Vatic V-Sol Pro Review: Can a $100 Power Paddle Compete with $300+ Options?

For most of pickleball history, power paddles were the most expensive paddles to buy. For example, the two most popular paddles are the Selkirk Boomstik costing $333 and the Joola Pro IV's costing $280.

A couple months ago, Vatic and Ronbus released powerful Gen4 paddles which cost a little over $100.

If these performed well, hypothetically it could change the pickleball market.

I tried the Ronbus Quanta, which I enjoyed a lot, so I was curious to see if the Vatic V-Sol Pro would also deliver similar performance.

I'm Pickle Li, a 5.0 pickleball player who has reviewed over 30 paddles. I created MyPickleList, a community-driven paddle rating platform that currently has over 600 ratings from 120 users.

Caveats & Disclosures

Reminder: 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.

I'll be rating this paddle on MyPickleList at the end of this review.

Special thanks to my friend Jason for letting me borrow this paddle for testing.

Quick Specs Overview

The new Vatic V-Sol lineup features two models, both priced at $109.99. Using code PICKLELI brings the price down to $100.

I tested the V-Sol Pro, which appears to be the more popular option. There's also the V-Sol Power available.

Both models come in Vatic's three shape options: the elongated V7, the Hybrid Flash, and the Widebody Bloom.

You can choose between standard handles or long handles, though the Bloom model I tested only comes with a long handle option.

The V-Sol paddles are Gen4, which means it has a full foam core. The main benefit of Gen4 paddles is that they are supposedly immune to core crushing, which was the biggest issue with pickleball paddles for the past 2 years.

The V-Sol Pro has a solid foam core while the Power has an indented foam core.

I haven't tested the Power model myself, but from what I've heard, the V-Sol Power hits harder in stock form. However, the V-Sol Pro is more popular because with the right setup, it can hit harder and play better overall.

The recommended setup uses 3g of weight at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions, applied as a longer strip (approximately half a gram per inch).

The paddle I tested weighed 8.55oz, though it had quite a bit of electrical tape on it for the weight modification.

On-Court First Impressions

Pop

I would say this paddle is pretty poppy. It does pack a punch on counters and stuff, but I just found it slightly poppier than most paddles. More than the Pro IV's in my opinion.

Control & Feel

This paddle feels quite different from other Gen4 paddles I've tried. With the weight setup, it has a distinct feel compared to paddles like the Trufoams, Diadem Edge Blucore, Engage Pro Foam, and similar models.

I would say this has a bit less dwell time and kind of pops off the face more.

The other Gen4 paddles have a denser feel; this and the Boomstik for example have lighter feels.

My drops and dinks didn't dip as much as I expected. This could be a spin issue since I didn't test it brand new, but it's also possible that the extra pop was causing my normal swing path to launch the ball a bit higher than usual.

The paddle's consistency was impressive. The sweetspot is really big, likely due to the combination of the paddle's construction and the widebody shape.

I rarely had edge hits with this paddle. The main challenge was controlling the height of my resets, as they tended to pop up more than with most paddles due to the extra pop.

Overall it is a bit muted and pops off the face relatively quick, so feel was not my favorite, as I prefer more dwell time and shaping my shots with topspin.

Power

I would say it is a mid-tier power paddle. My serves were pretty easy to get deep, maybe due to the lesser spin or more pop. I found myself serving long more often than normal.

Final Verdict

Before diving into my rating, I should mention that I've added this paddle to MyPickleList, a community-driven paddle rating platform I built. The goal is to provide a quick and easy way to see how paddles perform based on real player ratings, without needing to watch lengthy video reviews.

We currently have over 120 members and 600+ ratings, and the platform continues to improve as more players contribute their experiences.

If you're in the Atlanta area, we're currently offering $20 gift cards to Premier Racquet Sports for players who rate and comment on 5 paddles. So far, 35 out of 100 people have redeemed this offer.

Now, back to my thoughts on the V-Sol Pro.

This was an interesting paddle for me. When I first hit with it, I was impressed with its firepower and thought it would rank higher—after all, who doesn't appreciate extra power?

But throughout my testing, I realized I didn't enjoy the feel as much compared to other paddles I've played with. With my current form, my shots just didn't dip as much, which was the main issue.

The paddle's pop also made resets more challenging than usual. Even though the sweetspot is generous and the paddle is consistent, I found it harder to control the ball when trying to get to the kitchen.

The V-Sol Pro definitely delivers more firepower than you might expect with the right setup, but in my opinion, the feel negates some of that upside.

I'm rating this paddle a low-mid 7, which rounds down to a 7 on MyPickleList.

My analysis reminds me of my Sypik Avatar review, where I also found the paddle consistent but lacking in shot-shaping ability.

I do think the V-Sol is more fun to play with due to the extra power, and the widebody shape provides a better sweetspot than many paddles in this price range.

Overall, this is a solid option, especially at the $100 price point with code PICKLELI.

It offers great power for the price in a market where power paddles typically cost over $200. The feel with this particular setup wasn't my favorite, but a different weight configuration might work better for different playstyles.

If you're looking for an affordable power paddle that can compete with much more expensive options, the Vatic V-Sol Pro is worth considering. Just be aware that the feel might take some getting used to if you prefer paddles with more dwell time.

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