Johnkew Podcast Episode 6: Vegas Trip, Lead Tape, New Paddles, ADV Bag

[@ChorusPickleball]

Our Shapeshifter is in the bag! Really glad you're loving it, Eddie!

[@pickleballeffect]

“Hey, I brought you tacos” 😂

[@PickleballWill]

Good times John! Glad you got to come out

[@johnkewpickleball]

Best pickleball trip ever...

[@EddieK-PB]

@@johnkewpickleball This love fest is getting AWKWARD!! LOL!

[@kamanhalim]

For both John and Eddie, Whats your Gearbox PPE setup?

[@NabilaMHusain]

Same question

[@johnkewpickleball]

I have 6 inches of PE tungsten tape going from 1 inch above the grip, up to 3 and 9-o'clock. and edge guard tape above that. Static weight: 8.7 oz, swing weight: 126, twist weight: 6.20

[@kamanhalim]

@@johnkewpickleball thank you very much!

[@EddieK-PB]

I've played around with weight on this paddle a LOT! Probably a dozen different set ups. This paddle (like a lot of Gearbox offerings) specifically needs weight for stability, but it's already 'suffering' from a high swingweight, so there's not much wiggle room. I finally settled on 3g on each side, centered at the balance point of the paddle. This has given me the stability I was looking for and not affected the overall playability of the paddle.

[@kamanhalim]

thanks Eddie! I agree that it is difficult to play around with weights on the PPE because of the high swing weight and relatively smaller sweet spot@@EddieK-PB

[@bryanyee7]

Is there any maximum limit to how much lead tape that can be put onto any given paddle?

[@hruntingson]

So is the Aiso like the Vatic Pro Flash(thermoform)?

[@johnkewpickleball]

Yes, very similar

[@chriscatastrophe660]

I like the light half gram tape . The precut strips don’t distribute the weight enough for me.

[@maiye1391]

Hi John ! Do you have a spread sheet on most popular paddles by age, sex, height, DUPR ?

[@TheSnackattack6]

Great information!

[@Geos-g5e]

Do we know when the gryp2 will be released?

[@scotttesar7156]

+1 to Eddie supporting Wendy's!!!! Thanks for the overview on tape placement guidelines, guys!

[@Zenon-fg4dw]

Great video as usual. However, I am puzzled by something you said because it does not seem logical to me. In discussing where to put led tape to minimize swing weight, you said that something to the effect that if you put led around the handle, it will not effect the swingweight. I would have have that putting led tape around the handle would have the greatest minimizing effect on the swing weight. Did you mean to say that the tape tape around the handle would not affect the twist weight? Because that makes sense.

[@AMurderOfLobs]

John - why do you say you have to throw out your lead tape after every time you use it? I've always been able to remove, adjust, and reapply lead tape as needed without significant loss of adhesion. I've even had no issue reapplying used lead tape after I stored it for months by folding it along it's halway point length wise and pressing the sticky sides to eachother. Especially considering, if you're like me, you always cover the lead tape with additional electrical tape around the edge guard anyways.

[@johnkewpickleball]

You must have better luck with lead than me. At most, I've been able to reuse lead strips once.

[@kimleith1378]

John what is your view on weighting the handle "inside" Like the new Gamma does. I'm thinking of trying drilling a hole in the end cap and use a bolt to screw into it. Since I play the "ping pong" grip, it changes the reason for adding weight anywhere on the paddle. Im looking forward to how the PKKL Pro Spin sheet plays.Master Athletics already does the weight inserts in the edge guard.

[@johnkewpickleball]

Adding weight to the handle, below the fulcrum (your hand), provides power and pop perks, without slowing your hands down. Within reason (e.g., adding 6 oz of lead in the handle will slow you down). But around 30 grams in the handle, there's a twisting issue on narrower paddles. Check out my latest review on the GRYP Balance-1 paddle for more info

[@kimleith1378]

@@johnkewpickleball Thanks for the reply John. I thought since I use the Ping Pong grip, it would help.

[@EddieK-PB]

I've experimented with this idea. not for competition, but for 'research'! :-) I drilled out a Gearbox Pro and epoxied a 20g tungsten weight inside the base of the grip. The effect on stability was noticeable, which gave the impression of more controllable power.

[@jimwaldemarsen472]

How close to Gearbox power is the Azul? Really interested in hearing all of your reviews on the Azul!!!!

[@johnkewpickleball]

I'd say the Azul is closer to the Ruby than the Gearbox.

[@EddieK-PB]

GB power is in a league of its own. Agree with John that the Azul is closer to the Ruby, which makes sense.

[@jtdavis771]

I wonder if too much emphasis is put on twist weight. Yes adding concentrated lead just above the bottom corners improves twist weight the most while not raising swing weight as much but it seems like mishits around the top 1/3 of the paddle will not get near as much help as they would if for example .5 grams per inch tape was spread more evenly from bottom corner to top corners on each side.

[@johnkewpickleball]

Good point. Eddie and I were actually chatting about this after recording the podcast, and I mentioned it was something I forgot to discuss. I do think that adding weight at 4 and 8 will still help with the top 1/3 of the paddle, but not as much as lead higher on the paddle. But then you're dealing with the added swing weight.

[@andremitchell7081]

All the top "podders" including the 4 that were at Thrive, and btw that is a great podcast or whatever the technical name tag is, are talking about swing weight and twist weight which tickles the crazed viewers fancies and escalates excitement. I just moved down the 6 grams on each side of my 3X paddle half an inch into the throat. Then continued to ponder what is the swing weight and twist weight on this move? Maybe paddle machines need to be set up in pickleball clubs where players can have their paddles checked for a small fee. I'll suggest this at my club tomorrow when I go play. You who set these up can send me my royalties!

[@AMurderOfLobs]

I think the the removable handle weight on the Gryp paddle is a silly gimmick. I mean, once you find which setting you like, the feature loses it's utility. I find it inplausible that a person would actually routinely change their setup depending on their event or opponent. Nobody goes "Looks like I'm playing Bob in the next round. Good thing my paddle's handle weight is easily tunable, because a game against Bob calls for a slightly heavier handle!" Anybody who is discerning enough (and picky enough) to want a different performance profile for singles vs doubles would almost certainly just have a totally different paddle for each. So if people are just going to find their preferred weighted end cap configuration and then stick with that setup indefinitely, then the status quo solution (lead/tungsteon tape) is surely superior. Because the latter accomodates infinitely granular adjustment to meet you weight preference precisely - as opposed to the binary "end cap or no end cap" choice that the Gryp paddle is limited to. Seriously, what kind of player sees this design feature as a legitimate selling point? The "highly vulnerable to whacky marketing gimmicks" kind of player, in my estimation.

[@johnkewpickleball]

I'm coming at this from a different angle. My thought process is: 1) Is handle weighting a legitimate way to customize paddle performance? Good question that hasn't been completely resolved yet for pickleball, but there are some promising early results. 2) Do most people want to mess around with removing the stock grip, dialing-in the weight, manipulating the shape of the handle, etc.? Probably not, so weighted handle caps seem like a good option.

[@peteherrera1502]

I think the gearbox pro power elongated paddle is a great paddle. My thoughts on the Gearbox elongated pro power pickleball paddle. The Gearbox elongated pro power pickleball paddle is a power paddles and if you want better control of a power paddle then you need to add weight around the whole pickleball paddle which made mine a power paddle and a control paddle. I added 11 three ounce stripes around my pro power paddle. Also the reason for adding weights to ANY paddle is so that the paddle does not seem lighter than the pickleball itself when hitting or striking the pickleball. which without weights makes ANY paddle harder to control. I prefer to use any paddle that is not dominated by the pickleball itself when striking the pickleball which is why it is good to add weights to any and all paddles. and adding weights around the paddle also increases the sweep spot of the paddle.

[@robedwards6926]

John, when are you doing a review on the Thrive Azul?

[@Johnkewdrums]

Yes, I'll review the Azul when it comes out in a couple of weeks

[@johnkewpickleball]

Oops, I didn't realize I was on my other account, haha@@Johnkewdrums

[@danfaraday4275]

What about lead tape for power, whats the limit of weight and power gain, for those of us who are not weight weenies

[@johnkewpickleball]

If you don’t have any worries about injuries (tendinitis), then the sky is the limit. The tradeoff will be hand speed, but if you’re playing singles, that won’t be much of an issue

[@johnyoungblood]

The dampening material you are trying to recall at end of video I believe is marketed under the name of Sorbothane. Also you are both still making several references to lead tape. With focus on options such as tungsten and even copper tape, I use the term "weighted tape" which you are free to use as well. Thanks for your interesting podcasts!

[@johnkewpickleball]

That’s right, sorbothane

[@TeenaSuzuki]

ADV pickleball bag's kickstarter lauches on March 12

[@courvilleg1]

Hugely inconsistent and poor footwork. Similar here!😂😂😂. Also taller and some power. Will definitely keep watching your great reviews. Don’t agree that there are 20-30 great professional reviewers, probably more like 10.

[@SinCityAMG]

Definitely tired of black-on-black-on-black.