Selkirk calls the SLK ERA Power Widebody a power paddle, but my numbers don't back that up. It's a 16mm Gen 3 paddle with a honeycomb core. Control, sweet spot and spin are all about the same as a typical widebody. Pop is a little lower, power is clearly lower, and about three quarters of the paddles I've tested hit harder. It does feel dense at contact, and it stays stable when you miss the center. That's nice if you want a Selkirk widebody that plays well without any lead tape. But for $200, most people should look elsewhere. Staying with Selkirk? I'd get the SLK Dauntless Widebody. It's $50 less and clearly more controllable. If the brand doesn't matter to you, get the Enhance MPP Turbo ArmorGrit Widebody, which hits far harder for about half the price after its code. If you buy the ERA Power, the code INF-STSPICKLEBALL adds a $30 Selkirk gift card to your order. The code doesn't lower the price of the paddle, but you still get $30 to spend at Selkirk.
Pros and cons
Pros
- It's solid and dense at contact, with no hollow sound.
- The face stays stable on off-center hits.
- Enough pop to help on counters and speedups.
- 5.6 inch handle, room for two hands, and USA Pickleball approved.
Quick answers
Is the Selkirk ERA a good pickleball paddle?
Yes, but not at $200. You can spend less and get a widebody that hits harder or has more control.
Is the Selkirk ERA Power foam?
Not full foam. It has a polypropylene honeycomb core with an EVA foam insert and foam around the perimeter. Selkirk's full foam SLK widebody is the Dauntless.
Is the SLK ERA Gen 3 or Gen 4?
It's Gen 3. The Dauntless and the Boomstik are the Gen 4 Selkirk widebodies I stack it up against below.
Solid at contact, with a handle that feels high quality
The ERA Power is solid and dense when the ball hits the face, and there's no hollow sound to it. So players who prefer a solid sound over a hollow one will like it. The handle is packed with firmer pellets, and it feels high quality in your hand.
It plays well at its stock weight, and there's room to add lead tape if you like a heavier paddle.
Drives and serves come up a little short for a power paddle
How its spin stacks up against other widebodies you can buy
Less spin than most widebodies, 49 RPM below the average
The top three for spin
- 1Honolulu J3CR Crystal Blue2,436
- 211SIX24 Pegasus Jelly Bean 22,37561 RPM behind
- 3RPM Q2 Widebody2,36967 RPM behind
- 37Selkirk SLK ERA Power Widebody2,224212 RPM behind
Power is where the ERA falls furthest behind a typical widebody, and by typical I mean the middle of the widebodies I've tested. It's clearly behind.
Spin on serves and drives is average for a raw carbon face. The ERA spins about the same as a typical widebody, so the spin is fine. It's just not a spin paddle.
If pace and spin are the reason you're shopping for a power paddle, the alternatives further down are better buys. Four of them hit harder and spin more, and all four cost less.
How it feels in your hand next to other widebodies you can buy
Heavier in your hands, about average when you miss the middle
How heavy the paddle feels when you swing it. A lower number swings quicker.
Swings heavier than most widebodies.
How much the paddle fights twisting when you miss the middle. A higher number is steadier.
About average twist weight for a widebody.
How its sweet spot stacks up against other widebodies you can buy
An average-size sweet spot for a widebody
Both rings are sized to their score.
The pop helps most in fast hands battles
The pop comes from a layer of woven fiberglass under the carbon face. It makes the face springier.
Just know the pop is a little below the middle for a widebody. It's a real help at the net, but this isn't an explosive paddle.
Resets and dinks take clean touch
Just know that fiberglass spring can send a reset long or pop a dink up if your touch isn't clean.
Between June 2025 and September 2026, five owners said the stiff, poppy face took some getting used to on resets and dinks, and some said it was too much pop for newer players. So if your resets already pop up on you, expect a learning curve.
Stable on off-center hits, the way a widebody should be
Its best number is stability. Selkirk puts carbon strips down the sides of the face to keep it from twisting when you hit off center. Only 34 paddles I've tested beat its twist weight, which is how much a paddle resists that twisting.
For a widebody, though, that's normal, since widebodies are already the most stable shape. Its twist weight and sweet spot are right around the middle for a widebody, so it's as forgiving as you'd expect, no more.
A honeycomb core floating in foam, under carbon and fiberglass
The ERA Power came out June 24, 2025. It's thermoformed, with the honeycomb core floating in a band of EVA foam. Raw T700 carbon sits on top of woven fiberglass, and the face has a raw peel-ply texture. The Widebody measures 15.95 by 8.0 inches and weighs 8.0 to 8.3 ounces. The handle is 5.6 inches and the grip is 4.25 inches.
Selkirk says 109 swing weight and 7.3 twist weight. I got a swing weight of 111.4 and a twist weight of 6.96, so it swings heavier than listed, with less twist weight. Only 14 widebodies I've tested swing heavier than that.
It's USA Pickleball approved. Selkirk's one-year limited warranty covers manufacturing defects, not normal wear, ground strikes or abuse. Selkirk also makes an elongated ERA Power. This review is the Widebody only.
Owners like Selkirk's service, and no defect keeps coming up
Six owners, from June 2025 to September 2026, said good things about the warranty and how Selkirk's customer service treated them. From June to December 2025, four owners said the sweet spot felt big and forgiving.
The one other complaint came from four owners between June and September 2025. They said the handle is too long for a widebody and leaves less face to hit with.
As of my September 2026 check, about a year after it first shipped, I haven't found a defect that three or more owners report.
The Boomstik Widebody hits far harder, for $133 more
When people search the ERA head to head, it's mostly against Selkirk's own Boomstik. The Boomstik Widebody is the matching shape. Same size, same handle, different paddle under the face. It's full foam with an EPP center, Selkirk's InfiniGrit surface and a lifetime warranty.
On the Boomstik, drives and counters come off way faster, because it hits far harder and has far more pop. It also spins more, and its clearly bigger sweet spot holds that pace better when you miss the center. The ERA's only edge, besides price, is a little more control.
The Boomstik Widebody is $333, and the code INF-STSPICKLEBALL adds a $40 Selkirk gift card instead of lowering the price. Want a Selkirk that actually plays like a power paddle? Get the Boomstik. If you're eyeing the ERA to save $133, the Dauntless below saves you even more and has more control.
Cheaper widebodies that beat it on power, spin or control
Two paddles you might pick instead
How it stacks up against the SLK Dauntless Widebody and the MPP Turbo ArmorGrit Widebody
A paddle only wins a score when it leads by 5 points or more.
SLK ERA Power WidebodyWidebody · $200.00
SLK Dauntless WidebodyWidebody · $150.00The SLK ERA Power spins more. The SLK Dauntless has a bigger sweet spot and is more controllable. Power and pop are about the same. The SLK Dauntless costs about $50 less.
SLK ERA Power WidebodyWidebody · $200.00
MPP Turbo ArmorGrit WidebodyWidebody · $99.99The MPP Turbo ArmorGrit hits harder, has more pop, spins more and has a bigger sweet spot. Control is about the same. The MPP Turbo ArmorGrit costs about $100 less.
Every paddle here costs less than the ERA at list price, and they aren't the only ones. Twelve widebodies you can buy right now cost at least $10 less and score at least as well on both sweet spot and control.
Selkirk SLK Dauntless Widebody
If you want to stay with Selkirk, this is the one I'd get. It's $150, and the code INF-STSPICKLEBALL adds a $20 Selkirk gift card instead of lowering the price. It's the same shape and handle as the ERA, with the same USA Pickleball approval and one-year warranty. It hits about as hard, with about the same pop and spin, but it's clearly more controllable and has a little bigger sweet spot.
Enhance MPP Turbo ArmorGrit Widebody
If the brand doesn't matter to you, this is my pick. It's $119.99, or $99.99 with the code STSPICKLEBALL. It does everything the ERA does and more. It hits far harder and spins far more on drives and serves, and with a clearly bigger sweet spot, it's more forgiving when you miss the center. The one thing you don't gain is control. It's USA Pickleball approved, and the one-year warranty covers the core.
Ronbus Quanta Pro R2.16
This one's for hands players. It's $119.99, or $107.99 with the code STSPICKLEBALL. Counters and speedups come off way faster, since it has far more pop than the ERA. It hits far harder on drives too. Control's about the same. It's USA Pickleball approved. The catch? The warranty's only six months, not a year.
Volair Mach 2 Forza 16mm
If control is what you want, get this one. It's $119.99, or $107.99 with the code STSPICKLEBALL. It scored 100 out of 100 for control, far more than the ERA, and its sweet spot is a little bigger. The trade is power. It has clearly less, so it's for players who win their points with their soft game. It's USA Pickleball approved.
11SIX24 Pegasus Jelly Bean 2
The Jelly Bean 2 gives you more of almost everything except pop. It's $169.99, or $159.99 with the code STSPICKLEBALL. It has clearly more power and clearly more control than the ERA, and far more spin, with about the same pop. Just check your events first, because it's UPA-A approved only, so you can't use it in USA Pickleball sanctioned events.
Honolulu J3CR Crystal Blue
This is the pick for spin. It's $195.00, or $175.50 with the code STS10. At list it's only $5 less than the ERA, so it's the better paddle, not the cheaper one. It scored 100 out of 100 for spin, which only three other paddles I've scored have matched. It also hits far harder with the same control. It's UPA-A approved only, so it's not legal in USA Pickleball sanctioned events.
Buy it for Selkirk's service, not for power
The ERA Power is stable, and owners really praise Selkirk's service. But at $200 it's priced like a power paddle and doesn't hit like one. Staying with Selkirk? Get the Dauntless Widebody and keep the $50. Don't care about the brand? The MPP Turbo ArmorGrit Widebody costs about half as much after codes.
Testing details
- Tested
- September 17, 2026
- Power and pop
- 20 full serves for power and 20 punch volleys for pop, every ball speed read on a Stalker radar gun.
- Spin
- 20 more serves on the radar. I drop the outliers and average the rest, which gave this paddle 2,224 RPM.
- Swing and twist weight
- Measured on a Briffidi SW1 swing weight machine.
- Sweet spot and control
- The same dinks, drops, resets and drives off a Titan ONE ball machine, for every paddle.
- The scores
- Out of 100, with the same tests for every paddle. The top paddles I've tested score 100.
- Published
- Scores from
- My database, updated October 15, 2026. How I test
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