How Long Should a Pickleball Starter Set Last?
This is really going to depend on you, your style of play, skill level and addiction to the game. I think a pickelball starter set is perfect for anyone who’s never played before or played once or twice and wants to start exploring the sport. They are usually inexpensive and come with either two or four pickleball paddles and sometimes they even include a couple balls. The starter set we first purchased was 2 paddles, 2 balls and a carrying bag all for under $25 and thanks to amazon prime came in 1 day (I think they have gone up a little since then but they can still be found at a good price). It would have cost us more to go to the closest walmart and buy them and had we tried to get them from Dicks it would have cost us over $70
Our first pickleball paddle set had a honeycomb style inside and i’m not sure what the outer layer was but it was not very high quality. None of this mattered because it was perfect for what we needed. I played a lot of tennis growing up but had never played pickleball before (and you can tell in my style of play) so my ground strokes are larger and I hit the ball harder than many other players. Within using the paddle a few times I knew I was ready for higher quality pickleball paddle for two reasons. One, I was hooked and really enjoyed playing! Second, because of my style of play it felt like i was starting develop soft spots in the paddle. FYI…the 2nd paddle that came in the set that was used by my wife primarily we still have and use often, especially when we invite new people to come out and learn to play.
Ready to Upgrade to a New Pickleball Paddle
Once you know you are hooked and going to start playing on a regular basis that is when you should invest a little more in your paddle. Now there are starter sets that are more expensive and come with nicer fiberglass or composite components but if you have never played and not sure you are going to keep playing then I wouldn’t recommend spending the money on those. If you are obsessed you may want to go out and get a really nice paddle. Paddletek, Selkirk and Gearbox are my choice for the high end paddles. I did a bunch of research on the best pickleball paddles under $100 and then went with one of those.
I have seen several players start with a inexpensive pickleball paddle set and use them for months before the paddles eventually break down with either soft spots or they start coming apart at the seams. As you start to play more and understand your style of play you can really begin to look at what components you need in a paddle, something stiffer with more power or one that has more touch and feel to it.
You will also notice that many better players have more than one paddle and I have found that most people are more than willing to let try them out. So there is no exact amount of time that a paddle set will last you, it comes down to several factors but for me the most important one is that decision that you want to start playing all the time. There are many tennis shops that carry pickleball equipment and will often carry some demo paddles. This is a great option if you have one of these stores near you and really allows you to explore the different types f paddles.