Why Twistweight and Swingweight Matter
Why Twistweight and Swingweight Matter
Plus: Last chance to enter to win a Speedup pickleball paddle!
Paddle Spotlight!
The paddle of the week is the Bread & Butter Loco. I’ve played with it for the past few weeks and am a fan. It’s good if you’re a control player or shot maker and like a lightweight hybrid-shaped paddle. It’s not a power paddle, but it has enough power for serves and drives against tough opponents.
Opening the box is a pretty cool experience. Founder Doug Sapusek has a great sense of humor and a keen eye for design and marketing. Sorry to spoil the surprise, but below is a picture of what we got (including a few extra goodies like overgrip, lead tape, and a paddle eraser).
Interested in learning more? Check out our review of the Bread & Butter Loco!
Hi Pickleballers -
Do you love your pickleball paddle? Was it perfect from day one, with no alternations needed? If so, you’re one of the lucky ones. I’m constantly tinkering with my paddles, trying to get them just right. I recently bought a new toy, which has helped put some metrics around my tinkering.
Last month, I bought a Briffidi SW1 swingweight machine. They were originally made for tennis racquets and work well for pickleball paddles. I also got an adapter that measures twistweight. For those that haven’t heard the terms or don’t know exactly what they mean:
Swingweight: The paddle's regular weight (static weight) is how much the paddle weighs. Swingweight is how heavy it feels when you swing it. Swingweight gauges the paddle's resistance to swing from the handle's end. A higher swing weight is good for power; a lower swingweight is good for control.
Twistweight: This measurement gauges how much the paddle twists when you hit off-center shots. Twistweight is the resistance to rotating around the long axis through the middle of the paddle from butt to tip. A higher twistweight means a larger sweet spot.
Most paddles have a swingweight between 105-125. Paddles designed for pickleball elbow, like the ProKennex, are in the 105 range, while power paddles like the Gearbox Pro Power come in around 120.
The range for twistweight runs between 4.5 and 7. Most popular paddles are between 5.75 and 6.25, which means the paddle has an average sweet spot.
What’s the point?
My theory is once you find your ideal swingweight and twistweight, you’ll have an easier time selecting the right paddle without asking Reddit or Facebook every other week. For example, I know I like a higher swingweight and twistweight.
One of my favorite new paddles is the Speedup 16mm Ice. Out of the box, it was close but not perfect. It comes standard with a swingweight of 122 and twistweight of 6.06 (your paddle might have slightly different numbers due to manufacturing inconsistencies).
I added .5 oz of lead tape evenly spread around the paddle guard. It brought the swingweight up to 129 and twistweight up to 6.68. The paddle feels amazing after making this slight adjustment, which took about 5 minutes. It has extra power, a larger sweet spot, and great control.
I suggest getting some lead tape on amazon and playing around with the weight. For instructions on how to do it, read our blog on Adding Lead Tape to a Pickleball Paddle.
I’m testing the Bread & Butter Filth over the next week, and the preliminary numbers say I should like it. We’ll see, and I’ll share what I find. Good luck, and reply to this newsletter with any questions.
In case you missed it! One of our most entertaining interviews was with Doug Sapusek, founder of Bread & Butter. Listen in to discover why he started a paddle company and why he thinks design and marketing are important.
Simply Pickleball Podcast with Bread & Butter CEO
Speedup Pickleball Paddle Giveaway: 4 Days Left
We’ve teamed up with Speedup to give away 1 x 14mm Fire and 1 x 16mm Ice. They have a 6-inch elongated handle, raw carbon fiber, and thermoformed unibody construction. Enter to win and refer your friends to get additional entries!
“Best of” Pickleball Lists
Simply Pickleball Discount Codes
Prolite: SIMPLYPB
Vatic Pro: SIMPLY10
Speedup: SIMPLYPB
Bread & Butter: SIMPLYPB
PCKL: SIMPLY15
Spartus: SIMPLYPB
Rally Club Pickleball Clothing: SIMPLY15
Paddles and More: SIMPLY15
Enhance Pickleball: SIMPLYPB
Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter and supporting Simply Pickleball. Do you have any topic you’d like me to cover, questions to answer, or maybe I didn’t get something right? Send me a note - I’d love to hear from you.
Happy New Year and Happy Dinking!
Woody
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