The Vauraus Paddle by Cliff Pickleball is the first paddle from the popular YouTuber churned-paddle manufacturer. Will it be the first paddle in a series of paddles from Cliff? No rumors on that yet. The Vauraus Paddle brings us thermoformed unibody with a long and thick handle. Let’s get into the specs and my personal thoughts.
Cliff Pickleball Vauraus Paddle Specs
Pros And Cons
- Power on overheads, drives, and serves
- Room for two-handed backhands
- Great Spin
- Thick Handle with a high quality stock grip
- Hard backhand flicks
- Smaller than average sweetspot
- Average pop on counters
My Personal Thoughts
The Vauraus Pickleball Paddle currently sits at $179.99, and the site suggests that it is the sale price and that the retail price will eventually be $205.00. The market for thermoformed paddles seems to be around $180 but we see some lower going down to $100 (some lower Amazon brands, but I don’t know about those yet).
So, is the Vauraus Paddle worth the price? I think it offers enough unique attributes to be worth it for the right people. I enjoyed using this paddle a lot because I put on multiple overgrips to get a thicker handle circumference.
Getting a thick grip out of the box is nice for me, and the grip is high quality. The paddle is very stable for resetting and blocking drives. You can feel the quality of the build in these scenarios. The spin is great and the power you can generate with the handle length is very good.
I think the paddle amplifies the power of people with strong mechanics. If you don’t come from a tennis background I don’t know if the power will translate for you.
My drives, serves, rolls, two-handed backhand, and overheads excelled with this paddle. My backhand flicks and forehand dinks suffered a little with this paddle.
I think this is purely due to the handle and I needed time to adjust. Backhand counters lack pop from the paddle and you need to add some extra punch yourself
Cliff Pickleball Vauraus Paddle Review
Spin
The Vauraus pickleball paddle has top-end power. The one drawback of the shape of the paddle is the smaller sweet spot needs to be hit to generate that power. Off center shots lose a lot of power, I would say once we get towards the edges of the paddles the power is reduced about 30-50%.
I want to make sure you know this if you have a hard time hitting the center of the paddle most of the time. Now, when you connect with the sweet spot it hits hard. My drives, serves, and overheads were generating top-tier power.
This is a paddle that tennis players will love because you can generate a lot of power with the 6” handle. Having a thicker and longer handle helps the stability in your hand which lets you put more force into the ball without worrying about the paddle shifting in your hand.
While the Vauraus paddle generates a lot of power when you are taking big swings, I do think the pop is average. I did notice in hands battles I had to put a little more power on my own to get the shots I wanted.
This isn’t a huge issue, as you can generate good power and spin with just a flick, but when you are counter punching, it is a drawback to be aware of.
Control/Feel
There are two things to address about the control of this paddle. When you hit the sweet spot, the ball is going where you want it to go. When you don’t hit the sweet spot, the ball is going to be short of where you want it to go.
This can be said of any paddle because that is just how it works, but I felt the control off the sweet spot is more noticeable on this paddle. This isn’t a paddle for beginners.
I did have to adjust my forehand dinks a bit as well because dinking with a longer handle feels different. My two-handed backhand dinks felt great. When I adjusted to the paddle my drops, drives, serves, and rolls were going right where I wanted them to go.
The control of this paddle is high when in the right hands. One more thing I should mention is that the thicker handle and the stability of the handle made for effortless blocks on fast drives. If you are looking for that feature this paddle shines.
Power
The Vauraus pickleball paddle has top-end power. The one drawback of the shape of the paddle is the smaller sweet spot needs to be hit to generate that power.
Off center shots lose a lot of power, I would say once we get towards the edges of the paddles the power is reduced about 30-50%. I want to make sure you know this if you have a hard time hitting the center of the paddle most of the time. Now, when you connect with the sweet spot it hits hard.
My drives, serves, and overheads were generating top-tier power. This is a paddle that tennis players will love because you can generate a lot of power with the 6” handle.
Having a thicker and longer handle helps the stability in your hand which lets you put more force into the ball without worrying about the paddle shifting in your hand.
While the Vauraus paddle generates a lot of power when you are taking big swings, I do think the pop is average. I did notice in hands battles, I had to put a little more power on my own to get the shots I wanted.
This isn’t a huge issue, as you can generate good power and spin with just a flick, but when you are counter-punching, it is a drawback to be aware of.
Durability
The construction of the Vauraus paddle feels solid and I couldn’t find any problems with the manufacturing of the paddle. I haven’t heard of anyone having issues either. I currently don’t have concerns about the durability of the paddle.
Cliff Pickleball Vauraus Paddle Vs. Engage Pursuit Pro MX 6.0
- Weight: 7.8oz
- Length: 16.5”
- Paddle Width: 7.44”
- Grip Length: 6”
- Tickness: 16mm
- Face: T-700 Raw Carbon fiber
- Weight: 8.25 oz
- Length: 16.5 "
- Paddle Width: 7.5 "
- Grip Length: 5.75"
- Tickness: 16mm
- Face: T700 Carbon Fiber
These paddles are similar because they have great spin, power, and a long handle. They differ, with the Pursuit having a skinnier handle, which is good for some, and it also comes in a light and heavy version. I would say the Pursuit has slightly more power and less control than the Vauraus. They both play similarly so it comes down to those tradeoffs when considering the two.
Final Thoughts: Who Is This Paddle For?
The Vauraus Paddle by Cliff Pickleball is for people looking for a 6” handle with a 4.5” circumference that performs well in all areas. I could see this being an amazing singles paddle as some drawbacks don’t hurt you as much in singles.
This paddle will work for doubles players if you love using your two-handed backhand, crank a big forehand, love spin, and can handle a smaller sweet spot. This paddle might not work for you if your main weapon is your backhand flick, or you tend to hit a lot of off-center shots, especially when it lands at the bottom of the face.
