JOOLA, the major US paddle brand, has announced that its first full-foam paddle, POWER FX, will go on sale on September 30. The teaser went out on September 3. Specs, shape and price are all withheld; only the release date and the product name are out. A brand that has kept its distance from foam construction is finally stepping into the category. Here is why it turned, and what players in Japan should brace for.
フルフォーム構造は名称と発売日のみ、仕様は非開示
The teaser is thin. The name POWER FX, a full-foam construction, a September 30 release date, and one line: effortless power on every shot. Weight, thickness and core details are all unpublished at this point. Price is likewise undisclosed. The pattern looks like raising expectations first and releasing details in pieces just before launch. As a paddle built around foam, it will be JOOLA's first.
The six months when Pro V was read as "JOOLA won't do foam"
Earlier this year JOOLA launched the Pro V collection. Because it did not use a foam core, reviewers and buyers asked why the brand would not go with foam. JOOLA held that it would not chase a trend and would enter a category only on its own innovation, arguing that the patented propulsion core it has used since 2024 could compete well enough. That read less as rejecting foam than as insisting on choosing its own timing. Six months later, that stance has been folded.
Full foam is Gen4, separate from honeycomb Gen3
Paddle cores are talked about in generations. Gen3 is a polypropylene honeycomb core formed as one piece under heat and pressure, including builds that pack foam around the perimeter. Gen4 replaces that honeycomb with engineered foam. The method of fusing face and core seamlessly under heat and pressure (unibody, thermoformed) and the question of what goes in the core (foam) are separate matters, and many high-end paddles do both. Which degree JOOLA means when it calls a paddle full foam will not be clear until the specs land at launch. As for the generational shift itself, seeFoam cores start to take over from honeycombfor our earlier coverage.
Foam brands filled the market first: CRBN, Ronbus, Legacy
The category is already crowded. CRBN's TruFoam went first and called itself the first Gen4. Ronbus brought serious foam to an affordable price with the Quanta, and the Legacy Pro injects foam inside a thermoformed seal. Gherkin, Bread & Butter and Honolulu have all shipped their own versions. The all-around Selkirk OMNI has joined in too, witha design that changes a paddle's character by moving the weight. How foam has been reassessed under the approval standards shows up inthe 60% drop from peak recorded under approval testingas well. JOOLA is walking into a field the early movers have already tilled, and doing it with a big sign.
求められてきたものへの応答、CXOゴードン・ケイのコメント
The comment attached to the teaser comes from Chief Experience Officer (CXO) Gordon Kaye. "POWER FX is a new step for JOOLA and something the community has been asking for. We look forward to sharing details soon and putting it in players' hands." The phrase about what the community has been asking for quietly admits this is a turn made in response to the reaction to Pro V. Holding back the numbers and putting out only a date suggests the plan is to set off the detail war all at once right before release.
October's spin limit and how foam paddles get approved
The timing is worth watching too. The spin limit for paddles drops in October, and factories in Asia are still measuring the impact. Foam paddles behave according to how the face and core interact, so how approval goes feeds straight into the release schedule. Having picked a date at the end of September, JOOLA must be looking at the rule change and its own approval in the same frame. For buyers, whether a paddle bought right at launch was built to the standard before or after the change is not something you can ignore if you plan to use it for a long time.
JOOLA has drawn customers with experiences more than products
JOOLA does not sell on spec sheets alone. In the summer it turned"Da Hammer," the on-screen paddle from the film The Dink,into a product, linking the buzz to something you can buy. It also ran a tour handing out free ice cream to pull people onto courts. The POWER FX teaser likewise leads with a release date and a story rather than performance numbers. Even in a category it enters late, the brand keeps its habit of building presence through experiences and talk. Players in Japan will most likely get their hands on one first through events and pop-ups like these.
日本の用具好きが発売日に確かめるべき三点
国内の使い手が9月30日以降に見るべき点は絞れる。第一に入手性だ。JOOLAの新作は米国先行になりやすく、国内正規流通と並行輸入で時期も価格も割れる可能性がある。第二に認証で、規制切り替えをまたぐ時期だけに、手元の一本がどの基準かを型番と製造時期で確かめたい。第三にフォーム機で語られてきた経年の話で、打感が使い込みでどう動くかは購入層が長く議論してきた論点だ。JOOLAが厚みや重量をどう出すかで、既存のPro Vや推進コア機との住み分けも見えてくる。誇大な性能語ではなく、この三点を淡々と照合するのが、後発の一本を選ぶ側の実務になる。
The question may be availability rather than what foam does
The argument over whether to go with foam reaches a break point with JOOLA's entry. Now that the big brands all stand in the same category, the next contest is not small differences in bounce but supply across the rule change and when a paddle can be bought through official channels in Japan. What POWER FX shows on September 30 is less what foam does than where a late-arriving brand makes its difference. Players in Japan will want to watch the release date, when the details finally land, with a cool head.
Sources:
The Kitchen Pickleball「JOOLA releasing new pickleball paddle later this month」
The Dink Pickleball「JOOLA POWER FX: JOOLA Teases First-Ever Full-Foam Paddle」
