Well, I played with the Volair Mach 1 Forza (16mm) thermoformed Paddle for the first time to review. It goes without saying that this is one of the most beautiful, and well packaged, paddles on the entire market. But I was very pessimistic about whether it would play as good as it looks.
The Mach 1 Forza has an elongated shape with an extra long handle of 5.5 inches. While I typically wouldn’t devote an entire review to size specifications. The entire detail is available on Amazon I’ll provide a link below. I’m posting this separately from the chain since it contains review details for a few paddles:
After drilling and playing with the 16mm version over the course of two weeks. Here is my review
Volair Mach 1 Forza Review
I can generate crazy spin on full-hit shots – topspin, under-spin, side-spin, and all kinds of combos. My experience with Volair Mach 1 was immediately eye-opening. I could serve with this paddle as hard as I could possibly serve the ball without worrying about hitting it out long. The ball just dove at the back line no matter how hard I hit it. I read a “professional” review somewhere a couple of days ago that said the exact same thing. Well, he was dead on. Exact same experience for me.
The paddle felt like more of a control paddle to me than a power paddle. It had power if I called for it, but the touch and feel around the NVZ were outstanding. And the spin was off the charts when needed.
The sweet spot felt plenty big to me, and the paddle was really dandy in firefights.
My setup was with one overgrip and 3 grams of tape at 3 and 9. Weighs about 8.5 ounces.
Very, very impressed overall with this paddle. Never served with a paddle like it. Everybody I played with was commenting on the speed and floor-hugging trajectory of my serves.
Think this paddle is a keeper for a lot of reasons.
Choosing the right Paddle
The “holy grail/unicorn” for me is the paddle that can effect the most spin on softer-hit shots – doesn’t pop off so quickly that the spin can’t take effect like the Black Aces, grabs the ball enough to spin it, but doesn’t sink in/dwell so much that it sometimes stays on and “squishes” back out without as much spin (like my fave Ronbus R2.16). And I need a wide face, not narrow, light swing weight/overall weight, and not too much impact shock.
I could do this with the Head 2023 Gravity Tour SH, but it’s pretty boardy, and after 2-3 games my shoulder bothered me a bit. I can play 10 games straight with my R2.16 and not feel a twinge.
Comparing the Volair Mach 1
For the comparison of the Volair Mach 1 Forza 16mm to other models, I acquired the Volair Mach 1 (which I kept). I demoed three paddles from Amazon – the Joola Anna Bright Scorpeus (bought one after), the Head Radical Tour Raw, and the Luxx (they substituted the Invicta instead of the Epic I requested).
I passed them around among the 3.5 – 4.5 players on the courts. The Head was actually the standout star of the day – super smooth impact feel, controllable power, great spin, huge “sweet spot” (best off-center response). I played with it a bunch of games but didn’t keep it because it was just a bit heavy for my shoulder – could use one if I get to work out some more like I’m supposed to).
The Luxx was the surprise failure of the group – everyone agreed it felt like cheap plastic at impact, poor off-center response, less spin, etc. I know a lot of reviewers said it plays totally differently with a bunch of lead tape slapped on it, but I’ve never kept any on any of my paddles (have it and tried it) and didn’t have to do that with any of the others.
The Volair Forza Mach 1 was great – a bit firmer impact feel, not too much pop, off-center a bit weaker than the R2.16 and Head but I found if I held it a bit firmer the ball still rebounded enough to hit the shot. Might actually add a bit of lead or tungsten to this one.
The Anna Bright was closest to having that “brush off” the face effect I’m looking for – didn’t get to use it as much because my wife grabbed it and kept it, will have to try it some more.
The Volair was actually for her – she saw some buzz and asked me to get one for her. I got the Scorpeus demo because I had tried a few shots with friends’ paddles and it felt a bit firm so might hurt my shoulder, and also felt a bit heavier and I don’t need that longer handle, so I didn’t just buy one like I often do.
I realized after trying the demos that it’s not that firm and not harsh – I was just used to the memory foam-pillow squishiness of my R2.16, and everything feels firmer after hitting that.
Will add more later to the comparison between the Volair and Scorpeus since they are so similar.
Waiting eagerly for the Vatic Pro Prism Flash and V7 Paddle Review
Delamination/Debonding Issue in Thermoformed Paddles
Despite the fact Now that thermoformed paddles have taken over the market, every brand that doesn’t have one is making one. the news circulating about Ben Johns calling out the paddle companies whose thermoformed paddles have experienced delamination issues. For those who don’t know what this means, it causes a trampoline effect with the ball and generates more speed.
This is a pretty hot and sensitive topic at the moment. I decided to remove my initial post because some of the comments, including my own, were based on secondhand conversations and reflected opinion more than fact.
While the discussions were taking place here I was chatting with pros. They confirmed that the delamination issue was being resolved. Official statements by these companies were made to address Johns’s comments so rather than further fan any flames, I remove my post and apologized if the information that I had been given wasn’t accurate. And BTW, for those who commented that the delamination effect was by design, it’s simply not true (by common sense alone).
And finally, to address a claim made by someone in that post, I’m not directly affiliated by any company, for any product, period. I do enjoy talking paddles and have spent more time than what’s probably healthy doing so with paddle geek friends, but that’s the extent of my interest in this area. I independently review everything recommended. When you buy through my links, I may earn a commission without charging you extra cost. So I hope you enjoyed reading my Volair Mach 1 Forza Review.
