All Tier 1 Paddles Have These 2 Things in Common | KewCast 125
What do Tier 1 pickleball paddles have in common? I went back through 50 accelerated wear tests, and every Tier 1 result shared two traits in the surface roughness left after wear. In KewCast 125, we unpack what those findings could tell us about durable grit and lasting spin. All 10 Tier 1 results cleared two post-wear roughness levels: Rz of at least 33.6 microns and Rt of at least 50.2 microns. But paddles can clear those levels and still miss Tier 1. We explain why these patterns are useful clues, what they cannot prove yet, and how they will help me double-check future spin durability results. The Vatic V-Sol Tour cautionary tale helped prompt this deeper look. We discuss unit-to-unit variation, why a borderline Tier 1 result deserves more scrutiny, and how profilometer readings can provide a separate sanity check on the ball cannon results. Also this week: JOOLA Power FX results, a second batch of the Enhance MPP Turbo with ArmorGrit, Neonic FLX with NeoGrit, the Ascend Sonic, and Fortix Lance. Then we tackle your questions about twist weight, ball hardness, secret shopper testing, power versus spin, and why I prefer “pocketing” over “dwell time.” Our accelerated wear method uses 100 ball cannon shots at 70 MPH with the paddle clamped at 30 degrees, plus before-and-after spin measurements at 60 MPH. Surface roughness is measured before and after wear with a Starrett profilometer. The patterns discussed here are strong leads from this dataset, not confirmed physical laws. Chapters/ Timestamps
0:00 Episode 125 preview
3:54 JOOLA Power FX spin durability results
18:03 Enhance MPP Turbo ArmorGrit batch 2
20:47 Neonic FLX with NeoGrit
27:15 Ascend Sonic
31:56 Gear of the Week - Update on Franklin X-44 and Selkirk S2 Pro balls after a 2 weeks of use
40:19 What 50 wear tests reveal about Tier 1 grit
41:24 The Vatic V-Sol Tour cautionary tale
45:36 The two roughness traits shared by all Tier 1 results
47:41 Why those numbers do not guarantee Tier 1
50:56 How these findings change future testing
58:10 Can a paddle have too much twist weight?
1:02:51 Secret shopper paddle comparisons
1:04:04 Does more power or pop create more spin?
1:06:38 Why replace “dwell time” with “pocketing”? Could we keep the familiar term “dwell” and add something like “slippage” to describe the difference? Products mentioned in podcast:
JOOLA Power FX (affiliate link): https://joola.com/products/perseus-power-fx-pickleball-paddle?bg_ref=SGHmrvEFDJ
Ascend Sonic - save 10% with code JOHNKEW: https://ascendpickleball.com/products/sonic-full-foam-mpp-paddle/johnkew
Enhance MPP Turbo ArmorGrit - save 10% with code JOHNKEW: https://www.enhancepickleball.com/JOHNKEW
Franklin - save 10% with code JOHNKEW: https://franklinsports.sjv.io/WqZr1O
Selkirk - digital coupons with code INF-JOHNKEW: https://www.selkirk.com?sca_ref=6285388.NM89wCbFwv Explore the paddle database, testing reports, and calculators: https://johnkewpickleball.com Subscribe for independent pickleball paddle reviews, lab testing, and weekly KewCast discussions. Have a question for Kew and A? Leave it in the comments. #Pickleball #PickleballPaddles #KewCast
