Hudef Mage SCF2 Review: Paddle With Best Spin?

Hudef just dropped a new paddle that claims to produce spin shots that are impossible to return.

This is Hudef's Mage SCF2.

I tested their last paddle, the Apex Pro 2—their standard shaped paddle which apparently uses the same core technology—and I gave it a 6/10 on MyPickleList.

The Mage SCF2 is coming out at $150, or $135 with code PICKLELI, so it's slightly pricier than the main budget paddles, but still not expensive compared to most paddles on the market.

Let's see if this paddle actually lives up to their marketing claims.

Image via Hudef

Caveats & Disclosures

Quick reminder: this is a first impressions review, not a full deep dive.

I've only had a couple of days with it, so I can't comment on long-term durability.

I'll be dropping my rating on MyPickleList at the end, so stick around for that!

Big thanks to Hudef for sending this paddle for review! Use code PICKLELI if you decide to buy one for $135.

Quick Specs Overview

First thing I'll say—I do appreciate how Hudef includes a lot of extras with their paddles.

The package comes with a paddle cover (which is standard), 2 overgrips, a paddle eraser, and lead tape. The paddle eraser and lead tape are good add-ons if you don't have them, especially if you're a beginner.

Onto the paddle itself, the Mage SCF2 is their hybrid shaped option.

It comes in 3 colorways. The two I didn't get I thought looked better personally. Not sure if I'm a fan of the Jamaican colorway in general, but I don't really care about paddle aesthetics—performance matters more to me.

Their Super Critical Foam is interesting. I don't think I fully understand it. It seems like it would either be a full foam core or like a gen 3 core, but I'm not sure what this is actually classified as.

I think there's foam in the individual honeycomb cells, which is unique.

I'll get into how it plays in a bit.

The handle on the Apex Pro 2 was on the shorter side, but this one is a significant upgrade which I think is nice.

My paddle weighed in at 8.17 oz.

I was able to test it with my normal setup for a bit—3g strips right above the curve and a 9g flick weight.

On-Court First Impressions

Pop

The pop is pretty average, maybe slightly above average.

Counters were solid enough. Not winning points straight up on body bags or anything, but hands battles felt good.

I think the amount of pop it has works well at the kitchen, and I didn't pop up much out-of-the-air stuff.

Control & Feel

This is where I'm a bit iffy on this paddle.

Starting with the good things: I really did like this paddle in the front court—dinking in the kitchen and doing those types of drills. It was consistent, had enough pop and power to counter and speed up, but not so much that stuff flies up unexpectedly.

The place where I didn't enjoy it was in the back court, like in a 7/11 type drill. I couldn't really get used to the feel of it.

The drives and drops didn't dip as much as I would like in a doubles setting, which made the initial shot not the best, at least in the time I was playing with it.

And then the resets in transition were also not my favorite. The feel pops up a bit more than I'd like, plus it seemed like the sweet spot was a bit smaller. Definitely had trouble in the drill and was not having a good time.

That being said, I was playing singles against someone and was hitting some nasty passing shots—primarily a forehand topspin drive—and they were actually very good. So maybe it has potential but needs to be dialed in more. I just wasn't having fun in a doubles scenario where I usually do fine with other paddles.

Power

When it comes to power, I'd say it's an all-court leaning power paddle. More than the other Hudef paddle, probably due to the shape.

I'd put it probably on par with a CRBN TruFoam Genesis or Engage Pro Power—probably less, but somewhere in that general area.

Serves definitely need some effort to get deep and good, same with drives.

Overheads and putaway shots were not my favorite, especially in 7/11 where you have to hit in front of you. I'd for sure use more angles in a real game if they were staying in the back lobbing or something.

Early Verdict

Time to drop my rating on MyPickleList.

MyPickleList is a website I built that does community-driven paddle ratings.

The purpose is to be a quick and easy way to see how good a paddle is without having to watch YouTube videos like this one.

We currently have 67 users and 347 ratings, and it's only going to get better with more ratings, so please join!

If you're in the Atlanta area, you're in luck since we're currently giving $20 gift cards to Premier Racquet Sports if you rate and comment on 5 paddles.

Anyways, this paddle is a bit different—it has good things and things I didn't like as much. So it's more of a split decision rather than an easy score. I'm between a 5 for average and a 6 for fine.

The singles passing shots were pretty nasty, and I did like the kitchen points with this paddle, but getting to the kitchen was the issue. I think I'll give it a 6.

I think it's a fine paddle—has good qualities I think everyone would like, but just didn't match my doubles preference.

At $135, it's a solid option for a budget player if you want something more all-court leaning power.

View the Hudef Mage SCF2 on MyPickleList →

This is a first impressions review based on a couple of days of play testing. Long-term durability and performance may vary. Shout out to Hudef for providing the demo paddle.