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Pickleball Paddles
£40
The Joola Ben Johns Essentials trades on the name of the world's number one ranked male pickleball player, but make no mistake, this is an entry-level paddle and not a downsized version of Ben Johns' tournament Perseus or Hyperion. At around £40 in the UK it sits where most household starter paddles live, and it does the job for a beginner who wants something cheap with a recognisable badge to learn the game on. You get a polymer core and a basic composite face, which is the standard recipe at this price. Buy it for a kid, a casual player or as a spare for visitors, but if you are already past 3.0 and looking for a real Joola, save up for the Scorpeus, Solaire or one of the Perseus-series. UK availability via Amazon UK is consistent and pricing is stable.
Something wrong? Suggest an edit →An honest beginner paddle wearing a famous name. Buy it as a starter, replace it within a year.
There is a particular flavour of paddle that exists mostly to put a famous player's name on a beginner's purchase, and the Joola Ben Johns Essentials is exactly that. Ben Johns plays the Hyperion or the Perseus on tour, neither of which has anything in common with this £40 paddle beyond the badge.
What you actually get is a competent entry-level offering, polymer honeycomb core, basic composite face, the standard recipe at this price band. It plays fine. A 2.0 to 3.0 beginner will learn the kitchen line, dinks and basic drives on it without trouble, and the Ben Johns badge will not hurt anyone's confidence.
The issue is value. At £40 on Amazon UK you are competing with the Franklin X-40 at £35 and the Joola Essentials proper at £90, and the Ben Johns Essentials does not noticeably outperform either of them. You are paying for the name. If that name is what gets you onto the court for the first time, that is fine, this is a perfectly reasonable starter.
What it is not, is a paddle you should still be using once you have crossed 3.5. By that point you should be looking at a Joola Solaire CFS 14, Selkirk SLK Halo or saving up for the Scorpeus CFS 16, all three of which deliver more spin grip and a far more competent feel at the kitchen.
Hand-written editorial — not auto-generated. By Gary, RacketRise.
| Shape | Standard |
| Core | Polymer honeycomb |
| Surface | Composite |