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Company Info: Firefly Sports is a pickleball company based out of WA. They have over 50 years of sports equipment expertise and they are dedicated to bringing high quality products to market through a rigorous testing and design process. They utilize a 100% solar power manufacturing facility. They have paddles and apparel currently available on their website. For more on their story and product offerings, check them out at www.fireflysports.com.
Product Name: We will be taking a closer look at the Firefly Generator L1 / Blue Fade pickleball paddle.
Description: The Generator L1 comes in two colors and we have the Blue Fade combination to review. The paddle face features a 12K carbon fiber composite blend. The paddle face appears to be split in half with the top half being dark in color with a woven carbon fiber.
The bottom half is a “blue fade” color with the Firefly logo in black. Beneath this color there is still the woven fiber as well, just not visible. At the bottom of the paddle face, the USA Pickleball Approval is present in bright blue. Surrounding the pickleball approval is text in black with the paddle specifications.
The paddle doesn’t feature a traditional edge guard, but it has “apex side rails” which are white in color. The grip is black and lacks texture or tackiness. The “Firefly” wording is also present on the grip wrap in white.
The handle cap has the Firefly logo in a shiny black on black background.
The core material is made with a Kinetic core vs. the traditional honeycomb.
You can choose your weight when purchasing between “Light (7.4 -7.7 oz)” and “Medium (7.7 to 8.1 oz).
Play feel: The first thing I noticed about the paddle was the sound of the ball when hitting. Given it has a different core material (kinetic) it has a distinct, slightly higher pitch sound when striking the ball. This was a bit of an adjustment just from the mental perspective of hearing the ball differently, but after a few hits, I did not notice it.
The paddle face itself has texture, but is not overly rough when running your hand across it. That said, I thought the paddle still had a good amount of grip and was able to place solid spin on the ball. The paddle face feels a bit stiffer than most as well.
The sweet spot was surprisingly large on the paddle and I found it to play very consistent and accurate. The paddle itself was pretty strong just about everywhere. I thought it exceled most in the more controlled shots, given the accuracy. It does have good power, however, I would not consider this a “power paddle.”
I did find the grip to be a little lackluster as far as tackiness is concerned, and would personally utilize an overgrip. I will also say that the grip out of the box was durable and I saw no signs of wear and tear in the Florida heat.
The paddle came in a box made from recycled materials, which goes back to their goal of minimal environmental impact.
The Generator L1 felt lightweight and was comfortable to handle fresh out of the packaging.
Price Point: The Generator L1 typically sells for $179.99 on their website but at the time of writing is available for $129.99.
Recommendation: I would consider the Generator L1 an “overall” play style paddle. It is USA Pickleball approved and will allow you to compete in tournaments and other competitions with that designation. Although the initial sound of this paddle was different, I grew to be fond of the Generator L1 and play style. This is just a fun paddle to play with given it is very solid in so many different areas.
The paddle is definitely unique in both the looks and sound. I think the design is really striking, with the stark contrast between the top half of the paddle face and bottom (the carbon fiber vs. white/blue fade). I think the logo with the lightning bolt integration and overall branding is also top notch. I do wish it came with a paddle cover for their upper end products.
The quality is evident and I do respect the company for staying true to their values with being solar powered and using recycled materials in packaging. Firefly also offers a lifetime warranty on their paddles for manufacturing defects in materials and workmanship, so you can feel confident when purchasing from them.
Thanks to Firefly Sports for sending our way. We’ll be sure to stay tuned for what innovations they bring in the future!
Be sure to give them a look and for full photographs, check out our Instagram!
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