Foam Wars, Gen 3.5 Surprises, and the $99 Disruptor
New test data, unexpected standouts, and the paddle that caught me off guard. Want one that leans more technical or one that pushes curiosity a bit further?
Coming July 13: Element 6 Surtr Review – Gen 3.5 Done Right
https://youtube.com/@mattspickleball
This one surprised me. The Element 6 Surtr isn’t just another foam-injected Gen 3.5—it’s one of the most balanced paddles I’ve tested this year. It swings fast, hits hard, and somehow stays stable without needing tape. The feel is crisp but not harsh, and the sweet spot is wider than you'd expect from a hybrid this quick.
Full video review drops July 13. I break down the construction, performance numbers, comparisons against the Ripple and GX2, and who this paddle actually fits. If you’re looking for a no-fuss Gen 3.5 that delivers power without sacrificing balance or forgiveness, this one’s worth a look.
Code MPB knocks the presale price down to $150.
July Paddle Heat Check: GX2 Power, TerraCore XC, TruFoam 4, and a $99 Shock from Vatic
The paddle market isn’t slowing down. July’s packed with high-stakes launches and quiet upgrades that actually matter. In this week’s Paddle of the Week—now part of the Matt’s Pickleball Podcast, live on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube—I’m covering six new paddles that are pushing foam-core design, breaking price barriers, and tightening the gap between raw power and real control.
Vatic’s Vcore resets the market at $99. Gearbox finally nailed the balance with the GX2 Power. And TruFoam’s Genesis 4 refines the formula with better shape and feel. Every paddle in this lineup brings something new—and I’ve been testing them all.
Avoura Revaya & Rivelle: Gen 1, Refined
While most brands are stacking layers and chasing feel through foam and thermoforming, Avoura went the other way. The Revaya and Rivelle are Gen 1 at their core—cold-bonded raw carbon, no foam, no edge tech, no gimmicks. Just deliberate design choices built around stability, fatigue reduction, and usable sweet spot width.
The Revaya is their elongated frame. The Rivelle is a hybrid with a wider shoulder and faster reload. Both use the same 13mm core and raw T700 carbon face—but how they’re shaped, balanced, and tuned is what separates them. This isn’t about pop or power inflation. These are paddles built to feel intuitive, stay predictable, and hold up deep into a session without masking performance behind rebound tricks.
Inside the mold are embedded perimeter weights—visible on X-ray—that add torsional stability without bloating swing weight. The polypropylene core is denser than most, bonded cold for cleaner feedback. Everything here is domestic: not just assembled in the U.S., but molded and built here with tight production control.
Performance reflects that intention. The Revaya plays deliberate and firm with a 113.85 swing weight, 5.85 twist, and heavy plow on drives. I added 10–12 grams of tungsten to tighten forgiveness—worked immediately. The Rivelle sits at 109.9 swing, 6.25 twist, and 7.98 static. Quicker reload, more stable blocks, better transitions. Serve speeds hover in the mid-55s, pop in the high-36s, with spin around 2,100–2,180 RPM. That’s more than enough for Gen 1 surfaces—and without the instability of overbuilt frames.
Neither paddle hides its character. The Revaya is for players who want pressure and extension. The Rivelle is built for speed, resets, and stable all-court control. Both can be modded easily, and both give you more face to work with than their shapes suggest. The design borrows from torpedo-style bat logic: widen the impact zone, not the outline.
MSRP is $199 for either model, with full U.S. manufacturing and zero offshore components. At that price, they undercut Bantam and ProXR while offering a more balanced, arm-friendly experience. You’re trading layered trickery for clean feedback and consistent playability—and if that’s what you’re looking for, these belong on your radar.
Use code MPB if you decide to pick one up.
Foam Core Face-Off: 9 Paddles, 1 Winner
I took nine foam-core paddles into a live ball machine session—no script, no edits—to break down how they actually perform. Some use full foam cores (like the J2NF and TrueFoam Genesis), others rely on internal ribs or hybrids (like the Gearbox GX2 Power). I ran drives, drops, and ranked them based on feel, power output, touch performance, and overall playability. Here’s where it landed.
Top performer on drives: Ronbus Ripple R5. With a firepower score of 93, it topped the list for raw output. The Gearbox GX2 Power Hybrid wasn’t far behind at 85, followed by the TerraCore XC at 88. The Element 6 Surtr, Vatic Pro VCore, and Honolulu J2NF rounded out the rest—with the J2NF posting the lowest score at 51. But lower power didn’t mean weaker performance.
Touch shot standout: Vatic Pro VCore. At $99, it’s the best-feeling paddle on drops across the bunch. Softer off the face than the J2NF, GX2, or Ripple, but more composed and less jarring than most of the pack. There’s no hollow feel, no overreaction—you get clean, manageable feedback even in chaos.
Most consistent feel: Honolulu J2NF. Despite being the lowest in power, this paddle continues to stand out for its blend of stiffness, feel, and stability. It plays closest to my preferred honeycomb-core paddles like the JOOLA Perseus 16 and 11SIX24 Alpha Pro Power. If you’re looking for a foam-core build that mimics traditional polypropylene response, start here.
Favorite overall: Still the J2NF. It hits the right notes across resets, drives, and touch shots. The GX2 Power Hybrid and VCore are close behind—very different builds, but both playable at high levels. The GX2 has a more engineered feel, like a tuned-up Perseus. The VCore is raw, balanced, and punchy, with surprising control.
What didn’t click (for me): The Body Helix TerraCore XC. The power is real, but I struggled to tame it. Even after a dozen hours of testing, pop-ups and misfires made it tough to trust during high-pressure points. That doesn’t make it a bad paddle—just one that demands a longer calibration phase. Some players will love it. I just couldn’t fully unlock it.
Final note: every paddle here is playable. The Diadem Warrior Blue Core and Selkirk Project 008, for example, offer more linear, soft-touch performance and might be perfect for players prioritizing resets and control. But if you’re hunting for optimized output and consistency in 2025’s foam-core scene, the J2NF, GX2 Power, and Vatic VCore are the ones to beat.
Use code MPB to pick up any of these paddles and save at checkout (use code INF-MPB at Selkirk).
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🙌 Thanks for Reading!
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So in your conclusion comments- you don’t seem to mention the Genesis hybrid 4. Where does that one fit in in terms of preferences, spin, feedback, etc? Thanks for consistently thorough reviews.
Great info. Which of these new foam paddles would be best for those of us who suffer from tennis elbow and shoulder problems? I need a paddle with a softer feel and one that dampens vibrations. I’m currently playing with the Friday Fever. Thanks!