The 120/Life Dink Awards 2025 Winners — Paddle & Paddle Reviewer of the Year

Thedink Pickleball 2 hours ago 7 views

This is it, the big one, the one you've been waiting for...

It's time to announce Paddle of the Year and Paddle Reviewer of the Year for The 120/Life Dink Awards.

More than 10,000 people cast their ballots this time around – and we can't thank you enough for helping make this year's 120/Life Dink Awards the largest fan-choice pickleball awards ever.

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We appreciate you taking the time to weigh in, debate, and support the people and teams that make this sport what it is. And a big shoutout as well to our title sponsor, 120/Life, for backing the awards and helping us bring this celebration to life.

In case you missed it, here are the winners of the other 2025 Dink Awards categories:

Let's Get Into the Awards

If you want to hear PickPod co-hosts Zane Navratil and Nico the Lefty discuss the winners, you can do that right now:

Below are your 2025 120/Life Dink Awards winners for:

Paddle of the Year
Paddle Reviewer of the Year

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Paddle Reviewer of the Year

Winner: John Kew

Anyone into pickleball paddles knows the pool of talent reviewing the latest drop seems to get deeper by the month. It's a spoil of riches on YouTube for anyone looking for a good review of what's new and why it might just be the paddle for you.

There are, without a doubt, a handful of guys who are at the top of this game. Chris Olson from Pickleball Studio comes to mind – he's won this category of The Dink Awards in the past. But this year, a new hero of the people emerged: John Kew.

For the uninitiated, John brings an unrivaled depth of analytical knowledge and specificity to his reviews, going in on all the metrics and oddities that come together to make a pickleball paddle what it is. The dude has his own ball cannon in his basement, after all.

He's a worthy winner, and we're happy to see the people agree.

Check out his channel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@johnkewpickleball

Paddle of the Year

Winner: Bread and Butter Loco

We're living in the golden age of pickleball paddles – so many brands making so many amazing paddles all the time. It's hard to find a bad paddle these days. And the cherry on top: many brands are focusing on two areas that consumers care about the most – price and durability.

This year's list of nominees was stacked. In alphabetical order:

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Newcomer brand RPM, the brainchild of pro James Ignatowich, almost took the top spot, and the JOOLA Pro IV was close, too. But in the end, the honor went to the Bread and Butter Loco.

Bread and Butter has been making killer paddles with show-stopping branding for years (check out the Filth), but the Loco really put them on the map in 2025. It's become a favorite in rec and competitive circles, and topped many reviewers' lists of paddles of the year (John Kew among them).

It's the perfect blend of power and control, durability and price-point, with a unique aesthetic you don't see plastered across open play.

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Bread and Butter is doing a full restock in the spring, but for anyone who wants the widebody Loco, you can score a discount when you use the code thedink.

Congrats to the winners!

Source: Thedink Pickleball

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