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Pickleball Paddles
£90
Joola's plain Essentials paddle sits a notch above the Ben Johns Essentials and is the brand's standard starter offering in the UK. At around £90 it is on the expensive side of entry-level, which usually means it is being bought as part of a paddle-and-balls set rather than as a bare paddle, so check what is in the box. Joola's reputation in the UK is driven by their pro-tier Hyperion, Perseus and Scorpeus models, and the Essentials is the gateway product underneath them. If you are buying one of these you are most likely a beginner or a club organiser stocking spares, and on those terms it is fine. A 3.5+ player should skip it and put the £90 towards a Scorpeus CFS or Solaire CFS instead.
Something wrong? Suggest an edit →Trustworthy beginner kit if it comes bundled, but the Solaire CFS 14 is a better paddle for less money.
The Joola Essentials sits above the Ben Johns Essentials in Joola's range and is the brand's main starter offering in the UK. At around £90 it is on the expensive end of entry-level, and at that price it is most often sold as a paddle-and-balls bundle rather than as a bare paddle, so the first thing to do on the listing is check what is in the box.
In build it is a polymer honeycomb core with a composite face, no carbon, no premium materials. That is the right recipe for a beginner who wants a paddle that feels like a paddle, but if you compare it back-to-back with a Joola Solaire CFS 14 at £65 the Solaire wins on materials. Joola's reputation in the UK is built on the Hyperion, Perseus and Scorpeus tournament-tier paddles, and the Essentials is the entry door under those rather than a standalone star.
The right buyer is a beginner being given a complete kit by family, a club organiser stocking spares, or a tennis convert who wants something familiar and trustworthy and is not ready to think about core thickness or surface materials yet.
A 3.5+ player should skip this entirely and put the £90 towards a Solaire CFS 14, which is a meaningfully better paddle for less money, or stretch to the Scorpeus CFS 16 for a more forgiving 16mm core that protects the elbow on long sessions.
Hand-written editorial — not auto-generated. By Gary, RacketRise.
| Shape | Standard |
| Core | Polymer honeycomb |
| Surface | Composite |