Thrive Azul (paddle review) Power, Grit, consistency! My favorite paddle, after one month of play!

I break down my thoughts on the Thrive Azul, its Kevlar and carbon fiber blend make for a great all around play, with a bit of extra pop!
Thrive Pickleball Website:
www.thrivepb.com
10% off with code:
Pulse10

[@michaelgola9612]

The Ruby was my Main paddle after coming from the DBD. I decided to Give the Azul a chance and OMG i am glad i did. You are right on the money this is a Ruby 2.0 phenomenal paddle i loved it so much i bought a 2nd for back up. This thing does everything. Amazing resets, Dink all day, crazy good spin, drives dip with beautiful precision, and gives you that pop. I cant say enough good things about this paddle.

[@mrfofung]

I agree It’s got massive spin and big pop

[@JSithFPS]

I’m thinking about also switching from the Ruby to the Azul. What swing weight did you pick? Did it feel like a smooth transition?

[@mrfofung]

@@JSithFPS@JSithFPS are a super smooth transition... it's very similar... I feel it has more pop at the kitchen line. I got the heaviest swing weight they sell and added 3g lead strips at 5 and 7 and then cut a 3g lead strip in half and put them at 10/2 .... worked great and won a bronze medal, cleaning up the men's division this past weekend... you won't be disappointed

[@michaelgola9612]

I went with 117 swing weight and added a 3g strip toward the bottom to help with control. Not that it needs it plenty of control it’s just my normal setup.

[@swicepickleball]

Great review!

[@stefconstant7544]

Hey! We met at the Virginia Pickleball Classic that you drove down to this weekend. I wanted to say congrats on winning gold in 4.5!!!

[@ThePicklePulse]

Thanks so much, it was fun meeting everybody, and I was happy to have played well today in a tough Bracket. 😁

[@hahaharobert]

Great review and yes I did already purchase one 🎉

[@StevenNeely]

I wanted more pop than what the Ruby provided at the net. Whoa. I played with the Azul today and launched multiple balls out. I’ll need to practice a block or a slight flick. Otherwise, any type of swing and if the paddle face is not down, the ball is sailing. Hopefully, I can dial it in. Feels like the DBD. I’ve been enjoying the Hurache X Control+ too. So, I’ll be rotating between the Azul, Hurache X Control +, and back to the DBD if I need to bring in the old faithful.

[@ThePicklePulse]

LOL, that’s so funny. My two go to paddles right now are the Azul and The hurache - X 14mm. Both great -paddles and lots of pop at the kitchen line!

[@jasonwalker1959]

Hey Brian, good review. Have you seen any re-measurement of a used Ruby or other kevlar paddle to see how the "grit" is holding up? I did have a Ruby for a time and liked it but wondering if there's any concrete data on the grit (via spin calc). Thx

[@ThePicklePulse]

Hey Jason, I don’t yet have the ability to scientifically determine how much the grit has worn down on my Ruby, but I will say that all of the Kevlar paddles that i have tried and reviewed seem to keep the spin a grit better than T700 Carbon Fiber. Definitely better than crappy spray on grit, and my original Ruby that is 6 months old is still playable!

[@jasonwalker1959]

@@ThePicklePulse , yeah, agreed. I did see that Johnkew did retesting of his Ruby after 3 months of use and spin decreased ~15%. kzbin.info/www/bejne/q5ermX-popKEsLc

[@TheAgaveSpirit]

Does anyone have any experience with how this paddle compares to the Black Diamond Power paddle by Six Zero?

[@ThePicklePulse]

Sorry for the delay, the Azul is similar, but with slightly more pop than the DBD double black diamond.

[@donnierakes9117]

Do they have a 30 trail period to make sure you like it?

[@ThePicklePulse]

Not that I know of, I would check the warranty section of their website. Every Thrive Paddle i have had has been well made and lasted, for what it’s worth.

[@donnierakes9117]

@@ThePicklePulse ok cool I just ordered the Azul looking forward to trying it out!

[@The50d]

How does it compare to the hurache kevlar blend

[@ThePicklePulse]

The Azul is 30% more poppy, and has 15% more power, roughly. The Hurache Kevlar paddles feel softer for sure! I hope this helps, and sorry for the delay.

[@86309]

Just a suggestion , to connect with the audience you need to look at the camera , you are looking just off the target.

[@jeffmorehouse5458]

I actually bought this paddle and returned it after playing with it for 5 min. No power , some spin and dead off center shots. Maybe I got a bad one?

[@ThePicklePulse]

I would bet so, what were you playing with before? I played with the Ruby for 6 months before switching over, and the Azul definitely has more power than that. It’s not close to the Joola gen. 3’s or the Gearbox though.

[@mrfofung]

This thing is a hog. Get to the kitchen line and it’s a hammer with tons of bite