The SLK Era Power pickleball paddle has landed. A follow up flagship model to the SLK Halo Pro series from Selkirk’s SLK brand, this paddle takes an ambitious step towards competitiveness in a market where paddles test the boundaries of how much power a paddle should reasonably possess.
Thanks to Selkirk, we’ve had the pleasure of testing the SLK Era Power over the last few weeks. This is the official WearTesters performance review of a paddle that has generated quite a bit of buzz prior to its release.
What is the SLK Era Power?
The SLK Era Power introduces a flagship power-oriented paddle to Selkirk’s typically budget friendly line, SLK. It is what much of the pickleball world considers a “Gen 3” paddle, utilizing a fully thermoformed carbon fiber construction as well as foam enhancements (EVA, for the SLK Era’s case) to support a traditionally used polypropylene core.
At $200 retail, the SLK Era Power expands upon what one may consider “budget friendly”, however its performance is intended to compete with paddles priced in the $280 range. The SLK Era Power launched in two paddle shapes: Elongated (roughly 16.5” overall length, 7.5” width, 5.8” handle) and Widebody (roughly 16” overall length, 8” width, 5.6” handle). Both shapes of the SLK Era offer a 1 year Selkirk warranty.
How did the SLK Era Power perform?
This paddle, in the elongated shape that was tested, is definitive in producing pop and power. This is something I noticed immediately from my first time warming up with the paddle and in game situations during the first few sessions. Depth of serves with minimal effort stood out to me in the early stages, and sometimes to my detriment, the pop was so substantial that I lost some points sending the ball high or out of bounds when I didn’t have the paddle positioned correctly. After some adjustment, this curse became a gift as I began to find more success turning what opponents thought would be winning shots into a win for my double partners and I.
The pop and power of the SLK Era makes it a breath of fresh air for Selkirk, however, what makes the paddle great is the balance of everything else it offers. It definitely has a long sweet spot in height, but the width of the sweet spot also feels wider than your average elongated paddle. This translates to consistent shots over the course of its use thanks to the hefty EVA foam perimeter and internal weighting.
Though a pickleball paddle with this much pop normally takes away from its control factor, the enhanced sweet spot cancels out some of this concern as it’s more forgiving of mishits and the user can develop a good feel of how the ball will react off the paddle face. Once again, it’s a paddle that may require a bit of acclimation, but once that occurs, it’s a paddle that’s capable of some magic moments on the pickleball court.
Along with the power and sweet spot capabilities, a high rate of spin potential is the Era’s icing on the cake. On quite a few occasions I found success shaping the ball to stay inbounds and reach back corners on the opponents side in both offensive and defensive scenarios. The same occurred on serves, though less often, when adding a little bit of shape in an attempt to throw the returner off balance every now and then. While I found myself delivering more top spin with my shots, once I realized how legit the SLK Era is at delivering backspin, I found myself hooked to attempting forehand slice strokes.
I specifically remember the first forehand slice I intentionally performed — my partner for the game and I were backed up to the baseline with the opposing team ruling court position at their kitchen off a great lob. I waited for the bounce, thought hard about the bounce height, and ripped the slice with the perfect amount of spin and velocity for the ball to skirt centimeters over the net into the opponent’s paddle before they could react thus winning the point. I knew I was in love with this paddle at that moment and haven’t been disappointed since.
Who is the SLK Era Power best suited for?
Experienced pickleball and tennis players looking for more driving power and the ability to take time away from opponents should enjoy the SLK Era Power, specifically in the elongated shape. Of course, the SLK Era Power will also be great for Selkirk paddle enthusiasts that may want to get away from the saturated all-court and control-oriented lineup of paddles the brand offers.
I wouldn’t suggest the SLK Era Power Elongated as someone’s first pickleball paddle purchase if they are brand new to pickleball, but if it is a must try, I would suggest the more forgiving Widebody option, as it is designed with an even wider sweet spot and shouldn’t sacrifice too much in other aspects such as pop, power, and spin.
$200 is a little deep in the pockets, but considering its competitiveness in a power paddle world and the one-year Selkirk warranty, it holds value as both a long term open play paddle and tournament ready paddle.
The SLK Era Power is not only SLK’s best paddle yet, I think it will be considered a standout paddle among all of Selkirk’s divisions by many as time passes. It’s fitting that the marketing is centered around power, as it’s uniquely and definitively just that.
The performance metric categories all seem to compliment each other, making this a balanced, but aggressive tool with minimal learning curve for intermediate to advanced players. An absolute win for Selkirk and its SLK sub-brand.
Disclosure
While Selkirk did send the SLK Era Power Elongated to facilitate this review, the company had no involvement in this review, didn’t receive an advance look at it, and has not attempted to influence it.
