14mm vs 16mm pickleball paddles: what the extra 2mm changes

What's the difference between a 14mm and 16mm paddle?

The number is the thickness of the core, the honeycomb or foam layer between the two faces. A 16mm core is about 0.63 inches thick and a 14mm core about 0.55 inches, so the gap is 2mm, about the thickness of a nickel. It's small, but it moves control, sweet spot, power and pop in ways my tests pick up.

To see what thickness does on its own, I took every paddle I've tested in both thicknesses, and that's 13 models. Inside each pair the brand, model, shape, length, width, handle, core material, face and surface are the same, and both paddles went through the same tests. Thickness is the only real difference (a few pairs also differ by an eighth of an inch or less in grip size). Here's what going from 14mm to 16mm did.

The 14mm and 16mm pairs you can still buy

Some of the 13 models I've tested in both thicknesses can't be bought anymore, so the tables below only show pairs you can still buy. Every number comes from the same tests, 14mm first and 16mm second.

You can put any pair side by side in my compare tool, like the two JOOLA Perseus Pro IVs.

Does a 16mm paddle give you more control?

Yes, and it's the most reliable thing thickness does. The 16mm had more control in all 13 pairs, with control up by 5 points or more in nine and a typical control gain of 9 points. Sweet spot went up in all 13 as well, and in seven of them the sweet spot grew by 5 points or more, with a typical sweet spot gain of 6 points. The biggest jumps came on the Volair Mach 2 Forza, where control went from 81 to 100 out of 100, more than any other paddle I've tested, and on the Franklin C45 Dynasty, where sweet spot went from 32 to 56.

Twist weight, which my swing weight machine measures, points the same way. The 16mm had a higher twist weight in 12 of the 13 pairs, with a typical twist weight gain of 0.25. On a paddle in the middle of the pack, that's enough to put it ahead of 42 more paddles I've tested, so the face turns less in your hand when you miss the center. A 16mm also usually feels a little softer on contact, which makes it easier to take pace off a dink or a reset.

The top of my control scores agrees. The 27 paddles I've tested with the most control are all 16mm or thicker, and the most controllable thinner paddles you can still buy are the 14mm versions of the Volair Mach 2 and Mach 2 Forza, both with a control score of 81.

Does a 14mm paddle have more power?

Not on full swings. The 16mm had more power in 10 of the 13 pairs, with power up by 5 points or more in eight, and it hit softer in just one. The JOOLA Perseus Pro IV went from 68 to 85 out of 100 for power, and the RPM Q2 Widebody went from 64 to 90.

The 14mm's real edge is pop at the net. The 14mm had more pop in nine of the 13 pairs, but it was ahead on pop by 5 points or more in only four of those nine, and the typical pop change across all 13 was just 2 points. The big one is the JOOLA Perseus Pro IV, with pop 93 out of 100 at 14mm against 64 at 16mm. Only two pairs went the other way, and one of them is the RPM Q2 Widebody, where the 16mm had a little more pop, 98 against 92.

So the old rule that 14mm means more power holds for the quick punch at the net, not the drive. A short punch rewards a quick rebound off the face, and a full swing rewards a heavier, steadier paddle, which is what the 16mm usually is. In all 11 pairs where the 16mm swung heavier, it hit at least as hard. In the two where it swung lighter, it didn't gain a point of power, and on the Franklin C45 Dynasty, power dropped from 81 at 14mm to 66 at 16mm.

The lighter swing is the 14mm's other edge, and it's small too. The typical gap was 1.0 in swing weight, and on a paddle in the middle of the pack, that only makes it lighter than 18 more paddles I've tested. You'd feel it most in fast hands battles.

Does a thicker paddle have more spin?

No. The 16mm spun more in seven pairs and less in six, and the typical change was 2 RPM. Some gaps were real, like 63 RPM more on the 16mm JOOLA Perseus 3S and 65 RPM less on another pair, but they don't follow the thickness. Spin comes from the face, so pick a spin paddle by its surface, and start with my spin list.

What about 13mm and thinner paddles?

Going thicker from the thin end works the same way for pop and control, but not for power. I've tested four of PaddleTek's Bantam models at both 12.7mm and 14.3mm. The thicker version lost pop in three of the four, two of them by more than 30 points of pop, and the Bantam TKO-CX went from pop 100 out of 100 at 12.7mm, more than any other paddle you can still buy, to 66 at 14.3mm. Control went up in three of the four, led again by the TKO-CX, which went from a control score of 34 to 65. Power didn't go up in any of them. All four thicker Bantams had a lower power score, though only one dropped by 5 points or more, and sweet spot stayed within 2 points in every pair.

I've also tested one full-foam elongated at both 10mm and 13mm, and it barely moved. Its sweet spot and control came out identical, and its power moved 4 points and its pop moved 5 points. Above 16mm I don't have a same-paddle pair, so I won't claim a trend there.

Can a 16mm paddle have less control than a 14mm?

Yes, easily. Thickness tells you what changes between two versions of one paddle. Between different paddles, the build matters more. The typical 14mm paddle scores 58 out of 100 for control. That's more control than about a third of the 16mm paddles I've tested. Full-foam elongated paddles show it best. The typical 16mm one scores 32 for control, clearly below the typical 14mm one at 43 for control, because the 16mm foam elongateds lean toward power, with a typical power score of about 87 against 72.

Pop works the same way. The typical 16mm paddle has pop 76 and the typical 14mm paddle has pop 74, which is about the same. Of the 22 paddles I've tested with pop 90 or higher, 17 are 16mm or thicker. Between different paddles, the 14mm label alone doesn't promise pop. The rest of the build decides it.

So use thickness to choose between the 14mm and 16mm of a paddle you already like. To choose between different paddles, look at their numbers in my database or put them side by side in compare.

Should you get a 14mm or 16mm paddle?

Get the 16mm unless you have a reason not to. Across the 13 models I've tested in both thicknesses, it never scored lower on control or sweet spot, and it had more power in 10. My best lists back that up, because every paddle on them is 16mm or thicker except two, the 14mm CRBN TruFoam Barrage 4 and the 15.5mm Thrive Fury Elongated.

• You're newer to the game or still building your soft game. Every pick on my beginners list is 16mm or thicker.
• You want control. Start with my control list, which is led by the 16mm Volair Mach 2 Forza from the tables above.
• You want power from the baseline. Every paddle on my power list is 16mm or thicker.
• You play a widebody. All ten on my widebody list are 16mm.

Get the 14mm if one of these fits you:

• You already have good touch, you play most of your points in fast hands battles at the net, and you want the quicker, poppier version of a paddle. Expect a little more pop and a slightly lighter swing, not a different paddle.
• You've played the 16mm version of a paddle and it felt too soft or too slow for you.
• You want a JOOLA Perseus Pro IV for its pop. At 14mm it scores 93 out of 100 for pop against 64 at 16mm, and only eight paddles I've tested have more pop than the 14mm. You clearly give up power and sweet spot for it, 68 against 85 on power and 36 against 50 on sweet spot.

If you go 14mm and want some stability back, lead tape on the sides raises twist weight.