Selkirk Vanguard Pro Paddle Review: My In-Depth Thoughts

(Image Credit: Dennis Rodriguez)

First Look

Selkirk is known for making some of the best looking paddles and the Vanguard Pro is no different. It has the familiar Vanguard shape but they went with a sleek all white edge guard and white grip. The 4 layers of 12K Raw Carbon Fiber give the face a pretty cool look. Looks almost like a chess board, which is funny considering the best players play pickleball like a game of chess, thinking two or three steps ahead 😉 I doubt that was the inspiration though. The Vanguard Pro has a similar look to the Diadem Edge 18K. I like the pop of red they went with for the “Pro” print. The stock paddle feels pretty light out of the box. The average swing weight for the Vanguard Pro is 113 and you can definitely feel this as soon as you get the paddle in your hand.

(Image Credit: Dennis Rodriguez)

My Experience

Consistency & Accuracy

What really impressed me with the Vanguard Pro is how natural it felt in my hand. It’s a familiar shape and feel so that may have contributed, but I believe others will feel the same. Right from the start, everything from dinks to drop shots felt smooth and controlled. The accuracy was on point—wherever I aimed, the ball followed with the right pace every time. The texture on the surface also made it effortless to add top spin or backspin when needed. It’s a great feeling when a paddle reacts exactly how you expect it to. I found myself not having to think about things like grip pressure or form, which allowed me to stay fully engaged in in each point.

Power

This is definitely the most powerful Vanguard paddle Selkirk has released but in no way would I classify the Pro as a “power paddle”. It is still very much an all-court paddle. If you loved the Selkirk Luxx but just needed that additional power and pop, this paddle might be the everything you wanted. It feels very controllable but gives its player a bit more put away power. You can definitely take a larger back swing with the Vanguard Pro and trust that it will still land in the court when compared to other thermoformed paddles.

Spin

Generating spin was no issue for me with the Vanguard Pro. The four layers of 12k Raw Carbon Fiber definitely have something to do with this. I noticed a longer dwell time of the ball when contacting the face of the paddle and the bidirectional weave pattern really allows the ball to grip the face very well. Spin will not be an issue for most players using this paddle.

Defense To Offense

Being a completely thermoformed paddle, the Vanguard Pro plays a bit softer than you’d expect. I am sure this is due to having those four individual layers of 12k Raw Carbon Fiber on each side of the paddle. Because of this, touch and feel are the strongest attributes of this paddle. Resetting the ball is much easier. By keeping the edge guard, this really increased the sweet spot of the paddle as well. Mishits are hard to come by (or at least are less noticeable) when playing with the Vanguard Pro. Selkirk was sure to emphasize that this paddle does not have “explosive pop”, and I feel this is another contributing factor to the ease of transitioning towards the kitchen from the baseline.

Looks and Design

What has always impressed me with Selkirk is their attention to detail and more importantly their quality control. I have played with about four or five Vanguard Pro paddles and all have performed almost identical.

(Image Credit: Pickleball Central)

Wrapping Up

It has been quite some time since Selkirk released a paddle that actually impressed me. Seemed like they’ve always been a few months behind the competition, however, the Vanguard Pro has definitely turned me on to their paddles again. When you initially play with the paddle you have a bit of trouble deciding whether to classify it as an all-court leaning towards power or leaning towards control. Reason being, generating power feels easy, yet taking a bit off and really finessing a shot seems effortless as well. This is what caught my attention the most and gives me the confidence to say that I really enjoyed this paddle and think many individuals will also.