Wilson Vesper Power 14 mm: My In-Depth Review

Kip Lacey

Hey guys, it’s Kip. I got a brand new paddle to review, the new Wilson Vesper Power 14. I got to confess, I don’t think I’ve ever, ever hit with a Wilson paddle. I haven’t even seen that many Wilson paddles out there. I came from the tennis background, and you saw that all the time, but Wilson’s kind of an outlier in the pickleball world a little bit. So, I didn’t know what to expect.

A Unique Combination of Proven Technologies

Photos Pickleball Central

Let me bounce through some of the attributes, because what Wilson is trying, is what other paddle companies have tried before and with pretty decent success. We’ll start out with the 14mm polycore we’ve all come to know and love. As you can see here, the polycore is separated from the carbon-reinforced frame with that perimeter of foam.

The surface is a carbon fiber face with a fiberglass base layer. It also has what they call a Free Flex Tech bendable throat. Now we’ve seen that in Selkirk paddles in the past with the flex throat that kind of throws the ball. Well, Wilson’s going with that as well with this open throat that flexes a little bit and throws the ball. They’re trying different things from different companies that have great success, so I was really anxious to try this.

This paddle is 16 and 1/2 inches long, 7 and 1/4 inches wide. The grip is a 5 and 1/4 inch long, but it’s still got plenty of room for two-handers there, with a 4 and 1/8 circumference. I think that’s going to appeal to a lot of people as well.

Initial On-Court Reactions

It’s really nice, with a nice crack to it when it hits. It’s got great straight line accuracy and bite for spin. I’m so impressed with this paddle.

An Unexpectedly Superb Performance

Wilson is not really known in the world of pickleball that much, so I wasn’t expecting a whole lot. And honestly, when you look at this paddle right out of the box, I kind of thought it looks a little cheap. Maybe it looks a little gimmicky, maybe it just looked a little different, which is not bad. It just looked a little cheap.

From the very first hit with this paddle, I was blown away. It’s fun to do what I do and what I get to do. I get to take these paddles out and try them and sometimes, sometimes I’m right. When I first pick them up, I go out to the court and I’m right. Sometimes I’m really wrong. This paddle blew me away. I mean, absolutely blew me away. I am so impressed with this paddle. I don’t have any bad things to say about it. I’ve got one negative, but it’s price, and I’ll get to that at the end. But as far as positive and performance attributes, there’s no lack.

Solid Power Right Out of the Box

I’m going to start with power because I always start with power. Now, my normal service speed is 48 to 50 mph. The Wilson Vesper Power 14 came in at an average of 50.8. I didn’t dress this up. I didn’t put any weights on it. I didn’t do anything. It does come in at 8.2 ounces, I don’t know if I mentioned that in the opener. So for me, that’s kind of in my happy place. I could go a little bit heavier, but 8.2 is really nice. 50.8 is really good. Not extraordinary power, but really good.

Where the Vesper Power 14 Truly Shines

If I was going to guess what this paddle did well with the flex throat, the fiberglass underneath the surface, the floating core, if I was going to guess what this paddle did, it was going to be a power paddle. A pure power paddle. They advertise it as a tennis racket in pickleball paddle form. I thought power would be what it did. But actually, accuracy, control, and consistency is where this paddle shines. You can really put this ball, just park it on a dime. They make a thicker version of this paddle, the 16 millimeter, that they advertise as that control paddle. I haven’t tried it, but I’m telling you, the Vesper Power 14 has great control, great accuracy, and good consistency. I mean, you can put the ball where you want it to, and it’s so much fun to hit.

Feel, Spin, and Sweet Spot

When it hits, it takes a bite. It really has a little hop, and that’s really cool. I mean, you can top-spin this, you can slice it, whatever you want to do, and it’s all controllable and has really cool feedback and feel. You can hit the ball anywhere on the surface and you’re going to get a pretty good response. It does have a little click. When you hit it, it has a nice little click, a little pop. It’s not obnoxious or obstructive, just has a nice click. Very cool. It has a nice, big, large sweet spot.

Kip Lacey using the Wilson Vesper Power 14mm.

It’s good from defense to offense. You can go down, dig trash, get that ball back in the non-volley zone and turn it into offense because this paddle is quick at the net. Not only does it have the flex throat, but at 16 and a half, it is only seven and a quarter inches wide. So, it’s a little bit thin and it gets through the zone really quick, but you don’t sacrifice sweet spot with that. This paddle is very customizable. If you want to throw some weight on it and, you know, have a little fun with it, you could do that and try different things. It has plenty of room for two-handed players; you can get your other hand on there with no problem. It really does everything so, so, so well.

The Only Downside: A Premium Price

The only negative I have with this paddle is it is $249 US. That is pretty pricey, but it’s a paddle… I mean, they threw a lot into this. They really did. And I get why it’s a little pricier.

Final Verdict

I think anybody who tries this is going to love it. I really believe that. It just blew me away how good this paddle really is. I’m anxious to hear if any of you guys have tried this. So, once again, I’ll go back to, I haven’t seen a lot of Wilson paddles out there over the years, so I’m anxious to hear if somebody’s tried this. I handed it around to one of my clinics, to my advanced class, and they loved it. I mean, they absolutely loved it. I think they were a little shocked, too.

The Wilson Vesper Power 14. Very cool. Very nice job, Wilson. I’m very impressed.

For in-depth video reviews, check out my Youtube Channel.

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