Wilson Strikefoam Review: 3 Paddles, Full Foam — Good Enough?

Wilson is a popular tennis brand that tried to dip their toes into pickleball.

Thus far, I would say they aren't too successful, and you probably haven't seen many on the courts.

They did come out with the Vesper, which is one of the most unique-looking pickleball paddles — it looks like a tennis racquet. But performance was not the best from many people's reviews, and I agreed with them when I tried it and didn't even make a video on it.

There are 3 new paddles in Wilson's latest Strikefoam series. They went with a full foam core this time around.

Let's see how they stack up with the other gen 4 paddles!

Intro

My name is Pickle Li. I'm a 5.0 pickleball player and I've reviewed over 50 paddles on this channel. I created MyPickleList, which does community-driven paddle ratings, and there are currently over 900 ratings.

Caveats & Disclosures

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

I played with these for a couple of days, so I can't speak on long-term durability.

I'll be rating these paddles on my website MyPickleList at the end, so stay tuned for that.

Shout out to Premier Racquet Sports in Georgia for letting me demo these paddles! Check them out if you're in the Atlanta area.

Quick Specs Overview

The Strikefoam lineup has three options:

• Blaze SF Pro 13 — elongated 13mm — $229 retail
• Cadence SF Pro 16 — 16mm widebody — $229 retail
• Blaze SF Tour 16 — elongated 16mm — $249 retail

The Tour 16 is the pricier of the three. Based on looks, I don't really see a difference that would explain the $20 increase — other than it looks a bit cooler. Edge guard, grit, handles, etc. seem to be the same general quality.

Handles: All handles are on the thicker side. I noticed instantly when picking them up. I don't add an overgrip when I test paddles, and there was an overgrip on these — but without it I assume they'd still be on the thicker side.

Weights (my samples):

• Elongated 13mm: 8.31 oz
• Elongated 16mm: 8.22 oz
• Widebody 16mm: 8.43 oz

On-Court First Impressions (Series Overall)

Pop

They all have a more pop-forward feel in my opinion.

I don't think they have fiberglass this time, but it has that fiberglass-like feel — super poppy and pops off the face pretty quickly.

It's also a bit more muted — not the easiest to tell how far the ball is going to pop off.

More so with the 16mm versions, I felt like they were really poppy when you hit the sweet spot.

I think it played pretty well with counters and quick exchanges in the kitchen.

Control & Feel

To be fair, I never really like paddles that have more pop than power. I kind of like them to have a "normal" pop-to-power ratio.

Notable paddles that fall in this category for me were the 11six24 Pegasus APP and the Flik F3. Some people really do like this feel though — it's ultimately personal preference.

In drilling, when I went for a drop with my normal form, the ball always went too high.

When I edge hit it, however — and it didn't feel as good off the face — that's when it was a very good drop. But obviously something I can't really rely on.

So for me and how I hit the ball, not the most intuitive, and I would need to spend some time dialing in the shots, primarily the thirds.

Dinking was better and I could do that relatively well from the start.

The second session was better — I think I knew what I was getting into and tried to go lighter with all my drops.

By paddle

Widebody (Cadence SF Pro 16, 16mm only) — Typical widebody tradeoffs: faster hand speed, bigger sweet spot, you lose a bit of reach and power. The first day wasn't the best, but after all my sessions, this would be my favorite. I'm historically a widebody and hybrid shape user.

Elongated 16mm (Blaze SF Tour 16) — Very similar to the widebody — maybe slightly less poppy and smaller sweet spot — typical elongated vs widebody. I didn't know this one was higher priced, and I don't think I could've known by performance alone. Just felt like the elongated version of the widebody 16mm.

13mm elongated (Blaze SF Pro 13) — More intuitive on the first day because you could feel the response more. A bit less muted; pop was a bit more predictable vs other paddles. After all sessions though, I think the sweet spot was smaller compared to the 16mm versions. I ended up preferring the 16mm in general. The 13mm felt a bit too thin.

Sweet spots on all are probably about average for their shape — never "wow this sweet spot is amazing," never "this sweet spot sucks."

Grit is pretty average — not that gritty. Spin is OK; what you'd expect from most paddles.

Power

I noticed a significant difference in power on drives and returns between the 13mm and 16mm. The 16mm was hitting significantly harder in my opinion.

In general in stock form, I'd say the 13mm is all-court leaning on power, and the 16mm versions are low-tier power paddles.

I found myself driving the ball a bunch and could do more full swings without hitting the ball way out. That said, I did miss some returns long with the 16mm.

Early Verdict

Now let me rate these on MyPickleList.

MPL is a website I built that does community-driven paddle ratings — a quick and easy way to see how good a paddle is without having to watch YouTube videos like this one. We currently have over 200 members and over 900 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 — we're currently giving $20 gift cards to Premier Racquet Sports if you rate and comment on 5 paddles. Link in bio.

Back to the review.

In general, I think build quality is good on the Wilsons. I like the quality and look of the butt cap, and overall these paddles feel sturdy and well made.

That said, performance-wise, it didn't match the paddle profiles I typically like — more pop-forward without the same power to match.

Overall I think the performance was pretty standard disregarding feel preferences.

Ratings: 16mm versions — 7/10. 13mm — 6/10.

Although I got a hang of the 13mm a bit faster, the lack of power wasn't as appealing as the 16mm versions once I dialed them in.

Who it's for: If you want a more pop-focused paddle that doesn't have uncontrollable power — this isn't my profile, but I know people who prefer that. I remember trying the older Wilson Blaze; it was also very poppy, so it seems to be the style they're going for. If you liked the other Blaze, this could be a more durable upgrade.

Overall, I appreciate that Wilson is experimenting with newer technology. Although it's probably not as competitive as the best paddles on the market, it's a step in the right direction.

Thank you guys for watching. Make sure to join my Discord — the best pickleball Discord out there. We talk about paddles, pickleball tips, etc. Check out MyPickleList.com to see community ratings for all your favorite paddles. Don't forget to like and subscribe if you enjoyed this video — it really helps me out. See ya next time!