Sypik Avatar Review: Quang Duong's Signature Paddle Worth the Hype?

The Sypik Avatar is Quang Duong's Signature Paddle. The Sypik paddles were super sought after a few months ago when they released overseas, but does its performance warrant the hype? Let's find out.

Image via Sypik

Caveats & Disclosures

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

I've only played with it for a couple of days, so I can't speak to long-term durability.

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

Shout out to Premier Racquet Sports for letting me borrow this paddle. Check them out if you're in the Atlanta area.

Quick Specs Overview

So what I didn't know was that the Sypik Avatar is a gen 4 construction.

Gen 4 construction means that the core is full foam, which usually means improved durability.

The Avatar only comes in an elongated shape, so not my preference, but I am used to it by now.

So I played with it stock for 2 days, then decided to try a mini Boomstik setup just for fun. I added 3g strips at 3 and 9 o'clock just to see how it played.

I will go over performance with and without the setup.

My paddle weighed 8.13oz in stock form.

Image via Sypik

On-Court First Impressions

Pop

The pop of this paddle is above average, just not at Boomstik or even Pro IV levels. Maybe a bit more than the other similar gen 4 paddles.

You have enough firepower for counters, just not instant body bags or anything.

I did notice a bit more popups than other gen 4 paddles I played with recently, but don't think it is for certain since I don't have that many days with it to normalize for just me being bad.

Adding the setup did increase the pop in my opinion.

Control & Feel

So overall, now that I played with a significant amount of gen 4 paddles, I will say the majority do play kind of similar. They tend to be on the plusher side, good pop but not crazy and fall in the lower mid tier of power.

The Avatar was no different.

In stock form, I could play well without much adjustment needed.

I will say it does feel a bit more plush than the Engage ProFoam and the Diadem Edge Blucore. Felt like it sunk in a bit and bounced back versus a more poppy paddle that bounces off right away.

Usually I like more dwell time, but didn't get dialed in with the spin of this paddle.

Without the setup, I would say the control is a bit worse than the other similar gen 4 paddles due to it not being as intuitive of how far the ball goes (at least with my limited playtime), but the tradeoff is that it gains some more pop for those who like more firepower.

With the setup: The intuitiveness of drops and dipping shots got worse in my opinion. I ended up taking off the setup towards the end and instantly it became better.

Image via Sypik

Power

The power is probably a low-mid tier power paddle.

Kind of in the similar ballpark as the other gen 4 controllable power paddles.

You need some effort to get serves/returns deep.

Drives were solid. Like most paddles not destroying people with the speed of it, so I attempted to go for more drives preparing for a 5th or tried to get them to dip, which like I mentioned before, I did not like the drops as much as some other paddles.

Overhead and putaways were pretty good, probably mid tier power paddle.

With the setup: It does increase power a significant amount. My serves and returns were hitting deeper and all shots had some extra juice.

Early Verdict

Now let me rate this on MyPickleList.

MPL 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 85+ users and 445+ 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.

Anyways, I think this is a solid paddle. Overall similar enough to the majority of other recent gen 4 paddles.

Good sweetspot, especially for an elongated, a bit more juice than the CRBN TF Genesis, Diadem Edge Blucore and Engage ProFoam.

I enjoyed the feel of it on certain shots like resets, but just didn't like it as much as the others on topspin drops and more dipping shots.

Maybe it is the extra bit of pop, and it could be something I needed to get used to, but just wanted to point it out.

Overall, for that reason, I will probably give the paddle a low to mid 7, and round it down to a 7/10 for MyPickleList.

I just felt like the other gen 4 paddles I played with recently were similar enough, but I personally played better with the others.

I think the Sypik Avatar is good for someone who wants a gen 4 paddle, due to the increased durability.

I think the sweetspot is good for an elongated which is always good.

But I think they should pick the Avatar if they want a gen 4 with a bit more juice, but didn't want something as crazy as a Boomstik.

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