Welcome to the Pickle Madness Weekly!

A pickleball paddle fanatic’s review of the Ronbus R1 Nova, choosing a pickleball partner, and more!

Having played many tournaments, I now believe intangibles are the most significant ingredient in a successful partner. In tournaments, many times people don’t play up to their abilities due to nerves, stress, and other factors. If you have a partner with high level intangibles and can rely on great shot selection, court awareness, and the ability to work as a team, I believe you can overcome not playing your best and still win. Conversely, if your nerves get to you, you are missing shots you don’t normally miss, and you can’t fall back on staying positive and building up your partner, it will be very difficult to come out victorious.

When I search for a partner, the number one intangible I look for is someone with a great attitude. This person is friendly with opponents and people in general, can communicate with me during a game, and likes to have fun. I need them to stay positive when the game may not be going our way and attempt to keep me calm and levelheaded when I miss a shot. I look for someone who works to build their partner up with positive encouragement. It’s almost impossible to play with a partner giving “eye rolls” or throwing their hands up in the air when you miss a shot. Tell them, “Don’t worry about it and let’s get the next one.” You’d be surprised how just that small amount of positive motivation will keep their spirits up.

I also look for a person that can take constructive criticism and not get angry or shutdown. For instance, I might say, “I see your baseline drives aren’t working right now so let’s drop our third shots.” If you have a good partner, they should be open to trying something different with little resistance. Find someone who wants to work as a team to set each other up for shots and not just out there playing for themselves. Your partner should also have similar athletic ability and stamina, so they don’t tire quickly, allowing opponents to target one person. Finally, search for a partner with a similar drive to win, putting forth maximum effort and giving it their all during games.

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Ronbus' "Gen 3" Pickleball Paddle

In August, Ronbus released a new addition to their paddle collection- the R1 Nova. According to Ronbus, the R1 Nova is a “Gen 3” paddle. What does “Gen 3” mean, you ask?

Here’s a little summary: Gen 1 paddles are typically made with raw carbon fiber textured surface that is applied to the honeycomb core using epoxy and pressure. This process is often called “cold mold” because the process doesn’t use heat. The honeycomb core goes all the way to the edge of the paddle, requiring an edge guard to be used along the outside of the paddle face. Gen 1 paddles tend to provide more control and softer touch with good spin. Gen 1.5 came along when several paddle companies added foam to the edge. The foam was injected along the edges of the paddle and then hot-pressed together. The heat and pressure caused the foam to expand fill the honeycomb around the edge of the paddle. This process increased the sweet spots of Gen 1.5 paddles.

Problems with Previous Paddle Generations

Gen 2 came along with the purpose of adding power. These paddles are created via thermoforming. Thermoforming uses heat and pressure to form the paddle in a mold. Epoxy is pressed between all the layers of the paddle construction. Where Gen 1.5 used heat for the foam edge, Gen 2 uses hot-press molding for the entire process of fabricating the paddle. Gen 1 and 1.5 still use epoxy to attach the face material before the thermoforming process, but Gen 2 uses hot-press to bond all the layers at once.

Gen 2 paddles became very popular, but it was soon recognized that the new thermoforming process made a powerful paddle that came with problems, namely, delamination, crushed core, and disbonding. Delamination is the term most players are familiar with which happens when the carbon face fibers on the face of the paddle start to deteriorate. It turns out the hot-press process for the whole paddle causes air to get trapped inside between the layers. This trapped air has no place to go and under pressure causes damage to the parts of the paddle. This pressure can crush the honeycomb core. Disbonding can occur when the layers of the paddle face become separated from the honeycomb. bubbles to become trapped in the paddle between layers and puts extreme pressure on the honeycomb core, weakening the integrity of the paddle.

The Ronbus Solution

Ronbus thinks they have solved the problem with their new patent-pending Gen 3 technology. The belief is that the thermoforming of Gen 2 paddles, where the paddle is fully encased in carbon fiber is what is trapping the air bubbles which causes the damage to the integrity of the paddle. Ronbus R1 Nova paddles use a carbon fiber grid which allows the air to escape during the thermoforming process.

Ronbus tested the durability of the R1 Nova by using a machine to simulate a ball striking the paddle face in the same spot over 10,000 times at a speed of greater than 150 mph. After this test the paddle was cut in half. The integrity of the paddle’s core was intact. This test gives hope that this will be a more durable paddle than other thermoformed paddles.

The R1 Nova paddles will give the players the power they love from a thermoformed paddle without the worry of the problems that other thermoformed paddles have suffered.

Here are the Ronbus R1 Nova's specifications:

• Weight: 7.8 oz

• Swing Weight: 115

• Face: Raw Toray T700 Carbon Fiber

• Length x Width: 16.5″ x 7.5″ (elongated)

• Face: Raw T700 Carbon Fiber

• Grip Size: 4.125″ (octagonal)

• Handle Length: 5.5″

• Core: Polypropylene Honeycomb, Foam Walls

• Core Thickness: 16mm

• Price: $180

• Warranty: 6 Months

My Impression of the Ronbus R1 Nova:

The R1 Nova I played with weighed 7.8oz and for me that’s a good weight as I prefer a light paddle. The octagonal shape of the handle is easy to hold onto and the smooth grip wrap is comfortable. I am not used to playing with a hybrid shape but found this really made no different in playability for me. As a 16mm paddle I expected good control and that’s what I got. The R1 Nova felt softer than many other thermoformed paddles. I found it didn’t play with the power that some other stiffer thermoformed paddles have. I was able to get good solid drives in, but it played more like a control paddle for overheads. This means I was able to comfortably get my overheads to smash in the right place but no one was scared to get in the way of the hit. I also was able to get the ball to spin with ease when using the R1 Nova. I found as I played with it throughout the week I started thinking of it as a solid all court paddle.

If you are looking for a quality paddle under $200 that offers power, superior control, and solid spin, check out the Ronbus R1 Nova.

You can purchase the Ronbus R1 Nova HERE.

Rule Review of the Week

Need one of pickleball’s confusing rules cleared up? Let us know and we’ll include it in next week’s issue.

When the ball hits your or your partner’s body.

7.H. After the serve, the ball contacts a player or anything the player is wearing or carrying, except the paddle or the player’s hand (s) in contact with the paddle and below the wrist. If the player is in the process of changing hands with both hands on the paddle or is attempting a two-handed stroke and either hand is hit below the wrist, as long as a player’s hand is in contact with the paddle, the ball is still in play. The fault is on the player who was hit by the ball.

This situation seems to come up often in recreational play. Every now and then the ball hits a player’s arm or other body part (not the hand) and bounces over the net and lands in bounds. Players often question if it is legal since the ball landed in bounds, but it would be an illegal hit since it hit the player somewhere other than the hand or wrist that is in contact with the paddle. The other situation that is confusing for some players is when the ball hits the back of a player’s hand, fingers etc, but not the paddle. So in this case is it a good return? Yes, as long as the ball hits the hand below the wrist that is in contact with the ball.

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