Selkirk departs from the pack
| Verdict |
|---|
| The Selkirk Luxx is a great paddle for those who need to up their control for one reason or another. I think that it is a paddle that you will need to give yourself some time to get used to as I do not think there is another with this surface or thickness available. I do think that for most people this paddle will not be the right choice as it will limit the power, whether it be on putaways, drives or even just counters. I would say this paddle gets a high score with me for the uniqueness but overall I would give it a 6/10. View at Just Paddles |
| Specs | Description |
|---|---|
| Paddle Weight | 7.8 – 8.1 oz |
| Paddle Face Material | Florek Carbon Fiber |
| Paddle Core Material | Thikset Honeycomb |
| Paddle Shape | Elongated |
| Paddle Length | 16.45” |
| Paddle Width | 7.5″ |
| Grip Size | 4 1/4” |
| Handle Length | 5.35” |
First Look
This is a paddle that I was very excited to review, as it is different from all of the other paddles that have come out recently. This is because the emphasis this year has all been on adding power, whether it was carbon fiber or thermoforming. The paddles have all been about pop. The Luxx went the other way, this paddle is very much about control and even countering the power that other paddles have. So, right off the bat, it is the thickest paddle I have personally ever seen at 20 mm. It is a good looking paddle that comes in blue, tan, and of course, the famous selkirk red.
Background Research
The Selkirk Luxx is a paddle focused on control. That is the main focus, but they did not want to sacrifice too much to get it. Selkirk says that they used Florek Carbon Fiber, a new surface that does a better job absorbing power while still providing great spin. The core of the paddle is X7 Thikset honeycomb core, which is pretty standard. This paddle, similar to the Power Air, has the Selkirk hole as well as the edgeless design that many people really like. The other thing is the price point. At $250, it is expensive as far as the whole paddle market, but if you know Selkirk, that is pretty middle of the road for them.
Performance Review & User Experience
Feel/Warmup
I can say this paddle performed just as advertised. The feel was immediately noticeable on my dinks. It was easy to put the ball right where I wanted. The other thing that I loved it for was resets. Standing in the midcourt I can still drop those resets into the kitchen better than I could with almost any paddle I’ve used. Once I started driving and countering, I also saw what I don’t like. First off. I would say this is the one of the worst paddles I’ve seen for singles. Hitting drives, you can’t generate the same swing speed due to the thickness. You also don’t get the same pop due to the surface so overall it would not be great. For doubles, you can still produce good spin and a solid drive; definitely not the winners you might be used to seeing from paddles like the Power Air. The second, this paddle struggled with and the biggest problem for me would have to be the counters. They are noticeably slower, so you either have to swing more (which will slow your hands down) or you can accept the less pop. So definitely huge pros but not without cons.
Control
This is the biggest strength of a paddle. This is an elite control paddle, if you are looking to take your touch and slow game to the next level, I would say look no further because you will not find a paddle better than this. The spin plus dampening of this paddle along with the 20mm thickness mean that this paddle is as billed on the control side.
Spin
The spin on this paddle is standard for the market. I did not feel like the spin blew me away the way some others have but it was no slouch. I could dip drives and topspin dink with ease.
Who is this paddle for?
I think the paddle is for two main groups of players. The first of them is for players that have a lot of power and are working on slow games. This group is very much the ex-tennis player group. This paddle will help them be able to quicken the learning of the dinking and transition portion of the game. The second group is for high level players who again are looking to up their reset game or their touch shots (shots where you have to brush the back of the ball and take lots of pace off for instance). For other players I think that this paddle’s lack of power will give them problems with their counters not being powerful enough.
Comparative Analysis
I do not think the Luxx has a comparable paddle, I think Selkirk is on the cutting edge of control with the Selkirk Luxx, I think the Selkirk 003 which was 18mm control heavy, was comparable but this surface gives you an upgrade on the spin side and overall I felt much better with this paddle.
Selkirk ranked this paddle as follows:
| Power | 7/10 |
| Control | 9/10 |
| Spin | 10/10 |
I would rank it like this:
| Power | 3/10 |
| Control | 10/10 |
| Spin | 7/10 |
Wrapping Up
I would say that like all paddles I have read Selkirk says this paddle is amazing. If you believe the companies, every paddle is good at everything but I think that this paddle has some really great upside for a specific player and some big downsides for everyone else. I think that we are going to see more of this in the future where there are more specific paddles where the difference is all preference and not one being way better than another. I think the spin is fine and the control is pretty amazing, the best I have seen. At the same time the power is the weakest I have used yet for a long time.