Ronbus Quanta Review: Best Boomstik Alternative?

When the Ronbus Quanta first hit the market, it sent shockwaves through the pickleball community. A Gen 4 paddle for just $120 retail? That was unheard of. The only question was whether it could actually perform.

The Selkirk Boomstik is one of the hottest power paddles on the market right now, and word on the street is that the Quanta is essentially a Boomstik without the weight. The popular setup involves adding the exact same weight configuration as the Boomstik—7.5 grams at 3 and 9 o'clock—and it supposedly plays very similar to a Boomstik for one-third the cost.

I spent a few days testing the Quanta and even played with a Widebody Boomstik right after to compare. Is the Quanta truly the best Boomstik alternative? Let's find out.

Image via Ronbus

Caveats & Disclosures

This is a first impressions review, not a full review.

I've only played with it for a few days, so I can't speak to long-term durability. That being said, it is a Gen 4 paddle, so core crushing shouldn't be an issue.

I'll be rating this paddle on my website MyPickleList at the end.

Shout out to my friend Jeffrey for letting me borrow his paddle.

Quick Specs Overview

The Ronbus Quanta lineup is a bit confusing with 5 different shapes:

• R1 and R3: Elongated shapes (aero vs square)
• R2 and R5: Widebody shapes (R5 adds handle length)
• R4: Hybrid shape

I tested the R4 hybrid option, which my friend mentioned plays most similarly to the Boomstik based on what he'd read.

I've heard some general comments that the Quantas feel pretty cheap, but I didn't really get that impression—at least with the current setup. It feels like a normal paddle to me. There's an overgrip on this paddle, so maybe I didn't feel the handle or stock grip as much, but it just seems like an average paddle quality-wise.

The Setup

The popular "Boomstik setup" involves adding 7.5 grams at 3 and 9 o'clock. On my specific paddle, there's also edge guard tape around it, which does have some effect on play.

My paddle weighed 8.52 oz with the Boomstik setup.

All my performance impressions are based on this setup.

On-Court First Impressions

Pop

The paddle is definitely poppy, but probably a step down from the Boomstik. It's hard to tell without hitting them back-to-back, but I think this has more pop than the Pro IV and RPM paddles.

For the most part, I didn't have as many popups compared to the elongated Boomstik I reviewed, but I did notice a couple instances where it popped a lot more than expected.

Control & Feel

Control was a lot better than I would have thought, given the main comparison was the Boomstik.

Comparing it primarily to the elongated Boomstik, I felt like the control and feel was just better overall.

The sweetspot is big—I didn't notice many edge hits that caused me to miss shots.

The feel is more plush than a Boomstik as well. The ball feels like it absorbs a bit with the Quanta, then rebounds, unlike the Boomstik which in my opinion feels instant.

I do like the extra bit of dwell time in general since I play with a bit more spin.

I do think it is also a bit more muted, which I personally don't mind, but I know certain players prefer a crisper feel.

Image via Ronbus

My resets were pretty good, and if anything, just a bit higher than normal. They got the job done and may just take an additional reset here and there until you get adjusted. But for the most part, the easier resets felt good and I enjoyed the feel.

Regarding shaping my shots, it was a lot better than I expected. My topspin drops were pretty good. They dipped easily and actually more than I would've expected. I would've expected a poppier and more powerful paddle to have higher drops.

Image via Ronbus

Power

Switching to power, the drives were more prone to being a bit higher and sailing out. With other paddles, even lower to mid-tier power paddles, I can get away with just blasting a drive here and there. For the Quanta, I think I definitely need to monitor my power, especially if I'm not focusing on aiming low.

But overall, I would consider the Quanta a top-tier power paddle. It is probably near the top in terms of power.

Compared to a widebody Boomstik, I thought it was almost just as powerful, and on certain shots (particularly my serve) it felt more powerful. Could be a serve technique thing though, and/or me tiring out towards the end of my session that day.

I think if you set up properly and hit it well, the serve is almost always a good serve. Same with the return—I could blast back some returns towards the baseline way more consistently than other paddles.

Early Verdict

Now let me rate this 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 96+ members and 507+ 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 are currently giving $20 gift cards to Premier Racquet Sports if you rate and comment on 5 paddles. We've had 35 out of 100 people redeem them so far.

Back to the review.

I liked this paddle more than I would have thought, given it was crowned as a Boomstik clone with the setup, and I didn't like the Boomstik too much.

The sweetspot was good, had a bunch of power, yet the pop on it was a bit more controllable for resets and shaping my shots.

I prefer more dwell time, and I think the extra dwell time compared to the Boomstik was an upgrade.

I will have to give the Quanta a 9/10. I think the power it brings is top-tier, but it was controllable enough to where I thought it was worth the extra power.

Serving and returning deep consistently is probably the weakest part of my game, so I can appreciate the extra power yet not messing up another aspect of my game.

It may be a hot take, but I do like this more than the Boomstik.

Who Is This Paddle For?

This paddle is for you if you:

• Want a super powerful paddle but do care about how much you spend
• Prefer more dwell time and a muted feel over instant pop and crispness
• Are looking for a Boomstik alternative that offers similar power

I think Boomstik and Quanta comparisons are pretty accurate in terms of overall power—I just don't think it's a clone or anything.

They have different feels, and if you like more instant pop and a crisp feel, the Boomstik provides that. But if you don't mind a bit more dwell time and mutedness, then the Quanta is probably the better pick for you.

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