Drives: 9/10
Drops:7/10
Dinks: 8/10
Spin: 8/10
Comfort: 7/10
Feel: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
Summary:
Engage has been a long time staple in the pickleball paddle world and is easily setting the standard for quality, comfort, feel and playability for all paddles. The Pursuit MX is a paddle in their lineup designed for the more advanced pickleball player looking for easy power without sacrificing precision. With its longer handle, textured carbon surface and thinner profile; it cuts through the air fast and is able to generate good paddle speed.
Upsides:
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Power
-
Spin
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sound
Downsides:
-
Durability
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Handle shape
Ability:
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Intermediate - advanced
Drives:
From the baseline, this paddle can pack a punch. And the sound coming off the face of it has a nice “crack” to it when snapping through returns or passing shots. I found that the extra length to the paddle increased the lever arm and therefore provided more swing weight to the paddle. I personally noticed the ball really came off the face of this paddle with speed compared to the 6.0 model; which felt a lot more muted in comparison.
Drops:
Drop shots with this paddle took a little bit of adjusting because of the extra length and a slightly smaller sweet spot compared to other paddles in Engages line up. Once dialed in I found the extra spin I could generate on my slices from the carbon surface really gave good control on third-ball-drops from the baseline and even drop shot returns.
Dinks:
The dink department is where I feel all Engage paddles really shine. Engage’s paddles provide a tremendous amount of feel on touch shots with their Proprietary Polymer Composite and I found the MX in particular, with its thinner core, provided a good balance between feel and feedback. There is a little more power than the thicker core paddles Engage has to offer and is where I sometimes felt the ball come off a little bit too strong, but still over average control from the MX line.
Conclusion:
If you’re familiar with Engage paddles and have been looking for something to provide a little more pace to your groundstrokes and putt away shots, the Engage Pursuit MX might be the perfect blend of power and control to give you an edge next time you take the court.
