SLK Halo XL Pickleball Paddle Control

In 2022, when many manufacturers began releasing raw carbon paddles, Selkirk was noticeably absent from the market. Up until this point, that is. SLK Halo paddles are the company's take on the traditional raw carbon fiber paddle. For the paddles, they provide an elongated (XL) and regular (Max) shape in addition to two different thicknesses, which I shall comment on below.

SLK is Selkirk’s budget friendly or mid-market brand. The Halo series got extra attention at launch, even though it comes from Selkirk's value-oriented brand.

Spec-wise, the Halo paddles don't deviate much from other raw carbon paddles on the market. When compared to their main competitors, who sell their raw carbon paddles for $30-$80 more, the $140 launch price was a strong selling point (check current pricing).

My main concern with the Halo series is whether or not they can match the performance of their competitors' raw carbon paddles at a lower price. That's what I want to find out about!

My review was accomplished by using both the Halo XL 16mm Control and 13mm Power. Here is my verdict on the paddles' effectiveness.

Performance

The SLK Halo XL 16mm is categorized as a control paddle, while the 13mm is an all-court paddle. The 16mm is a good all-arounder, with a soft, muted feel reminiscent of an Electrum Model E and an impressive capacity to absorb the shots. The 13mm seemed harder than the 16mm, but softer than other 13mm paddles I've used from other companies. It had more oomph than the 16mm, but not enough to be classified as powerful.

With the 16mm, you could easily exert control over the ball and hit your targets with pinpoint accuracy. Naturally, there would be drops, resets, and dinks. It's one of the suppler 16mm raw carbon paddles on the market. The 13mm wasn't terrible to operate, but it was more sensitive and required more time to get used to.

The 16mm didn't provide much power for counters and put-aways, but the longer handle and better spin made it easier to be precise with rolls and flicks to the net, and it helped ensure that drives stayed down. Although the 16mm seemed more balanced despite being almost the same weight, I preferred the 13mm for its increased offensive potential, especially in counters and hand clashes.

The length of their handles (5.75 inches) was too much for my taste, and I would have preferred them to be between 5.25 and 5.5 inches. The paddle head starts to feel disproportional once you get over 5.5". You don't typically get long-handled paddles in this price bracket, but I'm sure there will be some happy customers.

In my impression, the spin was decent but a step below the best raw carbon fiber paddles.

Design

Aside from the length and diameter of the handle, all the remaining dimensions are fairly conventional.

The length of the handle makes it awkward to hold for the vast majority of people. The grips are also not the conventional 4.25 inches in circumference that Selkirk often uses. The handle of the Control paddle is more substantial than that of the Power paddle. I really hoped they would have preserved the standard 4.25′′ width of the paddles across their premium series.

I find it curious that they opted for such a lengthy handle. You'd think they'd utilize a more universally appealing length, like 5.25 inches for the handle, because they're not providing us any options for handle length as they do with their premium paddles. But that's not at all what happens. The XL's longer handle is a selling point for some, but I find it makes the head look much bigger than it is.

The little details, like the grip tape stopping short of the top of the handle, also stood out to me. The tape on the one I owned was clearly inadequate. It's annoying that if you use two hands to hold on to it, one of them will constantly contact the plastic edge guard.

In addition, the Halo's edge guard is substantially larger than the edge guards used on Selkirk's other high-end paddles, such as the Vanguard 2.0. They must have cut corners somewhere to sell this paddle for for $140.

Do I Recommend?

If you're looking for a high-quality, low-cost raw carbon paddle, the Halo series is worth a look. On the other hand, if you're prepared to spend a little more money, you can get a raw carbon paddle like CRBN that has a little more spin and power. But in all honesty, I think most people would be satisfied with the Halos' performance.

Weirdly, the XL has a longer handle than the Max. The non-standard length of the handles is something I wished manufacturers would use less of, but you'll have to get used to it.