Selkirk Boomstik ST Pre-Release Review: Spin Test, Price and What Changed
The Selkirk Boomstik ST goes on sale November 10, and Pickleball Studio published the first hands-on review on November 4, a few days early. The headline is not about power or feel. The reviewer expected a top paddle for 2026 and said a durability problem with the new grit surface changed that. This is a summary of that pre-release review, plus what is publicly known about the paddle. It is one reviewer's single unit, and the reviewer says so too.
What is new on the ST
The Boomstik ST follows the original Selkirk LABS Project Boomstik. According to the review, the shapes, weight, swing weight and twist weight are very close to last year's paddle. Selkirk is making an elongated and a widebody, and a retailer listing for the elongated shows 16 mm thickness, 8.0 to 8.2 oz, a BoomCore PureFoam core with an EVA Power Ring, and the new surface. Four things changed:
- Price. The review puts it at $350, up from $333 for the original. Retailer pages were still showing placeholder prices at the time of writing, so treat $350 as the reviewer's figure until Selkirk confirms it.
- Removable MOI weights. You can play without the weights, fit them to your preference, or slide them around for quick swing-weight changes. The reviewer called this a logical upgrade, similar to what the Selkirk Omni offers.
- Sharktooth groove. The "ST" stands for it. It is a channel around the perimeter that Selkirk says increases dwell time and returns more energy on off-center hits.
- InfiniGrit Ultra. Selkirk's claim, as relayed in the review, is four times the friction of standard surfaces and fifty times the hardness of original InfiniGrit.
The spin test
This is the part that made the video. The reviewer measured spin on court with a radar gun on a brand-new unit, then again after about 49 games' worth of hitting spread over three sessions. They also tracked surface roughness with a gauge on both faces.
| Measure | New | After use | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forehand spin | 2,651 RPM | 2,019 RPM | about -24% |
| Backhand spin | 2,676 RPM | 2,405 RPM | about -10% |
| Forehand surface roughness | baseline | -25% | |
| Backhand surface roughness | baseline | -12% |
The new numbers were the highest the reviewer had measured on any paddle apart from one other model. After a few sessions the forehand side had a smooth patch in the center of the face that could be felt by hand, and a tester who hit with it reported less spin. The forehand wearing faster than the backhand fits how paddles are used, since the forehand gets more contact.
The reviewer was careful to rule out a faulty measurement. A comparison paddle with a durable grit was tested on the same days and stayed within about 50 RPM across 118 games and four test days. A slow-motion check at 240 frames per second counted about 2,000 RPM on the forehand and 2,400 on the backhand, which matched the radar gun.
A second tester, Johnkew, ran a ball-cannon test on his own ST. It went from about 2,480 to about 2,305 RPM, a smaller drop of roughly 7%, and his surface roughness fell less. He also noticed a smooth spot at the center. The reviewer notes that cannon tests and real play do not match one-to-one, which is why the result is still open.
How it plays
The on-court section is brief, from two hitting sessions, and the reviewer says to treat it as observations, not a verdict.
- Power: about the same as the original when hit side by side.
- Sound and feedback: louder than the original Boomstik and with more feedback, on a paddle that was already stiff and loud.
- Sweet spot: the original felt more consistent across the face to this reviewer. The ST gave more feedback when you missed the center, and the sweet spot felt slightly smaller, the opposite of what the groove is meant to do. Dwell time felt slightly higher than the original, which the reviewer found odd next to the louder feel.
- Control: not noticeably better or worse. The reviewer won several points by resetting and described it as more of a reset stick than a boomstick in their hands.
If you like a paddle where every hit feels the same, the reviewer prefers the original. If you want clear feedback on where you made contact, the ST may suit you better.
What to take from it
The reviewer called the ST a side grade from the original, not a strict upgrade, and advised waiting for grit durability results before buying unless you do not care how long the surface lasts. They plan to source a second unit, because they normally confirm durability on two paddles before giving a verdict. Until then this is a single sample.
A few practical points for a buyer:
- One unit is not a verdict. A dud is possible, and the review says so.
- Grit wear is real, and it varies by paddle. Our spin comparison guide explains how surface texture drives spin, and how often to replace a paddle covers when wear matters.
- At $350, cost per month matters. If the surface really loses a quarter of its roughness in a few sessions, you will feel it. See why paddles cost what they do.
- Check the shape and core you want first. Our guides to paddle cores and elongated paddles help, and the paddle breakdowns list the specs we hold.
One related note from the press: Selkirk's Rob Barnes told The Dink that the company plans to move away from widebody shapes toward hybrids around mid-2027, because it sells about eight elongated paddles for every widebody. The Boomstik ST is not part of that shift and launches in both shapes.
We will update this post when the second unit and wider reviews arrive.
Sources
- Pickleball Studio: Selkirk Boomstik ST First Impressions (YouTube). Spin, roughness and feel figures above come from this review.
- The Dink: Selkirk Boomstik ST first look and release date
- The Dink: Why Selkirk is moving away from the widebody paddle
- Hometown Pickleball: Boomstik ST Elongated 16mm listing (pre-release, details subject to change)
