.jpeg)
Company Info: A11N Sports is a sporting company that features many different sports and now has a wide range of pickleball related items. Their goal is to “foster the spirit of sport, bringing people of all backgrounds together to embrace the joy of play.” They have everything from paddles, to portable nets and are focused on great customer service. Check out their full line up at www.a11nsports.com.
Item: Today we are taking a closer look at the A11N Carry C7 Carbon Fiber pickleball paddle.
Description: The A11N Carry C7 is more of a rectangular paddle face design. The paddle itself is primarily black in color, with the paddle face being carbon fiber. The paddle does feature an edge guard and it is black in color. The grip tape is white and does not feature any ridges.
The paddle displays the A11N logo near the base of the paddle handle, in a light blue color. Directly below that is the USA pickleball approved logo in a grey color to accent the black paddle face. Down the right hand side the paddle name “Carry” is featured vertically in the grey color. It displays the C7 differentiation directly below in the same light blue color.
The paddle did come with a paddle cover, which mimics the paddle face design and color combo. The paddle comes in 14MM or 16MM.
Play Feel: This paddle felt surprisingly sturdy when playing with over the last couple of weeks. I would say that this is a good blend of control and power, without being overly swayed in one direction. I think the paddle is strong and has held up well in our testing.
The paddle face itself has texture which does allow for placing some extra spin.
The sweet spot is very centered on the paddle and I did find that it was fairly consistent as well. It did seem to lack the “overall” sweet spot in some of the corners as we went for balls just out of reach, which is to be expected. The grip itself did have a bit of stickiness, which I am always a fan of.
So far, we have seen no damage or wear and tear after the testing process.
The paddle was easy to get used to and was easy to hit touch shots with.
Price Point: The paddle sells for $99.99 on their website and at the time of writing this (February 2024) is on sale for $68.99.
Recommendation: At this price point, I definitely think this paddle is a great value. It holds up very well and is durable. Given it is on sale for less than $70, I would definitely recommend taking a look if you’re wanting to upgrade from your beginner paddle. I think this paddle would definitely fit a “well rounded” play style, in that it has a good “pop” off the paddle, without being uncontrollable or the dominating feature.
I was impressed by the grip comfort and I think the general design is timeless and not overbearing.
The paddle comes with a cover, which will help keep your paddle protected and increase its lifespan.
I will be on the lookout for what A11N drops next!
Be sure to give them a look and for full photographs, check out our Instagram!
Dimensions:
Width: 7.38in
Length: 16.5in
Grip Length: 5.25in
Grip circumference: 4.33 in
Core(mm): 16mm
Weight: 8.0-8.4oz
Surface: Molecule Carbon
Fiber Core: Molecule Honeycomb
Grip tape : Ultral-Dry grip
Control: 8.5
Power: 8.3
Spin: 9.3
Sweet spot: 8
USAPA Approved: YES