Foam core prototypes are in production

We're on the hunt for the next paddle in the lineup. Over a dozen prototypes are making their way to completion right now. No two are the same, and nearly all of them have cores made entirely of foam. The next SALT paddle will be a full foam core, and one of these, or some mix of them, is where it starts.

Why foam

For years most paddles had a polymer honeycomb core. Little plastic hexagons sandwiched between two faces. It works. It's also a big part of why so many paddles feel about the same.

Then brands started adding foam. First around the edges and the throat, then in more places. These get called Gen 3 paddles. The C-605 is technically one of them, just a complicated version. It's called a "floating diving-board unibody." That mouthful of a title means the honeycomb in the C-605 is entirely surrounded by a foam perimeter, but it still runs all the way down into the handle. That strip of honeycomb in the handle is the "diving board." The uninterrupted foam perimeter, including the thin strip around the edge of the handle, is what makes it a unibody.

The newer paddles skip the honeycomb entirely. The whole core is foam. We've been testing every foam core paddle we can get our hands on and taking notes on what works and what doesn't, same as you would with anything good on the other side of the net.

The trouble with honeycomb

Gen 3 paddles play really well. Soft, comfortable, controlled. That's a big reason people love them, and a big reason we built one.

The catch is the honeycomb. After enough hard hits, the walls of those little cells start to break down. That's called core crush. The paddle starts playing differently than it did, and it doesn't come back.

A foam core has no cells to crush.

So that's what we're chasing. The feel of a good Gen 3 paddle without the core crush.

Not stiff. No long break-in. Comfortable and controlled from the first game, and still that way long after.

The questions

Taking out the honeycomb solves core crush. It doesn't solve anything else by itself. Every prototype in this batch is trying to answer the same questions.

What every prototype is trying to answer.

• Spin. Most of it happens at the surface, where the ball meets the grit.

• Output. We mean power, and a sweet spot that doesn't drop off the second you miss the middle.

• Feedback. The buzz that runs up the handle on a mishit.

More than one answer

None of these has a single answer. That's why there are so many prototypes.

One way to answer them. There are others in the batch.

Spin starts with the surface. We're testing grit that's meant to last, because grit that wears smooth stops doing its job.

Output is where the approaches split. One is structure built into the foam itself. Another is closed-cell foams at different densities, so the core flexes and rebounds differently in different places.

Feedback comes down to which foam goes where. Some foams do their best work in the middle of the face, where the ball hits. Others work better around the perimeter and in the handle, taking the vibration before it reaches your hand.

The picture shows one combination our general strategy. Which specific approach each prototype uses, and how, stays with us.

What's in this batch

Foam isn't one material. This batch covers several kinds. We've already noticed a few types that stand out.

• EPP, expanded polypropylene. Small beads of foam fused together. Light, and it springs back after it gets hit. The Mariah Carey of closed-cell foams.

• MPP, another polypropylene foam. If EPP is Mariah, then MPP is Black Sabbath.

• EVA, the same family of foam that's in most running shoes.

A couple of prototypes still keep some honeycomb so we have something to compare against. They're all the same thickness as the C-605, and there are a handful of shapes in the mix (yes, including flat-top hybrids).

Foam on the horizon

We hope to be hitting the prototypes by mid to late October. Then a lot of notes, and most of the prototypes get cut. Whatever survives still has to pass USA Pickleball certification, which takes as long as it takes.

We're a small company. Timelines move. We'll tell you when they do.

The C-605 is still our girl, and the P-1 is still my firstborn. This is just what comes next. We'll post testing notes here and in the 1st & 15th, our newsletter, as we go.

- SALT

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