I bought the Selkirk Labs Project 003 S2 paddle because I’m a gear head. Commonly referred to, “that new Selkirk paddle with hole.” Tech, games, sports: it doesn’t matter. If it’s new and shiny, I’m like Gollum: I needs my precious. When Selkirk’s Project 003 dropped, I felt Sauron’s pull and bought the S2 immediately. Okay, I promise from here on out there will be no more Lord of the Rings references. Well, maybe. Here’s my Selkirk Labs Project 003 review.
In very basic terms, I chose the Selkirk Labs Project 003 S2 over the Epic because of the face size and the S2 being the very first good paddle I bought when beginning my pickleball adventure. The S2 has a shorter handle at 4.5”. For comparison, the Epic is 5.25”. It’s a big difference. My hands are between small and medium when wearing gloves, and I either hold the end of the handle in the middle of my palm so I’m not touching the paddle’s face, or I hold the full handle with my index finger resting on the bottom of the paddle face. This isn’t a con for me. I grew accustom to this since the S2 was my first paddle. But I can see this being annoying for someone having experience with normal handle sizes.
What I absolutely love about the S2 paddle is the control. You’ll read about sweet spots or watch YouTubers talk about the sweet spot of a paddle. There’s a quick way to test your paddle’s sweet spot health. Simply bounce a ball up and down on the face and see when the ball dies. The S2’s face is almost good all the way around its 8.25” face to the edge. I immediately noticed my 3rd shot drops hitting more consistently. And because of that, I tried painting kitchen corners and found myself able to hit those from previously impossible spots on the court. For me. I’m between 3.75/4.0. This paddle makes me feel like I could quickly climb the skill point ladder if I put in a bit more time on the court.
Drives and serves are noticeably slower. I put lead tape on all of my other paddles. Top and throat for power mixed with control. But I’ve decided to forgo the tape on the S2 because I loved the control above power. Instead, I focus on generating the power with my arm speed and spin by adding a bit of a brush up at the point of contact. Playing around my skill level, lots of balls end up rolling up the returner’s paddle and going straight into the air. So the slower speed isn’t really a negative since the face has enough grit to add more spin to compensate. I still get comments on how hard my serves are, so it’s not a significant drop-off. Drives are somewhat more difficult to master because of the small handle. You really need to make sure you are stepping into every ball to generate a bit more momentum for the drive. Simply standing in a forward facing horse stance might make you scoop the ball. This is something I noticed in my first week with the paddle. If an opponent had a low speedy serve, then my return could very easily be scooped up into the air and sail out-of-bounds. Make sure you step into the shot and focus on your form. This paddle will require diligence. To take part in Selkirk’s expensive endeavor, you can apply for Selkirk Labs. Once accepted, you can purchase any of their projects. Make sure you provide feedback, and you can get a $77 gift card. The only drawback with the gift card is it needs to be used within Selkirk Labs.
Currently in my bag: Selkirk Project 003 S2, Diadem Warrior Edge, Gearbox CX14, Gearbox CX14E, Gearbox CX11 Power, Electrum Pro 2, Engage Pursuit MX 6.0, Engage Pursuit MX
