I’m Not a Shaper
Okay while I am an Enhance Pickleball fan, I do still like to experience other paddles, especially ones getting a lot of positive attention. Right now, the spotlight is on the Spartus Spitfire.
Not sure when this paddle released, but it’s gotten high praise for its long-lasting grit that can really spin the ball. At $99 (after code), this paddle is in the same budget space as the Turbo MPP (soon with ArmorGrit), and I recently picked up an elongated shape (more shapes available soon).
What did I learn after two days of playing? I can’t shape the ball. I just don’t have the skill or technique yet where spin is part of my swing, so the benefits are minimal. Although on serves, I do think the ball does kick more after hitting the court, causing mis-hits by the returner so there’s that.
Reviewers have mentioned that customizing the Spitfire with weights makes the paddle even better, so I revisited that forgotten topic. I started with white 3 gram clips and moved them around. In general, I felt like the weights made the paddle too hinge-y. Whatever position the weights were at felt like the paddle movement hinged at that spot. But I did prefer placement above 3 and 9 o’clock. Weights under 3 and 9 made the paddle feel sluggish to me.
The second day, I changed to the black two-gram clips at about 10 and 2. I like that better and will keep trying that out. But I will try out tungsten tape at 1 gram per inch to see if that provides a better weight distribution. The clips feel like the weight is focused exactly at the clip position, possibly creating that hinge-y sensation.
Although I am not a shaper, I am curious to compare the Spitfire to the Turbo MPP ArmorGrit and also learn how to incorporate spin into my game.
