The RPM Jade pickleball paddle took just over a month to get to my house after pre-ordering, and I must have checked the door 10 times to see if it had arrived. In this article, I wanted to compare five paddles that bring different strengths to the court. The JOOLA Power FX is lively and poppy. The RPM Q2 and Ultré Power 2 are built for aggressive play. The RPM V2 gives me a more familiar all-court feel. And the RPM Jade has become my favorite from this group.
I’ll compare how they feel, how they play in actual games, and which one I would choose.
Let’s talk the first impressions of the RPM Jade and the Joola Power FX, and spend less time on the V2 and Q2 as I covered those in a previous review article.
First Impressions
When the Jade finally arrived, I ripped open the bag to see this beauty.
What’s the funniest thing about the Jade paddle is the back of the paddle cover. It shows power as 9, spin as 9 and spin as an 11. I find that hilarious that RPM added the “11” to the mix.
Although the paddle was beautiful, I was not impressed by the bag. Thankfully, I’ll talk playability later. For a paddle that is $269.99 ($229.49 after discount code bepickleballer), I would like to see more than a teal bag with no branding, and no paddle cover.
Thankfully, when you open the bag, you get to see the beautiful black and jade paddle. You can immediately feel the texture of the grit. Unfortunately, the paddle does not come with a cover, but it’s okay.
Here’s the side view of the RPM Jade.
The paddle’s grit is what stands out the most. I tried to take a close up picture below to show you just how gritty this paddle feels like. It honestly feels like either a shark or a piece of sand paper. It’s awesome.
Let’s talk Power FX next.
Joola Power FX
The Joola Power FX had the weirdest unboxing experience I’ve ever had. The paddle’s box has a place to pull apart a piece in the middle, but once you pull off that piece, you actually can’t open the box. In addition, the box had tape over that area, so it was super weird, and took me 30 seconds to open.
I believe it was a box design flaw. See me pulling off the slab.
Thankfully, the experience got much better when I was able to open the box. Overall, I really like the color choice of the Joola Power FX. It’s got a really clean design.
The grit is the best grit I believe of any Joola paddle, but I did not like the grip. It feels very stocky.
As you can see below, the RPM V2 and Q2 look very similar, but play very differently that we will see later.
I’ve covered the 11six24 Ultra before, but I really do like the feel of this paddle. The Ultre’s shape is definitely a preference over the Vapor, Hurache-X and Pegasus although the Pegasus Jelly Bean was my favorite wide body paddle of 2026 thus far. If you’re interested, here’s my recent Ultre 2 comparison article.
The first impressions were okay for RPM Jade and confusing for the Joola Power FX, but let’s talk playability as that’s what matters most.
Playability
The biggest differences showed up once I moved from hitting drives and serves into playing points. Power is fun, but I also need to trust the paddle when I’m trying to reset, dink, or keep a fast exchange from getting away from me.
Spin
The RPM Jade has absolutely insane spin. Not only does it have the best grit of any of the RPM paddles, but you really do get to see the ball move in ways you may never have seen before.
The Jade gave me the most spin in this group. I noticed it when I wanted to bend a drive or add extra movement to the ball. RPM says its SICmatrix surface is designed to hold its texture over time. I’ll need more court time to judge how well it lasts, but the spin stood out right away.
The Ultré Power 2 comes in second. Its gritty face gives me plenty of shape on serves and drives. The Q2 is third. It still generates excellent spin, especially when I combine its lively response with a full swing. The V2 ranks fourth, but it remains a high-spin paddle. I can put heavy topspin on the ball while getting a more controlled response than I get from the Q2.
In all honesty, all of these paddles had really good spin. You can notice below that even though Joola Power FX ranks last in this line up that the grit is really good, and is better in my opinion than the Joola Pro V and definitely the Pro IV.
Here’s my ranking:
- RPM Jade
- Ultre Power 2
- RPM Q2
- RPM V2
- Joola Power FX
Power
The RPM Q2 takes the top spot for power. It has the strongest springboard feel in my hands and makes it easy to hit a heavy serve or drive. In singles, that pace can force a shorter return and give me a chance to move forward.
The Ultré Power 2 is a close second. It gives me easy depth and strong putaway power. It feels powerful without being as difficult to manage as the Q2.
The JOOLA Power FX ranks third. It has a lot of power and very quick pop. My friend hit a streak of aces with it, and the response may be even poppier than the Boomstick. I still put it behind the Q2 and Ultré for overall power, but it is far from a weak paddle.
The Jade ranks fourth. It has good power and feels closer to the V2 than to the most explosive paddles in this lineup. The V2 ranks fifth, but it still has plenty of power for drives and counters. It simply gives me the most controlled, all-court response.
Here’s my ranking:
- RPM Q2
- Ultre Power 2
- Joola Power FX
- RPM Jade
- RPM V2
Control
The RPM V2 ranks first for control. It gives me the most confidence on softer shots, resets, and dinks. I can still attack with it, but I don’t feel like I have to manage as much pop at the kitchen.
The Jade is a very close second. I sometimes had trouble deciding whether the Jade or V2 had better control. The V2 felt slightly safer to me, while the Jade gave me more spin and still kept its power and touch.
The Ultré Power 2 takes third. It has a powerful response, but it felt more stable and easier to control than the Q2. I could attack with it and still feel comfortable when I needed to slow the rally down.
The Q2 ranks fourth. Its springy face is great for power, but I had to be more careful on drops, resets, and dinks. The JOOLA Power FX ranks fifth for control. Its quick pop can be exciting, but I found it the hardest paddle here to settle down and place softly.
Here’s my ranking:
- RPM V2
- RPM Jade
- Ultre Power 2
- RPM Q2
- Joola Power FX
Cost Considerations
The new RPM Jade is a premium paddle a $269.99, but thankfully
15% Discount Code: BEPICKLEBALLER
Both paddles are $249.99 before the discount code, so after the 15% discount code, you can get this paddle for $212.50, which feels like a strong value.
15% Discount Code: BEPICKLEBALLER
The Joola Power FX is $179.95, so it’s around the same price as the J2CR and J6CR Crystal Blue, but unfortunately Joola doesn’t provide a discount code, so what you see is what you get.
The Power FX is the least expensive option here, while the Jade is the biggest investment. For me, the Jade’s spin and all-court feel make it worth considering at that price. The Q2 and V2 give you two very different options at the same price: more raw power with the Q2, or easier control with the V2.
Game Feedback
The rankings showed up in different parts of the game. The Q2 helped me bring the most pace to serves and drives. The Ultré Power 2 was close behind and gave me a powerful, stable option when I wanted to finish a ball. The Power FX created the quickest pop. My friend’s run of aces showed how much pressure it can put on a serve.
The Jade gave me the most spin, and I could still trust it to bring power and control into the rally. That mix made it the paddle I enjoyed most across different shots. I could attack with spin and still feel comfortable when the point moved into a softer exchange.
When I wanted the safest response at the kitchen, I preferred the V2. It ranked first for control and let me move from drives into resets and dinks with fewer adjustments. The Jade was close behind. The Ultré sat in the middle for control, while the Q2 and Power FX asked me to be more precise because of their livelier response.
For doubles, I would choose the V2 if I wanted the most control, or the Jade if I wanted to add more spin without giving up much touch. For singles and aggressive serving, I would reach for the Q2 first, with the Ultré close behind. The Power FX is the one I would pick when I wanted a quick, poppy attack and a chance to put pressure on the return.
Which Paddle Should You Purchase?
The RPM Jade is my favorite out of this group. It gave me the most spin, good power, and control that felt close to the V2. That balance made it easy for me to enjoy in different parts of the game.
I would still choose the V2 if I wanted the safest all-court option. I would choose the Q2 or Ultré Power 2 if power were my main priority. The Power FX is the most poppy-feeling paddle I tested, and it clearly has the ability to create dangerous serves. But for my game, I had more trouble trusting its grit.
If I were picking one paddle to keep playing with, I would take the Jade. It was the one I reached for most often, and I liked how much spin it gave me without feeling like I had to sacrifice control or power.
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