Engage Evolution Extreme v2.14 : My In-Depth Thoughts

Image credit @Nitesh

First Look

Engage Pickleball Company has a pretty good reputation in the market, and their signature icon was missing in Evolution Series V1, which they finally added in the V2. While holding the paddle, it feels pretty stable, but I feel the head is a little heavier, which reduces my hand speed.

Balance and Weight Adjustability

The paddle’s stock weight is about 8.1oz, which is light enough to allow for the addition of lead tape. This customization can help balance swing weight and twist weight, depending on whether you want more power or a larger sweet spot. I personally added lead tape at the 4 o’clock and 8 o’clock positions to add more stability and control to the paddle, as I love to play with control paddles, but it’s a personal choice.

Adaptation

If you are already playing with a control paddle, getting used to the Engage Evolution won’t take any time at all, but if you are moving from a power paddle, I would recommend having some led tape around the paddle head. either one at 12 o’clock.

Performance

Defense to Offence

This paddle has HoldTek Core as mentioned in specs, which basically improves touch and responsiveness, and because of that, midcourt volleys are less likely to be attackable for your opponents. I did play great games with this paddle, and this paddle improved my midcourt volley shots into pretty good drops where I could slowly move from defense to offense. 

Power 7/10

I usually go with a top-spin deep power serve, which I feel this paddle has enough power to deliver, but I have to add a little extra effort, also Instead of a 3rd shot drop, I sometimes drive, and I feel it would be great if my drive would have been more powerful, as in games, opponents are able to counterattack on my drives. Overall, I can say this paddle has decent power given that it is a control oriented paddle.

Spin 6/10

I have played in the past with Six Zero Ruby and Apes Proline S; both paddles offer great spin capabilities, and after switching to this, I feel the radial carbon fiber is lagging behind in spin. If you are a tennis player and play a lot of top spin and slice shots, I would not recommend this paddle.

Control 8/10

Engage Evolution is a great control paddle for two main reasons: it has a HoldTek Core, which gives more stability when the ball hits the paddle face; it also has a pretty good sweet spot. This paddle preforms dinks really well and I am able to play cross court dinks with a very controlled manner without as much worry that I may pop one up too high.

Warranty

Engage paddle comes with 1 year standard warranty but they also offer EvoCare Program which cost additional $30 for extended warranty up to 2 years, I personally think, its not worth it if you are playing a few times a week, most of the paddles reach end of life within 8-10 months and considering this timeline, I would not spend anything on extended warranty, but that is my personal choice 🙂

Comparative Analysis

Picture Engage Pickleball

As you can see this graph Engage really elevated their Evolution line with this paddle and in few aspect its almost equivalent to Engage pursuit MX6.0 (which is their pro line paddles) with Evolution 2.14 or 2.16 they are very close.

Overall and Social Proof

I think the Engage Evolution is suitable for a beginner to advanced intermediate (3.5) range of players rather than catering to those seeking power or spin exclusively at a pro level.

Furthermore, the Engage comes at a really affordable price point (under $130), especially when you consider the brand paddle which has great support and a team in USA.

I also collected some insight from recreational player to let them try this paddle, most of the players around 4.0 level and everyone agrees that the performance of the paddle has great value for the money. If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment below!

Reference

justpaddles.com, engagepickleball.com