paddle business. Get a bunch of expanding foam insulation and some cheap plastic. Shoot it into a mold in a paddle shape. Cha-ching! Gimme $300 big ones. What a rip off these companies are. I paid 80 bucks for my babolat paddle. I thought I was getting ripped off with that.

[@drury2d8]

$30 in bulk manufacturing materials, $200 cost.

[@slamdunk118]

more like $10 because all of them are made in China. I still remember my friend selling lipstick on Amazon, which he bought from the factory that made the lipstick for Mac. He paid 10 cents each and sold for $5 on Amazon.

[@Newchiii]

Literally every paddle is the same except Gearbox.. how is the Gesrbox legal it’s literally an all foam paddle 😅

[@pauljohnmarcelino2121]

wth. Gearbox basically all foam. Should be illegal like the EV paddle

[@MrAdrenaline00]

There needs to be a huge correction in the market. I get taking advantage of the rapidly growing sport but $150-$300+ for recycled garbage materials is way too far in my opinion. To me it really just seems to be which company can add a new variant of the existing and or more garbage materials so they can introduce it as new tech to all the brand whores. If you can't play consistent with any $100 paddle then a $350 one will not save you. Control is the name of the game. Less is more in the game of pickleball which is what all of these pickle ball paddle heads should really be saying. More pop equals more pop ups with even the slightest miss hits, more power equals a soft game that is all over the place but control you can move your opponent to where you want them and with settling down and controlling your overheads you can put the ball away on anybody with only 20% of your own power. These companies know darn well through basic science and physics that there will never be a perfect balanced paddle they just have everyone chasing unicorns. I will say that if you pick one paddle no matter what it is you could eventually master it but the process will go a lot faster if you stick with the basic raw materials. Sorry to go on but we the people need to stop letting these companies get away with this by leaving those $300 paddles on the shelves. If you struggle deciding which paddle is right for you and feel like you have to spend more just know that the top players can buy the cheapest paddle from Dick's Sporting Goods and humiliate you with control. Slams are fun but deceptive put away dinks are funny.

[@JustinRY]

All I hear is…marketing for the prices. My best guest is if you did this same experiment on cheaper paddles, these would be the same. One would think the honeycomb density would be different, but they all look pretty much equal across the board with an exception of one.

[@bigbear8216]

What a great waste lol

[@vladmadrilejos1657]

i wish he can just send me some paddles lol its cringing watching these i only have the amazon paddles to use

[@itmaslanka]

Players are using wooden paddles and you’re destroying expensive paddles ! It seems most serious players are willing to continually buy the latest tech so the paddles only last them a 1 or two ! Meanwhile I have a 30 year old tennis racket!

[@rusty935]

seems like a personal problem

[@panama-canada]

They all look the same.

[@victorkan7288]

Paddles are a racket, we are suckers…

[@mex5341]

Gearbox should be banned too

[@LifeIsGoodThankYouGod]

it is open on the side of the Handel to release air.... hmm