Spartus Apollo vs Mach 2 Forza | Kings of Spin

A highly requested comparison of the Mach 2 Forza and Spartus Apollo, the paddles with the two highest recorded RPMS in my database. Both of these paddles are high performers that bring their own nuance to the court.
👨‍💻 Let me know in the comments if you have anything to add, or found anything different than I did!
Links to the paddles:
👉 Mach 2 Forza ($ off code: pickleballmed):
www.volair.com/discount/PICKL...
👉 Spartus Apollo ($ off code: PBMED):
gospartus.com?sca_ref=5324340.stRFDOIE3Z
👉 Link to my 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑷𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒍𝒆 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒕 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒕:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
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My 𝐆𝐎-𝐓𝐎 over grips: (PBMED15 for 15% off): www.udrippin.com/
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My favorite dink net for drilling: startpicklin.com/dustinfowkespickleball
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Follow on social media for highlights, tips, drill ideas, or reach out with any questions:
Instagram @dustinfowkespickleball
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Facebook, Dustin Fowkes Pickleball:
profile.php?...

[@morganmiller3477]

I’ve been playing with my Apollo for about three weeks now, and absolutely love it! The amount of spin this thing generates is unbelievable! Hands-down, my favorite Paddle.

[@jncgregg]

Great review and both great paddles! I have both in my bag along with the BnB Shogun, Loco, and FatBoy! I am having a blast rotating through all of them!

[@aaronsegal1682]

How do you like Fat Boy?

[@josedvasquez3473]

where would you rank the fatboy?

[@jncgregg]

@@josedvasquez3473 I am really enjoying it, feels like it is more all court then control and has more pop then the Apollo, but not too much!

[@steven8554]

How is the shogun vs volair?

[@PollySmith_469]

Awesome video. My friend’s main paddle is Apollo and mine is Hudef Mage Pro.

[@LouisBrown19]

Great video. Still love my Hudef APEX Pro because of its low swing weight.

[@sworks7124]

Have both love both. Apollo is just has something a little more fun to play with so it is used more.

[@PanamaLou-zk3xe]

Great review Sir as always. Wanted to please ask your comparison from the Mach 2 Forza 16mm to the Gen 2 Joola Scorpeus 16mm Colin Johns paddle ? Also, if you probably already have the new Bread & Butter Fat Boy 16mm paddle, your expert thoughts ? Thank you and saludos from Panama.

[@KennethFinch74]

I have actually all 3 of these paddles and for doubles have been going back and forth a lot with the 16 mm ones. I considered the 14 mm one to be my solo player.

[@ArianaWilson-]

Thanks for your sharing. I have a Hudef Mage Pro, which is very similar to M2F. I'd like to hear what you think of them.

[@user-lq8sm3qf4z]

I have no experience with the Apollo but have the M2f 16 and it is my absolute favorite paddle. At this point if I had to replace it I would get another

[@benwu3150]

Good comparison, that's what I was looking for. How about vibration? This feature is easily ignored which is related to stability and precision, a little bit different from the twist weight.

[@robnhood007]

Which paddle is best for people playing with tennis elbow?

[@dbweb.creative]

Does spartus apollo benefit a lot from tweaking/setup, or is it minor? Should the handle rubber band be removed? Some other reviewer was saying bad vibrations can be further reduced by removing rubber band and also adding tape.

[@PickleballMedicine]

Hmm, that's an interesting question... I have seen that review, but that wasn't really my experience. Maybe it was just me, but it didn't feel terribly vibratory in my experience. The only tweaking I experienced was the typical power/sweet spot/balance tweaking with lead tape I normally experience with any given paddle. That was just my experience, though!

[@BRYLEE610]

HIII DUSTIN ITS BRYLEE!!!

[@q50shybrid99]

Which paddle feel softer and plush?

[@Syndrome88]

M2f

[@tomfowlerwrites919]

I'm debating getting an Apollo. I tend to prefer hybrid-shaped paddles. Losing 1/4-1/3" of length doesn't seem like a big deal, though. And that TW number is legit absurd.

[@PhucTran-mz4hh]

That's what I thought, but the Apollo proved a bit too short for me. Most of my ball marks are focused at the top of the paddle. I transitioned from a CRBN 3X.

[@PickleballMedicine]

Yeah I usually use hybrid shapes, just because that's what most companies are making and people want tested these days, so when I switch to the widebody paddles it takes me a day or two to dial in the right sweet spot location, and then after that I don't usually notice it's much shorter than what im used to, but that's just me! I also only hold my paddle handle with my pointer and middle fingers + my thumb, because it helps me with control, so I feel less length reduction in general!

[@PickleballMedicine]

And I agree, that TW is insane. You may or may not be surprised at how often I run those tests on paddles myself and find the actual numbers to be much different from those reported by the companies. For these two, they are refreshingly accurate!

[@JeffMurphy]

I’ve never hit the Apollo but the M2 Forza is the real deal. I have over 60+ hours on it and can’t recommend it enough

[@M0stlyHarmless9]

14 or 16 for you?

[@JeffMurphy]

@@M0stlyHarmless9 16mm for me!