Elongated vs widebody vs hybrid: what the shape alone changes

What are the three paddle shapes?

Every paddle splits the same space. The rules cap a paddle at 17 inches long and 24 inches in length plus width, and brands use almost every bit of it, since nearly all the paddles I've tested come within 0.2 inch of 24 inches. Shape is how a brand splits those 24 inches, so a longer face has to be a narrower one.

A widebody gives you the widest face and the least reach. An elongated paddle is the longest and narrowest: the most reach, the smallest sweet spot, and a sweet spot that sits higher up the face. A hybrid is in between.

Hybrid is a label, not a size. Nine hybrids I've tested are 7.5 inches wide or narrower, which is the same width as a typical elongated paddle. The Gearbox GX2 Integra XL measures 16.38 x 7.38 inches and the Vulcan Dark Matter 16.35 x 7.35 inches, so check the width, not the name.

What does the shape alone change?

To see what the shape alone changes, I lined up every model I've tested that comes as both an elongated and a widebody from the same brand at the same thickness. Ten models I've tested come in both: Enhance's DUO, EPP Turbo, MPP Turbo and MPP Turbo ArmorGrit, Selkirk's Boomstik, OMNI and SLK Dauntless, the Friday Aura Pro, the RPM Q2 and the Volair SHIFT. Here's what moved when only the shape did.

Sweet spot and control go to the widebody every time. In all 10 models the widebody had the bigger sweet spot and more control, and its sweet spot was never less than 20 points bigger. The reason is twist weight, which is how well a paddle resists turning in your hand when you hit off center. A wider face carries more of its weight out at the sides, and the widebody's twist weight was higher in all 10.

Power goes to the elongated. The elongated had more power in eight of the 10 models, typically by 7.5 points of power, and it never hit softer. The other two, the EPP Turbo and the SLK Dauntless, scored the same in both shapes. The elongated weighs about the same as the widebody version, but it carries that weight farther from your hand. Its balance point sits closer to the tip in all 10, and its swing weight is higher in all 10, typically by 7.8. On a full swing, a longer paddle with its weight farther out puts more pace on the ball.

The price of that power is hand speed. Swing weight is how heavy a paddle feels when you swing it, and the widebody swung lighter in all 10, which makes it the quicker paddle in a hands battle at the kitchen.

Pop goes to the widebody too. The widebody had more pop in nine of the 10 models, typically by 7.5 points of pop, and the Selkirk Boomstik is the only one where the elongated version has more.

Spin doesn't change. The two versions were within 50 RPM of each other in nine of the 10 models, and the typical gap was 15 RPM either way. Across the paddles I've tested, spin runs from 2,059 to 2,467 RPM, yet the typical widebody, hybrid and elongated you can buy today sit within 5 RPM of each other. That's because the face sets spin, not the shape. The clearest proof is Honolulu's Crystal Blue paddles, which come in all three shapes and are the three highest-spin paddles I've tested: the J2CR Long Handle Crystal Blue (2,467 RPM), the J3CR Crystal Blue (2,436 RPM) and the J6CR Crystal Blue (2,424 RPM).

The elongated usually gets the longer handle. It had the longer handle in eight of the 10 models, and the other two were the same. Across everything I've tested, 28 elongated paddles have a handle of 5.75 inches or more, against only 11 hybrids and seven widebodies. That matters if you hit a two-handed backhand.

In eight of the 10, the elongated has more power, by 5 points or more in all eight, and in the other two the power is the same. In all 10, the widebody has the bigger sweet spot, more control and the lighter swing. The Selkirk Boomstik Elongated is the rare one that wins pop too, with pop 99 out of 100 against 91 for the Boomstik Widebody. Compare the two Boomstiks side by side.

One paddle in all three shapes

Six models I've tested come in all three shapes, and two lines show the whole trade in one place. Enhance's EPP Turbo costs the same in every shape. Honolulu sells its Crystal Blue paddles in all three shapes too, with a different name for each, and gives you a 6-inch handle on all three (the J2CR in its Long Handle version), so the handle stays the same and only the head changes.

Power doesn't move at all here, at 91 out of 100 in every shape. The shape moves the sweet spot from 88 down to 59, control from 70 down to 32, and swing weight from 107.0 up to 118.1. Same power, so the shape only decides how forgiving the paddle is.

The Crystal Blue paddles follow the same pattern at a smaller size. The J6CR Crystal Blue hits a little harder than the J3CR Crystal Blue (power 87 against 81), and the J3CR's sweet spot is clearly bigger (86 against 72). All three are on my lists. The J6CR Crystal Blue tops my elongated list, the J2CR Long Handle Crystal Blue is third on my hybrid list, and the J3CR Crystal Blue is third on my widebody list. Compare all three.

What is a hybrid paddle, and does it split the difference?

It does. Against the same model in the other two shapes, the typical hybrid lands between them on everything that moves.

Twelve models I've tested come as both an elongated and a hybrid. In 10 of them the elongated hit harder, it never hit softer, and in all 12 it gave up sweet spot and control. So against the elongated, the hybrid typically gives up 5.5 points of power and gets back 14 points of sweet spot and 22 of control. If you want some reach without the elongated's narrow face, that's a good trade.

Shape tilts a paddle, but the build sets its level. The typical elongated you can buy today scores 80 out of 100 for power and the typical hybrid scores 76.5, so they're about the same. And the paddle with the most power of any I've tested is a hybrid, the Pickleball Apes Zen S+, which scored 100 for power. A hot hybrid can outhit a mild elongated.

The typical paddle of each shape, by the numbers

The models above isolate the shape. These are the typical numbers, the middle of each group, for every paddle you can buy today, so they show shape and build together. This is the market you're shopping.

The groups overlap, but not evenly. Thirteen widebodies I've tested hit at least as hard as a typical elongated (power 80 or more), and the hardest hitting widebody you can buy is the Enhance EPP Turbo Widebody, at 91 out of 100. Not one elongated paddle I've tested reaches the sweet spot of a typical widebody (83), and the closest is the Selkirk Boomstik Elongated at a sweet spot of 74. Only two elongated paddles I've tested reach a typical widebody's control (76), and the one you can still buy is the Honolulu J6FC+ at control 78.

Twist weight splits the same way. The typical paddle you can buy today has a twist weight of 6.47, and about four in five elongated paddles I've tested sit below that, while only nine widebodies I've tested do.

What shape do pros use?

Most pros play elongated or hybrid paddles. They want the reach and the extra pace on drives, and they hit the center of the face far more often than most rec players, so the smaller sweet spot costs them less. Widebodies are the least common shape at the top level, though a few top players use one.

Copy their game, not their shape. The sweet spot gap between the widebody and elongated versions of the same model is typically 28 points, and you pay it on every ball you catch off center.

Which shape should you buy?

Pick the trade you want. My own lists end up sorting by shape, since eight of my 10 beginner picks are widebodies, six of my 10 intermediate picks are hybrids, and eight of my 10 advanced picks are elongated.

• Widebody: you're newer, you play most of your points at the kitchen in doubles, or you want the most forgiveness and the fastest hands. In every model I've tested that also comes as an elongated or a hybrid, the widebody had the bigger sweet spot. It swung lighter than the elongated version in all 10 models I've tested in both, and it had more pop in nine of them. Start with my best widebody paddles or my beginner picks.
• Hybrid: you play the whole court, you aren't sure yet, or you want more reach and power than a widebody without the elongated's small sweet spot. See my best hybrid paddles and my intermediate picks.
• Elongated: you want the most power on serves and drives, extra reach, room for a two-handed backhand, you play singles or you come from tennis, and you find the center of the face consistently. See my best elongated paddles and my advanced picks.

Already happy with your shape? Stay in it when you change paddles, and compare paddles within that shape. If you love the elongated's reach but your off-center balls fly, a few grams of lead tape on the sides raises twist weight, at the cost of some swing weight.