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Company Info: Slash Pickleball is a pickleball company based out of Ontario, Canada. They were created by Adam with the goal of having awesome looking paddles that play great as well. They are bringing quality bargain paddles to the market. They currently have a line up of paddles and pickleball accessories available on their website. Give them a look and catch their full story at www.slashpickleball.com.
Item Name: Today we have the Slash Raw Carbon Fiber Pro and the Slash Carbon Fiber Performance
Description: Both of these paddles are 16MM and feature a black handle a ridged grip. The grips are slightly tacky. There is no additional branding on the grip or handle cap. The grip band is black in color as well. Both paddles have a 5 inch handle and feature T700 Toray Raw Carbon Fiber faces. The main difference is the Slash Pro features raw carbon fiber.
Slash Pro: The Slash Pro is predominantly black in color. On one side of the paddle face, the Slash logo (wolf) is outlined in white and red accents across the right side of the paddle face. Down the left side of the paddle face there are a thin red and white line and the word “PRO” outlined in the same white lines. The edge guard is black and down one side it states “Raw Carbon Fiber T700” in white and on the other it says “Slash” in white as well. The other side of the paddle has the “Slash: Relentless Pursuit” in white in the company text down the right hand side. Again, the wolf logo is present on the paddle in red outline and across the majority of the face.
Slash Performance: Similar to the Slash Pro, the Slash Performance is predominantly black in color. On one side of the paddle face, the Slash wolf logo is present with grey and navy colors, with red accents across the right side of the paddle face. Down the left side of the paddle face the word “Performance” is present in white outlined letters. Additionally, about ¾ of the padde face is gray, with the left hand side being navy. The edge guard is black and down one side it states “Carbon Fiber T700” in white and on the other it says “Slash” in white as well. The other side of the paddle has the “Slash: Relentless Pursuit” in white in the company text down the right hand side. Like the opposite side, ¾ of the paddle is gray, with the right hand side being navy. With that, this paddle side has wolf logo as a black silhouette.
Play Feel:
Slash Pro: The Slash Pro features a raw carbon fiber face and as such, it felt like it had a rougher texture when running your hand across it. With that, I felt as though the Slash Pro was easier to put spin on the ball.
Both paddles are comfortable when handling and weigh roughly the same with the same dimensions. I like the ridged grip on the paddles, as it allows for easier handling when you sweat or in muggy conditions.
I thought the sweet spot was surprisingly strong on both paddles and the paddles felt tough in hand battles. Both paddles held up well during our testing period, with no real signs of wear and tear and no signs of the paddle face graphics diminishing.
Price Point: The Slash Raw Carbon Fiber Pro is available on their website for $111, but at the time of writing is on sale for $74. The Slash Carbon Fiber Performance is available for $74, but at the time of writing is $52!
Recommendation: These paddles are a great affordable option for those who want to have fun while playing and still have a quality paddle. Their approach to keeping costs / prices low and with the quality remaining high is definitely working.
For the money, I was impressed by how well both of these paddles played. For the more casual player or somebody who is learning to play, but wants a paddle other than your standard “wood set” – I’d definitely recommend the Slash Performance. If you are looking for a little bit of an upgrade to that, the Slash Pro is the way to go.
Another thing about these paddles is that I think the designs are super cool. I think the logo is rad and comes across as dynamic across the paddle.
Obviously, with these paddles being a cost effective option, you may miss out on some of the “frills” of a $200 dollar paddle (like the handle cap logo or a paddle cover), but I don’t think you’re missing any necessities here.
I’m impressed by the first launch of Slash and will be tuning in to see what they drop in the future!