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Company Info: Astes Sports is a pickleball company that was founded by a collective of architects, engineers and artists from Beijing, Melbourne, and the Bay Area. Their goal is to bring pickleball products to the growing market with their expertise in arts, sciences and technology. They currently have a product line of paddles, eye-wear, and various accessories. Astes stands for “arts, sciences, and tech evolve sports” – which is exactly their goal in the pickleball game! More info on them and their full product line up at www.astes-sports.com.
Product Name: Today we have the Astes Sports Engineer Max paddle and the Cotton Sport Towel.
Description: The Engineer Max pickleball paddle is primarily black in color. The paddle is a 16MM with a T700 Carbon Fiber face. This paddle features the ever popular aerodynamic through (the hole at the base of the paddle). The core is a reactive honeycomb, with the paddle being crafted using thermoformed one-piece molding. There is no edge guard. The paddle face is considerably textured when running your hand across it.
While the paddle is almost entirely black, the “astes” logo is on the left hand side, vertically, in a bronze / gold color. All the graphics feature this bronze / gold mix, which is shiny. The USA pickleball approval logo is beneath the aerodynamic through. The name “Engineer Max and other details (16MM and T700 Carbon Fiber) text are features down the right hand side of the paddle. The grip is black and does not feature any texture/ridges and does not contain much “tackiness.” The handle cap also features the “astes” logo.
The sport towel is cotton and white in color. It is rectangular and features the “astes” wording large across the middle in a stitched format.
Play Style: The Engineer Max feels lightweight when handling and swinging, yet feels extremely sturdy and is not flimsy at all. As mentioned previously, there is a considerable amount of texture on the paddle and it easily allows for spin to be placed on the ball. I was really impressed by how balanced it is. It does not feel top heavy and this really allows for you to hit consistent shots. The paddle is not overly powerful, yet it holds up well in firefights and resets. It also has a rather large sweet spot, which is impressive.
Price: The Cotton Sport time ranges from $9.99 to 16.99 depending on the size you select. The Engineer Max paddle is available on their website for $189.99.
Recommendation: One thing I will call out about this paddle as well is that the packaging and presentation are top notch. The box included an overgrip, replacement grip, and cleaning tool. One thing I would like to see is potentially a paddle cover, to protect from the elements when carrying your bag, etc. The paddle itself is striking and I really enjoy the design. The color combination is nice and gives a timeless feel. I would recommend utilizing the overgrip, given I felt the initial grip did not contain a lot of tackiness, but that is personal preference.
The paddle itself performs very well and is well-balanced in all areas (control, power, etc.). It held up great over our testing period and we did not see any signs of damage outside of normal wear and tear. The graphics have remained legible and the shine is present.
I think this is definitely a paddle you can utilize to be highly competitive and also, it seems that any of the paddles that feature the aerodynamic throat are conversation starters at the courts. This paddle is no exception!
The towel is also nice and does not have any odd smell, which sometimes happens with sports towels I’ve purchased. It is soft and is nice for keeping your hands dry or wiping sweat.
I am impressed by the first drop of Astes and look forward to seeing what they bring in the future!
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