Friday Pickleball Paddle Reviews: Is It Worth It?

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This article may contain affiliate partnerships that help support this website.

2/26/25 update: I just updated this article with new information about the Friday Challenger pickleball paddle, and compare it to the original.

When I search for the Friday Pickleball Paddle review, I get dismayed when I see that 3 of the top 4 results are from the company’s website and that you’re trying to read an unbiased review.

I have no affiliation with Friday Pickleball. Also, I thought I would be a good person to write this review as I probably should be in the PA program (paddles anonymous) from purchasing 50+ pickleball paddles (see my pickleball paddle receipts if you must).

In addition, I have a background in marketing, so I love uncovering odd marketing or even potentially sketchy pickleball paddle marketing practices.

Picture of the search results for Friday Pickle

In this article, I will cover what I liked and didn’t like. So, let’s get started.

What I Liked

Here’s what I liked about my Friday pickleball paddle.

Design

I loved the design of the paddle, and I loved many of the design options for the pickleball paddle. Of my 54 paddles, I may like the design of the Friday pickleball paddle more than most paddles, with the exception of Recess pickleball.

So, I’m not saying this lightly.

I mean, even the back of the Friday pickleball paddle looks great.

When you check on Amazon, you can see all the different amazing styles of this paddle.

Check Designs on Amazon

Here’s the design I chose.

Picture of the back of the Friday pickleball paddle.

I also really like he white on the sides of the paddle.

Kudos to the designers of this paddle.

Paddle Carbon Fiber and Weight

While the best material for a pickleball paddle is debatable, I like carbon fiber much more than fiberglass, graphite, and wood faces.

The price is around $69.99 to $79.99 at this time unless you take advantage of the mystery offer, which may be a 2-pack.

I would say that the 2-pack price may make this carbon fiber paddle a better value for a carbon fiber paddle. I still prefer my favorite beginner carbon fiber paddles based on the price range.

When I weighed this paddle, the paddle weighed 8.1 ounces, which is a weight that I like. I apologize for the image quality below; I used my wife’s bread scale.

Picture of a scale showing the weight of the Friday pickleball paddle.

What I Didn’t Like

Here’s what I didn’t like about my Friday pickleball paddle experience.

Playability

The Friday Pickleball home page’s tagline is that you don’t need to spend $200 to get a great paddle (source: Fridaypickle.com), but this paddle did not play nearly the same as my Joola Ben Johns Hyperion, my SixZero Double Black Diamond Control.

For example, while the paddle’s face material is carbon fiber, I did not see nearly the same grip as Ben John’s Hyperion paddle.

I also didn’t feel I had nearly the same control as the $200 paddles. That said, I liked how the Friday pickleball paddle played similar to fiberglass paddles such as the Head Radical Elite pickleball paddle which is in the same price range.

Website Experience

I know this doesn’t relate to the paddle, but I really didn’t like the website experience.

I hate when websites push a pop-up in your face as one of your first interactions with your website, begging you for an email address to start sending emails.

I expect this to mean endless spam for the rest of my life. So, I gave my “email address” for spam and got 3 emails rather quickly. Also, I’d question how often the mystery discount is anything other than what I received.

Email showing how many emails I received in 3 days from Friday Pickle.

That said, I am not sure I have received any other emails recently, so if that’s the case, it’s a definite win.

Friday Pickleball Paddle Alternatives

Here are some alternative carbon fiber paddles that I love. One paddle is more expensive and the other is less costly.

1. PBVMURTG Carbon Fiber Pickleball Paddle

Yes, I have no idea what brand this paddle is, but it currently under $35 on Amazon.

What’s amazing is that it is a carbon fiber paddle, comes with a paddle cover, grip tape and carbon fiber cleaning bar,

What’s even more amazing is that I played with a different $200+ paddle today against my friend who is probably in the 4.0-4.5 DUPR range. He beat me 3 games in a row, but then I switched to this PBVMURTG pickleball paddle in game 4, and won the game 11-3. I could not believe it.

That said, how on earth does this brand make money?

My guess is that this deal won’t last forever as one of my previous favorites (Anything Sports Carbon Fiber paddle) was discontinued shortly after I spread the news about the paddle.

That said, I played with this PBVMURTG paddle side by side with my Anything Sports paddle, and I liked this budget paddle much more.

I liked this paddle so much that I couldn’t help but write an entire review about my experience about the paddle.

Also, please note that the link below helps support this website and allows me to write unbiased reviews as I get approximately $1.31 if you purchase this paddle through the link. That said, please do not feel like you have to use it!

Check Price on Amazon

2. Vatic Pro Prism

This has been my go-to paddle recently. I have started winning more games against friends that I previously never beat.

I like the feel and play compared to my Joola Ben Johns Hyperion and SixZero Double Black Diamond. The paddle has a great carbon fiber face, providing power, and control in my play.

This paddle is under $100, but, you can use the code: BePickleBaller for an additional $10 off the final price. I also appreciate that the paddle comes with a nice cover.

If you consider the Vatic Pro Prism paddle, you decide between a 14mm vs 16mm paddle. That defines the thickness of the paddle, and if you are an intermediate or advanced player, you may opt for 14mm while a beginner may opt for a 16mm thickness.

Check Price on Vatic Pro

Vatic Pro Prism pickleball paddle with the cover.

Is the Friday Challenger Pickleball Paddle good?

I find that it’s awesome that Friday continues to try to innovate their paddle brand with the new Friday Challenger pickleball paddle.

When you look at the comparison below, you will see that the Friday brand states that the Challenger paddle has better control (+.2), better power (+.5), better spin (+.2), and better durability (+1.3).

At the time of this writing this T700 Carbon Fiber Challenger paddle is just under $100 on Amazon. That said, you may also consider reading this review of the T700 Carbon Fiber Doctor pickleball paddle that you may be able to find under $50.

It’s interesting that the paddle’s rating though is a 4.81 out of 5 vs 4.86 out of 5 for the original paddle.

Summing It All Up

The Friday pickleball paddle has an amazing aesthetic design, and I love that the paddle is carbon fiber.

I didn’t love how the paddle played for me, but I will try again as I want to love this paddle. Also, I hope the developers consider updating the website experience as a pop-up in my face demanding my email address isn’t my favorite experience.